Thought Leader Sessions

These sessions are large-format educational sessions that touch on some of the most critical topics in the public education field.

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All times are Central Standard Time (CST)

9 – 10AM

Leading Through the Noise: Navigating Perception and Building Trust

Martin W. Essex Memorial Session

As public education leaders, we are navigating a world where algorithms amplify division and public perception can shift with a single headline. The landscape demands more than vision—it requires strategic engagement and communication that defuses landmines, counters misinformation, and builds trust amid rising polarization.

In this Thought Leader Session, AASA (Chief Leadership & Learning Officer) Kristine Gilmore and Superintendent Matthew Montgomery will share strategies for cutting through the noise to create consensus and clarity. Participants will explore how intentional communication and engagement can unify diverse voices, position schools as community anchors, and ensure every decision is rooted in student success.

Building Highly Effective Leadership Pipelines

Research supported by the Wallace Foundation shows that comprehensive, aligned leadership pipelines result in improved student outcomes. The pipelines were “comprehensive” because they covered a wide-ranging set of actions school districts could take to develop and support effective school leadership. Actions include Rigorous leader standards, High-quality pre-service preparation, Selective hiring and placement, Apt on-the-job evaluation and mentoring, Principal supervision focused on helping principals grow, A data system to track the qualifications and progress of principals and candidates, and Mechanisms for sustaining the pipeline. This session will highlight the research by Vanderbilt University and a multi-year effort to build and sustain the leadership pipeline in Metro Nashville Schools.

Sponsored by:

10:15 – 11:15AM

Intersection of Student Health and Achievement and Success

As budgets shrink and achievement stalls, what levers work have the greatest impact on student learning and success? Hear from superintendents and national experts on the intersection of student health and achievement. Learn what your districts can do to support student well-being and reach your strategic goals.

Sustaining Principal Pipelines

How do districts create principal pipelines that last in the face of change and uncertainty? By thinking long-term from the start of planning. Wallace-sponsored research by Vanderbilt University and Policy Studies Associates offers an “Implementing for Sustainability” framework. This session will provide guidance for districts who want to incorporate sustainability as an early and ongoing part of developing principal pipelines. The framework in this report identifies four dimensions, districts can use when planning for long-lasting pipelines: Ensuring strategic alignment through vision and policy; Communicating clarity in Intent through social and organizational awareness; Aligning institutional elements and supports through people and resources; and Maintaining priority (of pipelines) through culture, stakeholder engagement, and evaluation.

Sponsored by:

12:45 – 1:45PM

Priority One: Student Centered Learning

Prioritizing student-centered learning is not about adding more; it’s about aligning what we already do to the outcomes we value most. When classrooms and support services point to the Portrait, when professional learning gives teachers practical strategies to teach and assess durable skills within content, and when evidence of learning is transparent and meaningful, student time is well spent. Prioritizing student learning means designing experiences around each learner’s strengths, needs, and aspirations. This session spotlights districts in which Student-Centered Learning is being implemented at scale.

2:15 – 3:15PM

Building Capacity for Political Leadership

Political leadership is a central part of the superintendent’s job, especially today. But too often our political leadership skills are under-developed. In this session, members of the Collaborative on Political Leadership in the Superintendency will share what we are learning about the proactive political leadership skills necessary to navigate change in a complex environment and how to develop these skills on the job. Specifically, we’ll share a set of new tools we have recently developed and piloted with a focus on a new online simulation for superintendents, several new teaching cases, and our field book for superintendentsâ€“ all aligned with our research-based framework on political leadership. We’ll also share some highlights from our new HGSE institute on the subject. In this session, we will showcase the tools, practice using them, and share with superintendents and those who support superintendents how to use them within their own teams, networks and communities of practice.

Societies Change – The Need for Skills Remains

The great pyramid of Giza was constructed thousands of years ago and stood as the world’s tallest human-made structure for about 4000 of those years. The pyramids were constructed before modern technologies. Fast forward to modern wonders—the internet, i-Phones, and tomorrow’s invention. What skills do you think humans used to accomplish these breakthroughs? Did they need to have Self-Control? Think Critically? Problem Solve? Demonstrative Cognitive Flexibility? Communicate and Collaborate Effectively? Set Goals and Take on Challenges? Understand the Perspective of Others? Accept Risks and Challenges with a Possibilities Mindset? These essential skills are foundational in brain development and transcend time. They have proven time and again to contribute to the success and advancement of humankind. Join our cast of presenters from coast to coast in thought and action, as we equip our students and adults with “real skills for real life.”

