Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - S3

2013 Lessons From District Leaders
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 forwardthinking 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 schoolrelated factors that contribute to student learning. Leaders To
Learn From aims to draw attention to the importance of good
leadership and spread the word on strategies and tactics from
leaders in some of the nation’s 14,000-plus districts that others
may want to adopt or adapt.
This 2013 report profiles 16 district-level leaders—
superintendents, assistant superintendents, and others, including
a union president—who seized on creative but practical
approaches and put them to work in their school districts.
To help find these leaders, Education Week put out a call
to readers for nominees, starting last June. We also sought
nominations from the leaders of 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 a mark within the topical areas they cover. Members
of the editorial staff made the final selections. (To make a
nomination for the 2014 edition, go to www.edweek.org/
leaders/nominate or send an email to leaders@epe.org.)
The leaders featured here include an Ohio superintendent who

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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 Englishlanguage 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 help
keep his single school afloat.
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.
While some of the leaders profiled are nationally known for
their accomplishments within their own slices of the education
world, they are not the high-profile superintendents who most
typically make headlines. In fact, only nine are superintendents;
the rest have worked most of their careers just below the public
radar, as directors of special education or transportation, for
example.
One common characteristic among the group is that most of
them have long-standing ties to the communities they serve.
Another connection is that all had a clear vision of how they
wanted to improve their districts or areas of responsibility,
and they followed through on it. As Theodore Hesburgh, the
president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, has said,
“The very essence of leadership is you have to have a vision.”
“It’s got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully
on every occasion,” he added. “You can’t blow an uncertain
trumpet.”
Within their school systems, these leaders have blown some
strong, clear notes.
—The Editors

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES

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DROPOUT REDUCTION

Daniel P. King

ENGLISH-LEARNER EDUCATION

Valeria Silva

SCHOOL TURNAROUNDS

Mary Ronan

TRANSPORTATION

Steve A. Simmons III
RURAL ENROLLMENT

Clark Hults

SPECIAL EDUCATION

Judy Sorrell

DISTRICT-UNION PARTNERSHIP

Cynthia M. Stevenson
& Kerrie Dallman
PARENT ENGAGEMENT

Michele Brooks
SCHOOL CLIMATE

Patricia A. Ciccone
COLLEGE READINESS

Austin Obasohan
DIGITAL ACCESS

Dennis Stockdale
SOCIAL NETWORKING

Kyle Pace

STUDENT DISCIPLINE

Jonathan Brice
SMART GROWTH

Jeffrey K. Platenberg
STEM EDUCATION

Linda S. Hicks
COVER PHOTOS BY:

Jenn Ackerman; Heather Ainsworth;
Nathan W. Armes; Joshua A. Bickel;
Christopher Capozziello; Sara D. Davis;
Matt Eich; Ryan Henriksen; Lisa Krantz;
Rick Lohore; Charlie Mahoney; Swikar Patel;
Matt Roth; Stephen Voss; Brian Widdis

READ THE DIGITAL EDITION: The interactive version of this report
includes linked resources and options for sharing content.

www.edweek.org/go/leaders-download

Videos

Jenn Ackerman for Education Week

Five leaders featured in this report describe in
interviews their leadership models and the
strategies they use to achieve school- and
district-level goals. The leaders featured
represent districts large and small, urban,
suburban, and rural: St. Paul Minn.; Newcomb,
N.Y.; Jefferson County, Colo.; Columbus, Ohio;
and Pharr-San Juan-Alamo, Texas.
http://www.edweek.org/go/leaders-videos

www.wallacefoundation.org/

Valeria Silva, the
superintendent of the
St. Paul, Minn., public
schools, visits with
children at a communityoutreach event in January.

LEADERS TO LEARN FROM was produced with support from The Wallace Foundation. The New York City-based foundation helps
underwrite coverage of leadership, extended and expanded learning time, and arts learning in Education Week.
LEADERS TO LEARN FROM

> www.edweek.org/go/leaders-report
EDUCATION WEEK

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February 6, 2013

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Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report