AASA Executive Director David Schuler used the 1st General Session of the 2025 National Conference on Education in New Orleans Thursday afternoon to unveil the association’s Public Education Promise, an initiative to help reclaim the narrative of public education’s indispensable place in the country’s democratic fabric.
Schuler, in his 20-minute stage presentation, said he hopes to raise the visibility of public education leaders’ commitment to providing every child with a quality and effective education that prepares them for college, career and life after school.
“Prioritizing access to high-quality public education always was, and always should remain, a bipartisan American value,” Schuler said during his announcement. “The people in this room work every day to prepare America’s children to graduate not only as good students, but as good citizens ready for a world that will transform itself multiple times throughout their lives.”
The Public Education Promise builds upon insights from the AASA Learning 2025 Network established in 2021. The new initiative introduces a practice-based framework that prepares schools and students for real life. Developed collaboratively with education, business, community and philanthropy leaders, the framework is built on five essential principles.
The five principles of the new framework are:
1. Prioritize student-centered learning;
2. Teach the new basics: Real skills for real life;
3. Attract, hire, retain and reward the best employees;
4. Build highly engaged family and community partnerships; and
5. Measure what matters.
“Each one is rooted in practice, and flexible enough to enable school leaders to lead in ways that are specific to your community context yet sturdy enough to prepare every child to thrive in futures we cannot yet imagine,” said Schuler about the principles of the new framework.
With the help of AASA’s partner, ThoughtExchange, the 1st General Session audience was invited to submit feedback in real-time, answering the following questions: Which principle resonates most for you and your district? What is most inspiring about the Public Education Promise?
By the time he moved on to his next point, the digital feedback tool recorded 1,041 brief responses from 1,141 participants.
Additional methods of providing feedback to AASA staff will be shared with members after the national conference.
Through a QR code displayed on the announcement slide, attendees were encouraged to sign-up to receive additional information.
(Elizabeth Serrano is AASA’s senior marketing manager.)