All times are Central Time (CT)

8 – 9AM

Keeping the Promise: Leading with Vision, Courage and Commitment

Public education holds a unique promise: to prepare every child for a future filled with possibility regardless of their zip code. At a time of both challenge and opportunity, district leaders are called to lead with vision, courage and commitment. This session will explore the principles of the Public Education Promise, share stories of how leaders are living this work in their districts, and offer practical strategies to align systems around what matters most. Attendees will leave inspired and equipped with ideas to strengthen their own leadership practice and to connect with peers who are advancing this movement nationwide.

11:15AM – 12:15PM

The People Principle

The People Principle involves attracting, retaining, growing and rewarding the best staff. Hear in this session how Superintendents in different sized school systems are building their own leaders, resulting in a deep bench of educators to serve their schools.

Summer Learning and Student Success: Lessons From the Field

Braiding findings from research and superintendent practice, this panel will bring the latest in summer learning and engagement. Learn how enhancing summer is helping districts reach strategic goals.

Sponsored by:

12:45 – 1:45PM

Why Rural Matters: From Data to Advocacy for Your District

Rural leaders are being asked to do more with less while state and federal policy debates often ignore rural reality. This session connects the dots. Dr. Karen Eppley will walk through the newest Why Rural Matters findings — what the data actually say about rural students, staffing, funding, and outcomes. Dr. Melissa Sadorf will translate that data into practical advocacy moves you can make right now: how to frame need without deficit messaging, how to defend critical programs, and how to position your district as essential to your state’s future, not an afterthought.

Measuring What Matters

Ever wonder what schools would look like if we provided students with feedback on becoming better learners, instead of just feedback on what they did or didn’t learn? Is it possible that achievement and success might increase if students understood how brains work and developed the skills that foster learning, in addition to becoming consumers of information? It is more than possible, it’s a fact! Neuroscientists and researchers have consistently found that students who develop better executive function skills are more successful than those who don’t. For educators, this research makes sense: Students need to have self-control, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and reflection to thrive academically and have better mental health. What doesn’t make sense is the long lag between what we know and what we do. In addition, there aren’t many tools for measuring what matters, both for educators and for students. Join us in thought and action as we review how to measure executive function and grow our learners.

2:30 – 3:30PM

Effective Instructional Designs, Instructional Strategies and Student Assessments — A Road Map for Successful Future-Focused Districts

Cutting-edge districts are emerging that are lighting the path for how to address the challenges (and opportunities) that all school systems are grappling with. Students today have grown up in a screen-based environment, and have skills, expectations, and talents that are increasingly inconsistent with our existing instructional programs. The rapid emergence of AI in society and the workplace requires a skill set that is similarly mismatched with those traditionally offered by K-12 education, further widening the gap between what students need to be successful and what they are receiving. Factor in constant fiscal challenges and politically polarized communities, and it is easy for educators to become overwhelmed, unsure of how to begin to turn the ship around.

This presentation will provide specific examples of how these trailblazing districts have adapted their systems and instructional programs to position themselves—and, most importantly, their students—for success in a changing society and workplace. Aligned with AASA’s Public Education Promise, the presenters will discuss how successful districts have created a culture that supports needed changes, as well as the transformation of their instructional design, instructional strategies, and student assessments so that their students are learning real skills for real life.

3:45 – 4:45PM

Leading Through Connection: Scaling Impact via Strategic Partnerships

Join three visionary superintendents to explore building and sustaining powerful family, community, and business ecosystems. This session shares proven frameworks for deep stakeholder engagement that drives student success and district stability.

Key Takeaways:

Authentic Family Advocacy: Shifting from communication to true partnership.
Civic & Business Alignment: Leveraging industry to expand student opportunities.
Sustainability: Maintaining community momentum through leadership transitions.

Page Last Updated: March 17, 2026.