John Malloy: Redefining Success Creates New Opportunities

Inside AASA

When he arrived at AASA headquarters as a new staff member on Aug. 1, John Malloy was fresh from a superintendency with the San Ramon Valley Unified School District in California, a high-achieving district serving 30,000 students near San Francisco. The experiences of students were on his mind.

After 38 years as an educator in schools and districts, Malloy recognizes he is now on what he terms the “other side,” having joined AASA’s national staff as assistant executive director of the Leadership Network, which serves as the association’s professional learning arm. He has benefitted from his previous involvement in AASA’s cohorts that promoted social emotional learning and readiness of students.

Malloy brings to his program management role the experiences of working in widely different cultures, school systems and two countries (one of his earlier postings was the superintendency of the 245,000-student Toronto schools in Canada).

The recent interview with Malloy by School Administrator managing editor Liz Griffin was edited for clarity and length.

What appeals to you about working at AASA?

Malloy: AASA has played a big role in supporting me when I was thinking about issues. AASA connected me with superintendents from all over — rural, suburban and urban. As a superintendent, I took advantage of every professional learning opportunity I could, including mentoring aspiring superintendents and getting involved with the Social-Emotional Learning, Mental Health, Redefining Ready! and Next Education cohorts and the Learning 2025 initiative.

The SEL cohort was something I was involved with for years and benefited from site visits where we had deeper conversations and a space to build relationships over several years. I hosted the Mental Health and Social-Emotional Learning Summit in San Ramon last April. The cohorts were opportunities to learn in a small group setting.

This is my opportunity to give back to AASA and other superintendents. I want to help superintendents by sharing the solutions I’ve learned during my 15 years as a superintendent. As Executive Director Dave Schuler says, “We must be nimble and responsive to superintendents’ needs.”

What are your duties at AASA?

Malloy: My role in the Leadership Network is to work with all cohorts, the Large Countywide and Suburban District consortium and the JED Foundation supporting school districts to develop districtwide mental health approaches. I also will be developing more superintendent-only learning and networking opportunities.

All these efforts are in partnership with Valerie Truesdale, senior assistant executive director of the Leadership Network; Ann Levett, assistant executive director of the Leadership Network; and Kristine Gilmore, associate executive director of the Leadership Network.

Our goal is to support educational leaders in their professional development to positively impact opportunities for students across our country.

What needs to change in professional learning experiences?

Malloy: Public education can be very traditional, and many schools look exactly the same as they did 50 years ago. Often, the approach to change has been to tinker around the edges, but we are facing a future that looks very different.

We need to provide programs that help superintendents transform their schools. Another reason is that the job of the superintendent has changed in the past 15 years. One major change is that superintendents are dealing with more divisiveness in their communities. Another is the impact of the pandemic on students’ achievement and well-being.

How can AASA’s Leadership Network deepen its impact?

Malloy: The best professional learning creates the space to grapple with tough ideas, wrestle with biases and learn about other leaders’ best practices. This is a place to reimagine what success looks like.

Superintendents need opportunities to listen and learn. Observing others can be a very powerful experience.

What do you think people should know about AASA’s Leadership Network programs?

Malloy: Our programs can assist members, whether they are aspiring to the superintendency, new to their role or in need of support to implement transformative change. Programs also support leadership teams, which makes the work of transformation just a little bit easier.

To address superintendents’ growing interest in artificial intelligence, the Leadership Network will hold an AASA AI Super Summit in Tampa on Jan. 30 and 31. The program features leading innovators and experts from business, technology and education and hands-on learning.

You’re fresh out of the superintendency. What have you observed that applies to your new line of work?

Malloy: Students’ mental health must be a priority. In San Ramon Valley Unified, while high-achieving, data revealed significant anxiety and depression among some students. Initially, some parents feared focusing on well-being might lower academic standards. To build common ground, I emphasized the goal of developing both great students and healthy, happy individuals. Our community embraced this vision, and we continue to focus on future-driven approaches to better serve our students.

How did student voices change the conversation?

Malloy: Students were brave enough to share their stories with the school board and the community The way we had defined success was too narrow for some students. Students felt “less than” because success was equated with going to college and doing well on tests.

We had to elevate the way students were experiencing school. Were we providing a pathway for students who were not going to college? Were we giving students access to many different opportunities? We needed to do this in a way that still prepared our students to go to college.

A student’s story can change the decisions of the school board. San Ramon thought about learning in a deeper way. It was not just tests. Rather it was about helping our students think, create, communicate and collaborate. In other words, we taught them how to be learners!

Inside AASA is an occasional column about principal employees and priorities of the association.