Urban Superintendents Academy

Empowering Urban Leaders for a Decade

Urban Superintendents Academy

The Urban Superintendents Academy is designed for those who want to take on leadership roles in our nation's rapidly-growing urban areas. Help accelerate academic performance growth and be a champion for historically underrepresented and diverse populations.

Academy Details

AASA offers two cohorts of the Urban Superintendents Academy in collaboration with two premier universities: 

Howard and USC Logos

Howard Academy USC Rossier Academy

Applications were due by August 3, 2024

The AASA-Howard University Urban Superintendents Academy is recognized as one of the premier programs in the country. The academy aims to address disparities in educational leadership by cultivating a network of leaders ready to assume superintendent roles, especially in districts with large and diverse populations.

Nonmember Price: $6,500

AASA Member Discounted Price: $6,000

The program fee includes an assigned mentor, all course materials, catered meals during the Academy meetings, access to all online course materials, collaboration tools and relevant resources.

Applications were due by August 3, 2024

The AASA-USC Rossier Urban Superintendents Academy is a program designed to support current and aspiring superintendents as they navigate the complexities of equity-centered leadership in school districts. Participants gain the knowledge, insights, skills and practices needed to make a lasting meaningful impact as superintendent.

Nonmember Price:  $7,000

AASA Member Discounted Price: $6,500

The program fee includes an assigned mentor, all course materials, catered meals during the Academy meetings, access to all online course materials, collaboration tools and relevant resources.

 

To ensure participants are fully equipped for the challenges and opportunities of urban superintendent positions, the Urban Superintendents Academy welcomes all applicants yet will focus on underrepresented groups. The national program’s goal is to prepare superintendents for the demands of the urban environment and address the reality that less than 10 percent of our nation’s superintendents are persons of color.

Specific goals applicable to both the Howard and USC programs are:
  • Prepare for and successfully acquire a position as an urban superintendent.
  • Delineate and apply key skills of 21st century leadership.
  • Address critical problems and issues facing all urban superintendents today in a strategic and creative way.
  • Deal effectively and creatively with community relations and politics in the urban setting.
  • Use a range of 21st century facilitative skills to deal with organizational politics and relationship building in the urban school system.
  • Become a strategic leader who consistently demonstrates critical reasoning, problem solving and creativity.
  • Learn how to effectively work with the board of education. 
Academy Dates
Howard Academy Dates

In-Person Meeting Dates

August 16, 2024 -Alexandria, VA - Urban Summit

March 4-5, 2025 - at the 2025 National Conference on Education

May 16-17, 2025 - Alexandria, VA - Capstone Presentations

 

Virtual Meeting Dates

September 21, 2024 8:30 am- 3:30 pm ET

October 19, 2024 8:30 am- 3:30 pm ET

November 16, 2024 8:30 am- 3:30 pm ET

December 14, 2024 8:30 am- 3:30 pm ET

January 25, 2025 8:30 am- 3:30 pm ET

February 8, 2025 8:30 am- 3:30 pm ET

April 12, 2025 8:30 am- 3:30 pm ET

 

USC Rossier Academy Dates

In-Person Meeting Dates:

August 16, 2024 | Urban Summit at The Westin Alexandria Old Town, 400 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA (optional)

September 13-14, 2024 | Retreat at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles

March 4-5, 2025 | New Orleans, La. prior to AASA's 2025 National Conference on Education

Virtual Meeting Dates:

September 9, 2024 - 7:30 pm ET - 9:30 pm ET- Orientation

September 30, 2024 -7:30 pm ET -  9:30 pm ET 

October 14, 2024 -7:30 pm ET -  9:30 pm ET 

October 28, 2024 -7:30 pm ET -  9:30 pm ET 

November 4, 2024 -7:30 pm ET -  9:30 pm ET 

November 18, 2024 -7:30 pm ET -  9:30 pm ET 

December 2, 2024 -7:30 pm ET -  9:30 pm ET 

December 16, 2024 -7:30 pm ET -  9:30 pm ET 

January 13, 2025 -7:30 pm ET -  9:30 pm ET 

January 27, 2025 -7:30 pm ET -  9:30 pm ET 

February 10, 2025 -7:30 pm ET -  9:30 pm ET 

February 24, 2025 -7:30 pm ET -  9:30 pm ET 

March 31, 2025 -7:30 pm ET -  9:30 pm ET 

April 7, 2025 -7:30 pm ET -  9:30 pm ET 

April 21, 2025 -7:30 pm ET -  9:30 pm ET 

May 5, 2025 -7:30 pm ET -  9:30 pm ET 

May 12, 2025 -7:30 pm ET -  9:30 pm ET

Partners

The Rossier School of Education at USC has a long and proud legacy of training educational leaders who serve in school districts throughout the nation. Through our partnership with AASA we are able to bring our expertise to prepare a new generation of urban district leaders to confront the most complex challenges facing schools today. 

Pedro Noguera

Dean, USC Rossier School of Education

If you want to be a change agent, if you want to see all children be successful, and more importantly, those children who historically have been disadvantaged, if you want to push your own thinking and your own perception of reality, then you need to join the urban superintendents program.

Kimberly Mackey

Principal, San Francisco Unified, Calif.

Details

August 16, 2024 to June 2, 2025

See Academy Details and Dates section for additional information and application links.

Applications for this program have closed. Stay tuned for when they open again this fall!

Contact

  • Jessica Gordon

    Program Manager, Leadership Network

    AASA, The School Superintendents Association

    jgordon@aasa.org

    703-875-0704

10th Annual AASA/Howard/USC-Rossier Urban Superintendents Academy- Urban Summit

The 2024 Urban Summit will take place on August 16, 2024 in Alexandria, VA! 

Learn about the Urban Summit

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