Schuler, Incoming AASA Executive, Gives the Membership a Peek at His Organizational Ideas at 3rd General Session
David Schuler assumes the executive director’s job with AASA during the final week of February, but he had a chance to give the association’s membership a good sense of his thinking at the 3rd General Session of the 2023 AASA National Conference on Education. A full text of his address, provided in advance, appears below. […]
Volunteers by the Dozens Turn Out as Conference Volunteers for Blessings in a Backpack to Support 1,000 Local Children
It’s become annual ritual for the good-hearted volunteers who come to the AASA national conference, to take an hour out of their professional learning to stuff children’s backpacks with necessary items. The event, known as Blessings in a Backpack, drew several dozen conference participants Friday morning, where they filled 1,000 packs with school supplies for […]
Consensus Not Easy Between Superintendents and Their Boards, a Point Upon Which NSBA, AASA Executive Directors Concur
A good relationship between a public school superintendent and the school board can have a significant impact on the success of a school district. This partnership can create a collaborative environment that allows for effective decision-making, increased accountability and improved student outcomes. That was the takeaway from the Thought Leader Session at the AASA national […]
Joy and Unity Expressed Before Sellout Audience at Effie H. Jones Memorial Equity Luncheon
The words “joy,” “power” and “unity” echoed through the Dr. Effie Hall Jones Memorial Equity Lunch on Friday at AASA’s National Conference of Education in San Antonio. The annual event honors Jones, a teacher, counselor and school administrator for 15 years and an associate executive director at AASA, promoting the interests of minority educators, women […]
Odds and Ends About the Life of Kevin McGowan: School Mascots, Hair Donations, Favorite Books and a Go-To Snack
A few selected anecdotes and other briefs about the qualities that define Kevin McGowan, superintendent in Brighton, N.Y., and the newly named 2023 National Superintendent of the Year. Learning How to Be Culturally Responsive Mindful of his suburban school district’s diverse population, Kevin McGowan was proud that Brighton had added Eid-al-Fitr as an official holiday […]
Brighton, N.Y., Superintendent Selected as 2023 National Superintendent of the Year at AASA’s Conference in San Antonio
A suburban superintendent in upstate New York who has deftly handled recent challenges to the school district’s diversity, equity and inclusion work was named the 2023 National Superintendent of the Year at AASA’s National Conference on Education in San Antonio, Texas. Kevin McGowan, 48, is superintendent of the Brighton Central School District, a first-ring suburb […]
Profile of Kevin McGowan: A Considered Decision Maker in the Midst of Professional Challenges
As superintendent of the Brighton Central School District in Rochester, N.Y., Kevin McGowan is known for his strategic thinking, his willingness to listen to opposing viewpoints, his transparency and his calm leadership. He’s also known for his steadfast commitment to the belief he commonly shares that every single child matters: “Every child, every day, in […]
Alex Boyé, in Conference’s Opening Keynote: Change Your Words, Change Your Life in Positive Directions
Raised in a tough London neighborhood, Alex Boyé never thought he’d amount to anything. Being homeless after leaving an abusive relative’s house at the age of 16, he ate his dinner out of garbage cans. At that time, he began to realize that health, both physical and mental, isn’t about what you are eating, it’s […]
Bright Picture Sketched of AASA’s Presence During State-of-the-Association Presentation to Governing Board
AASA stands as a fiscally healthy and substantively robust organization, ready to tackle the challenges that lie ahead for public education and its leadership. That was the picture painted at Wednesday’s state-of-the-association presentation delivered to AASA’s Governing Board before the start of the 2023 National Conference on Education in San Antonio, Texas. David Schuler, who […]
Governing Board Weighs in with AASA’s Amended Stance on Parental Involvement and Holds Member Dues Steady for Next Year
Approximately 100 members of AASA’s Governing Board breezed through its meeting agenda in San Antonio, Texas, on Wednesday, adopting a revised new position statement on parental engagement in education and approving the association’s federal legislative agenda for the coming year. In its first of two meetings in 2023, the Governing Board also decided to hold […]