Culminating Stage for ‘22 National Superintendent of the Year Dominated by Finalists from the South

Four superintendents from the South and Southwest are vying for the 2022 National Superintendent of the Year title, which will be announced at the 1st General Session of the AASA National Conference on Education in Nashville, Tenn. The announcement is expected from the stage of the Music City Center at about 5 p.m. Central Time […]
Eugene’s Balderas, a Migrant Laborer as a Youth, Named Nation’s Top Superintendent for 2020

A 52-year-old educator who spent his formative years as a migrant laborer with his Mexican parents in the Pacific Northwest has been named the 2020 National Superintendent of the Year in an announcement Thursday (Feb. 13) at the AASA national conference in San Diego, Calif.
Profile of Gustavo Balderas: From Humble Beginnings to a Professional Pinnacle

Gustavo Balderas, superintendent of Eugene Public School District 4J in western Oregon, is not about to get caught up in the “pobrecito syndrome.” That’s the term he uses to describe the “feel-sorry-for-him-or-her” syndrome. “Kids just want to learn, and you need to have high expectations for all kids,” Balderas says. “You need to love them to death, but we need to have a high bar.”
Odds and Ends About Gustavo Balderas

A collection of short takes on what defines Gustavo Balderas of Eugene, Ore., newly named National Superintendent of the Year for 2020.
Video: Gustavo Balderas on His ‘Humbling Honor’ as 2020’s Top Superintendent (2:51)

In this short video (2:51), Gustavo Balderas, superintendent of Eugene School District 4J in Eugene, Ore., delivered remarks upon accepting the 2020 AASA National Superintendent of the Year award at the AASA conference’s 1st General Session in San Diego on Feb. 13. For more information, visit www.aasa.org.
Champions for Equity to Receive Effie Jones Humanitarian Award

Steven T. Webb, superintendent of Vancouver Public Schools, and the late Joe A. Hairston, former associate professor at Howard University and co-founder of the AASA/Howard University Urban Superintendents Academy, will be recognized as Dr. Effie H. Jones Humanitarian Award recipients at the 1st General Session of the AASA national conference in San Diego on Thursday, Feb. 13.
National Superintendent of Year Finalists Hail from Georgia, New York, Oregon and Virginia
The 2020 National Superintendent of the Year® will be announced at the AASA national conference’s 1st General Session on Thursday afternoon, Feb. 13, in San Diego.
Video: Meet the Finalists for 2020 National Superintendent of the Year (2:17)

Each of the four finalists for National Superintendent of the Year attribute this recognition, in a two-minute video, to the hard work being carried out by educators in their respective school districts. The finalists for the 2020 award are Gustavo Balderas (Eugene School District 4J, Eugene, Ore.); Samantha Fuhrey, Newton County School System (Covington, Ga.); Michael Nagler (Mineola Public Schools, Mineola, N.Y.); and Jeffery Smith (Hampton City Schools, Hampton, Va.). The 2020 National Superintendent of the Year will be announced on Thursday afternoon, Feb. 13, at AASA’s National Conference on Education in San Diego, Calif.
Two-Decade Army Vet Crowned 2019 National Superintendent of the Year®

Curtis L. Jones Jr., who spent the first 20 years of his professional life serving in the U.S. Army before taking on public school leadership in Georgia, was named the 2019 National Superintendent of the Year®.
5th Leader in District’s 7 Years but 1st in the Nation: Profile of National Superintendent of Year®

When business leader Roy Bibb sat down for lunch with the new leader of the Bibb County School District in Macon, Ga., he wasn’t sure what to expect. After all, Curtis L. Jones Jr. had spent 20 years as an Army officer, topping out at lieutenant colonel, before embarking on a new career in public education.