Education Week Spotlights Work of 16 School District Leaders
Monday, February 4, 2013

Education Week introduces the first of what will be an annual Leaders To Learn From report--a way to recognize forward-thinking education leaders and share their ideas.

Contact: Debra Viadero, assistant managing editor

301-280-3122, dviadero@epe.org

Feb. 4, 2013 -- In an environment of tight resources, tough academic challenges, and increasingly stiff competition from new education providers, smart leadership may matter more than ever for the success of America’s school districts. Against this backdrop, Education Week introduces the first of what will be an annual Leaders To Learn From report—a way to recognize forward-thinking education leaders and share their ideas.

The importance of effective educational leadership goes almost without saying: Some research suggests leadership is second only to classroom instruction among all the school-related factors that contribute to student learning.

This 2013 report profiles 16 district-level leaders—superintendents, assistant superintendents, and others—who seized on creative but practical approaches and put them to work in their school districts. It tells the stories of problem-solvers who saw a need for change in some aspect of schooling in their communities, whether in English-language instruction, dropout reduction, instructional technology, or school construction, and found a way to carry it out.

To find these leaders, Education Week put out a call to readers for nominees, starting last June. Editorial staff also sought nominations from administrators’ groups in most of the 50 states, as well as from members of the Education Writers Association, a Washington-based organization that includes local education reporters around the country. Education Week’s own reporters identified leaders who are making their marks within the topical areas those reporters cover. Members of the editorial staff made the final selections.

The leaders featured in the inaugural issue include:

• An Ohio superintendent who drove a successful effort to move 16 low-performing schools out of “academic emergency” status;
• A Minnesota superintendent who spearheaded a push to more inclusively educate English-language learners;
• A technology specialist in Missouri who helped organize social-networking events to further teachers’ professional development; and,
• A district chief from upstate New York who recruited tuition-paying international students to keep his single school afloat.

A complete list of the featured profiles is attached. Urban districts, such as Boston and Baltimore, are represented. So, too, are Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, rural communities like Garrett, Ind., and Duplin County, N.C., and, Virginia’s Loudoun County, an upscale outer-ring suburb.

In addition to being featured in the report, which is scheduled to be published online Feb. 4 at edweek.org and in print Feb. 6, the leaders will be recognized in April at a forum in Washington, D.C., featuring U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

For more details, or to nominate a leader for next year’s edition, go to edweek.org/leaders. This link will be live on Feb. 4.

LEADERS TO LEARN FROM: A Look at Who’s Profiled

In its first annual Leaders to Learn From report, Education Week highlights innovative achievements of district-level administrators from school systems across the nation. The featured leaders are:

Jonathan Brice, officer of school support networks, Baltimore Public Schools: Brice was the engineer behind Baltimore superintendent Andres Alonso’s call to rethink the way the district disciplines its students.  The rate of out-of-school suspensions in that city dropped from one in five students to one in eight over three years.

Michele Brooks, assistant superintendent, office of family and student engagement, Boston Public Schools: Once a disgruntled parent, Brooks now leads efforts to engage Boston’s parents in their children’s learning.

Patricia Ciccone, retired superintendent, Connecticut State Technical High School System: Ciccone brought new attention to school-climate issues in her school system by piloting  a survey that is now used in schools statewide to take a pulse on how students feel about their schools.

Linda F. Hicks, superintendent, Battle Creek Schools, Mich.: By bolstering science, technology, engineering, and mathematics instruction in her school system, Linda Hicks hopes to enable her students to find jobs with the multinational food manufacturers and research facilities in and near Battle Creek.

Clark “Skip” Hults, superintendent, Newcomb Central School District, N.Y.: Hults revitalized and enriched his rural district by luring tuition-paying international students to study there. 

Daniel P. King, superintendent, Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District, Texas: On his watch, the district’s dropout rate has declined by nearly 90 percent with the creation of early-college high schools, a career academy, and an intensive dropout recovery effort that sent district staff door to door to bring back dropouts.

Austin Obasohan, superintendent, Duplin County Schools, Kenansville, N.C.: Obasohan is leading efforts to create a districtwide, early-college system in Duplin County and instill college ambitions in students as early as kindergarten.

Kyle Pace, instructional technology specialist, Lee’s Summit Schools, Mo.: Pace has become an expert at harnessing the power of social media to further teachers’ professional development.

Jeffrey K. Platenberg, former assistant superintendent, Loudoun County Public Schools, Ashburn, Va.: During his tenure, the school system build 13 new schools, renovated nine, and built five school additions---all while saving  money.

Mary Ronan, superintendent, Cincinnati Public Schools, Ohio: With guidance from the University of Virginia’s school turnaround program, Ronan moved all 16 of her district’s lowest-performing schools out of “academic emergency” status. 

Valeria Silva, superintendent, St. Paul Public Schools, Minn.: As the district’s former director of English-language-learner services, Silva dramatically transformed the district’s approach to teaching English-learners.

Steve A. Simmons III, director of transportation, Columbus Public Schools, Ohio: More efficient bus routes and technological devices that allow administrators to keep track of buses and students are among Simmons’ achievements.

Judy Sorrell, director, Shenandoah Valley Regional Program for Special Education, Fishersville, Va.: This longtime special educator has been a pioneer in her state for improving services to students with autism spectrum disorder and traumatic brain injuries.

Dennis Stockdale, superintendent, Garrett-Keyser-Butler-Community School District, Garrett, Ind.: Stockdale has figured out a way for all 1,875 students in his rural district to either have an iPad or a computer, and he’s making wireless access available  in students’ homes and after school hours in the community.

Cynthia Stevenson, superintendent, Jefferson County Public Schools, Colorado, and Kerrie Dallman, former president, Jefferson County Education Association: Faced with a 10 percent cut in the district budget,  Stevenson, Dallman, and other stakeholders worked together to negotiate $40 million in cuts upfront.

Education Week’s special Leaders To Learn From report will be posted online Feb. 4 at www.edweek.org. For more information on the report, contact project editor Debra Viadero at dviadero@epe.org.

Education Week has been American education’s newspaper of record since 1981. Published by Editorial Projects in Education (EPE), a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization based in Bethesda, Md., its print and online publications cover local, state, national, and international news and issues from preschool through the 12th grade. EPE also publishes the Quality Counts, Technology Counts, and Diplomas Count annual reports; Digital Directions magazine; the online Teacher, Digital Directions, and Industry & Innovation channels; and the TopSchoolJobs employment resource. It also provides research and analysis through the EPE Research Center.

This is a sponsored message, and does not necessarily represent the views of the Education Writers Association, its board of directors or its members.