eSchool News | Superintendent's Center page 1

9 things superintendents can do to empower leadership

School leadership is never an easy task, and throwing in changing technology and the move to digital teaching and learning can prove challenging for even the best superintendents.

Experienced superintendents have said transforming a school district and heading into the digital age is less a sprint and much more a marathon of small, incremental steps leading to their ultimate goal.

Many agree that school improvement models should be shared across the globe to help other educators learn valuable lessons about how shared passions for education can lead to long-lasting, positive changes in schools.…Read More

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How to have a coach for every teacher, without breaking the bank

Every good athlete needs a coach to help them improve their practice, from student athletes to superstars like LeBron James and Serena Williams. This same principle can—and should—be applied to our teachers.

Teacher effectiveness is an essential factor to ensure that each student is achieving their highest potential in school. In my suburban Chicago district, Maine Township High School District 207, each and every one of our teachers receives coaching on a regular basis. In fact, this year’s seniors are the first class to go through a district where every teacher was coached every year.

Teachers Coaching Teachers…Read More

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Superintendents: The lessons we learned in 2016

[Editor’s note: This story is Part 1 of our 3-part series on Lessons Learned in 2016. Check back tomorrow for Lessons Learned by Principals.]

As 2016 drew to a close, we asked educators in variety of positions to reflect on what they have learned this year. Here, a quartet of superintendents offer thoughts on leadership, PBL, and the challenges of turning around schools and districts.

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19 new districts join League of Innovative Schools

A cohort of 19 new school districts have been accepted into the League of Innovative Schools, a national coalition of forward-thinking school districts organized by Digital Promise, an independent, bipartisan nonprofit organization authorized by Congress to accelerate innovation in education.

The League of Innovative Schools, launched in late 2011, accepts new members through an open application process once per year. Twenty-two districts were accepted last year. With the new members, the League now has a presence in 33 states, representing 3.3 million students. The full list of members can be found at digitalpromise.org/districts.

In addition to the 19 new members, several former members — Blue Valley USD 229, Bristol Township School District, Fulton County Schools, and Lexington County School District One — were re-admitted under new superintendents.…Read More

These 7 keys are helping one district better prepare its students

In any given third-grade classroom, you can find a student who is reading at a level far beyond their age, and another who is still working on letter recognition. How does a traditional classroom teacher with 25-30 kids manage such a wide range of students? As a district leader, how do I support our teachers and ensure that they are challenging students who are at a higher level while providing struggling students with proper support?

These are the tough questions I asked myself when taking over as superintendent of Maury County Schools in Tennessee in August 2015. Within the first few months, we ditched the old literacy model to adopt a project-based focus; deployed instructional coaches (without hiring anyone); and launched a top-down, district-level approach that quickly gained bottom-up buy-in through school and community support. We also implemented a differentiated literacy program and digital library that measures reading with reading—not quiz scores and points.

Creating the Keys to Success

In my first days as superintendent, I did what I called a “22in22 Tour” where I traveled to all 22 schools in my district in 22 days. I know from experience that the best leaders are the best listeners, so I made sure to take the time to hear what school leaders and classroom teachers had to say about Maury’s administrative approach. I heard loud and clear that there were issues of trust, lack of resources, switching initiatives on a dime, and a need for truly aligned and supportive professional development. That’s when I knew I had to eliminate the top-down approach that the district had taken in the past (and many districts employ) and go through a process to determine our Keys to Success.…Read More

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4 finalists vie for Superintendent of the Year

Winner will be announced in February at AASA conference

AASA, The School Superintendents Association, announced today the finalists for the 2016 National Superintendent of the Year. This marks the 29th anniversary of the program, which honors school system leaders throughout the country.

Co-sponsored by Aramark, VALIC and AASA, the 2016 National Superintendent of the Year will be announced at AASA’s National Conference on Education, Feb. 11-13, 2016, in Phoenix, Ariz.

The four finalists for the 2016 AASA National Superintendent of the Year are:…Read More

Future Ready update adds new resources and PD for leaders

Future Ready overhaul coincides with the new national ed-tech plan

Last Thursday, The United States Department of Education held an event at the White House unveiling the 2016 National Education Technology Plan and celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Future Ready initiative. There, along with several partner groups, they announced several new commitments and initiatives to help schools become more digitally capable.

The main theme of the event was connectivity, but that extends far beyond merely connecting students to technology. Instead, the idea of connectivity envisioned for the future is that technology will serve as a means to connect students to teachers, and allow all students to experience the same access to their interests regardless of demographics.

“There’s an answer for every challenge out there,” said Daryl Adams, Superintendent of the Coachella Valley Unified School District, who attended the event. “United in purpose and mission, we can do anything.”…Read More

Empowering superintendents in the digital age

Superintendents have a critical role in digital transformation

Superintendents lead. They are charged with preparing students to be college-, career-, and life-ready, and with enabling a 21st-century learning environment. Increasingly, this means leveraging digital technologies to create personalized learning opportunities.

As leaders, superintendents play an essential role as a catalyst for using technology to transform learning. In districts where superintendents have created a clear and compelling vision for technology, positive learning changes are occurring. In districts where the superintendent has abdicated that responsibility, technology is rarely scaled in a systemic manner.

Given the critical role of superintendents in leading the digital transformation, how do we support them in creating a robust learning environment? And how do we scale this so that all superintendents, not only the “tech savvy” ones, are moving in this direction?…Read More

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Superintendents push schools into the digital age

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Meet our 2014 Tech-Savvy Superintendent Award winners

eSchool Media announces eight winners of its 2014 Tech-Savvy Superintendent Awards

One is a former Gates Foundation executive whose district uses computer programming to teach essential math skills. Another has advised the Federal Communications Commission on digital textbook use. All are working to transform instruction from a passive activity to an active, more inquiry-based model that prepares students for success in a digital, information-based world.

Meet the winners of our 2014 Tech-Savvy Superintendent Awards, sponsored by Lenovo. Now in its 14^th year, the program honors the nation’s top K-12 superintendents who best exemplify outstanding leadership and vision in using technology to advance their district’s educational goals.

Chosen by the editors of eSchool News with help from last year’s winners, the 2014 superintendent honorees will be recognized in a series of live webinars in March. During these free webinars, scheduled for March 19th and March 26th at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time, senior-level executives from school districts nationwide will have a chance to hear from these eight winners and learn the keys to their ed-tech success.…Read More

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