Positioning the AASA of Tomorrow

President's Corner

The AASA of tomorrow is positioning itself to be a resource and a conduit through which members can become engaged through specific areas of interest.

This engagement is purposeful as we look to create and expand connections with school system leaders, new and experienced, across the country and move our nation’s public education agenda forward.

Some of the opportunities to connect and bolster meaningful relationships include the National Superintendent Certification Program, the Women in School Leadership Forum, the Urban Superintendents Academy, the Aspiring Superintendents Academy, Leadership Networks, the Digital Consortium, the Large Countywide and Suburban District Consortium and the AASA Collaborative.

In addition, there are initiatives and programs such as the Superintendent’s Summit on Personalized Learning, which was conducted in Salt Lake City, Utah, last October, and My.AASA.org, the association’s new online portal that provides members with access to education policy resources, reports, communications tools and so much more.

The diversity of our nation’s school districts provides a significant opportunity for us to share innovative best practices that are working around this country. AASA can play a critical role in creating systems to share those best practices and ideas with each other. Additionally, through the use of social media and hashtags, we can engage and share with each other in real time.

I hope that, like me, you have found these programs and initiatives worthwhile. I truly believe this kind of engagement is essential as we forge ahead and pivot our association from celebrating AASA’s first 150 years to building the AASA of tomorrow upon the incredible foundation established by our predecessors.

That is why I am excited about this month’s National Conference on Education in Phoenix, Ariz., where the theme is Leading for Excellence.

AASA was very purposeful in setting the theme. As superintendents, we have the responsibility to stand up and champion our nation’s public schools and, working together, we will do just that.

We must continue to ensure that AASA members know that our association is a community of school leaders focused on America’s public schoolchildren because we have impact when we act with one voice.

Of course, this means we must find ways to transcend our daily management responsibilities to truly lead for excellence and share the many successes of today’s public schools.

We need to find ways to deal with the day-to-day minutia that finds its way to our desks and carve out time in our day to dream and then work to make those dreams come true.

As I’ve said before, we are the voice for the voiceless. We must find time to transcend, dream and lead. I have heard from many of you over the last several months about how you strive to accomplish this despite obstacles, uncertainty or unforeseen setbacks. I hope to hear from more peers in Phoenix and engage in genuine and authentic conversations around truly Leading for Excellence.

That is what the National Conference on Education is all about — connecting and building relationships to strengthen public education and creating a support network to help as we move forward.

If you are interested in continuing this conversation or providing a shout-out via Twitter to an AASA everyday hero or heroine in your region of the country, please use the hashtag #leadexcellence. I’ve enjoyed looking at these tweets over the last several months and reading about the innovative ways you all have led for excellence.