By Rui Dionisio, Ed.D.
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller
Welcome to the first in a series of daily blog posts covering the highly anticipated AASA National Conference on Education 2025 in historic New Orleans. Our collective learning has a profound impact, uniting diverse views and providing a platform to share successes, challenges, and innovative solutions. I am thrilled to collaborate with colleagues, share insights, and enhance our leadership.
Purpose-driven leaders work with others to create environments where teachers and students can flourish. Our time together promises to be a gathering and a testament to our shared commitment to reimagining how we serve our students and communities. Each of us plays a crucial role in this mission as part of this collective.
The greatest challenge facing education today isn't about test scores or technology but student well-being. We're in the midst of an unprecedented mental health crisis in our schools. This situation demands not just our attention but our immediate and complete reimagining of how we support our students. The data tells us what we already know: our children are struggling, and the old ways of doing things aren't enough anymore.
As a conference blogger and a panel speaker, I have the privilege of learning together and sharing this adventure with you. A key question, and the lens through which I am approaching this conference, is why our methods for student mental health should change. Each child undeniably deserves to feel completely safe, fully supported, and capable of achieving their full potential.
Our schools have become the most critical front line in the perpetual battle for total student wellness; this is not because we purposefully selected this challenging role but because all our surrounding communities need us to step up bravely. We are seeing many calls for help from young people who deeply trust us to make a significant difference, not simply observing a few statistics, whenever we observe persistent chronic absenteeism accompanied by markedly escalating behaviors coupled with dramatically increasing anxiety in addition to deep depression.
Our panel session, “Confronting the Student Mental Health Crisis: Establishing Sustainable Support Systems in Schools,” isn't just about solutions—it's about transformation. We'll explore how to build Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) that last beyond any single funding cycle or initiative. The real question isn't how we'll fund these programs—it's how we can afford not to prioritize our students' mental health.
The infinite game of education requires leaders who understand that our work isn't about quick fixes – it's about creating sustainable systems that serve our students long after we're gone. As COVID relief funds sunset across the country, we're facing a funding challenge and an opportunity to reimagine how we allocate resources to match our values.
This conference represents our chance to unite, share our struggles and successes, and build something more significant than we could create alone. Through sessions on equity, learning redesign, and future-driven strategies, we'll explore what we do and why we do it.
I invite you to join me through daily blog posts as we explore these crucial conversations at AASA NCE 2025. The future of education isn't just about what happens in our classrooms—it's about how we come together to serve the greater purpose of nurturing the next generation.
We are creating schools where every student can thrive mentally, emotionally, and academically.
Follow along for insights, updates, and reflections throughout the conference as we work together to build that future.
