Leadership

FETC 2025: Overcoming the hidden harm of ‘racial battle fatigue’

On FETC 2025’s Coach Leader Track, featured speaker and educational consultant Asia Lyons will shed light on a lesser-known and physically debilitating harm.

Parent engagement: How to build better partnerships

As confident as leaders may feel about spearheading new student success initiatives, assuming parent engagement is a given may be unwise.

Joy at school: How to make idealism a reality

The promise of joy in schools is not merely an idealistic dream. It’s a foundational element that drives our students’ academic success

DA names Superintendent of the Year and Districts of Distinction

Tony Watlington, leader of The School District of Philadelphia, was named Superintendent of the Year at this week's 2025 District Administration National Awards Program ceremony.

Superintendent of the year: 4 finalists announced for 2025

The finalists for 2025 Superintendent of the Year award from AASA, The School Superintendents Association hail from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida and Illinois.

Superintendents on the move: A look at the latest retirements

Superintendent turnover has been making headlines over the last few years. The good news is that superintendents on the move are most likely to leave of their own volition.

Most popular stories: Here is DA’s top 10 for 2024

Changes in presidential administrations always create some uncertainty in education and that became immediately evident in DA's most popular stories of 2024. 

Knowing thyself: K12 leadership styles through a football lens

The best leaders are those who know their strengths, embrace their team’s diversity and adapt their play to meet the moment. For the goal is never personal glory, but collective victory.

How to sync success with your school board, part one

Too often, school board members point their fingers away from themselves, says this school board member. It's time for leadership to point the finger inward and ask, "What can we do better?"

Superintendent Lauren Zirpoli: How to get off to a strong start

Lauren Zirpoli became a superintendent for the first time this spring. Here's how she hit the ground running.

School staffing: Are we in better shape heading into 2025?

The number of teaching positions in U.S. public schools is holding steady. But that doesn't mean school staffing pressures have vanished. 

On the move: The latest superintendent hires and promotions

Superintendents, like many others in the workforce, are often on the move. District Administration is maintaining a running list.

Shutting down schools is controversial. But is it common?

Two large districts scrapped controversial plans for shutting down schools, with the fallout costing one California superintendent his job.

FETC 2025: Reimagining time, space and pace in the classroom

The transformation is necessitated by technology—from the good old Internet to generative AI—that is making traditional teaching obsolete.

How E-Rate can fill ESSER’s gaps for technology services

Without pandemic relief, E-Rate, and a new federally funded pilot program for cybersecurity, can help districts sustain critical tech investments.

Public school enrollment: Are there warning signs in the latest numbers?

Public school enrollment dipped slightly in the most recent count and there are some bigger, long-term warning signs in the early grades.

FETC 2025 Preview: Maximize Your Experience! Swag, Sessions, Speakers, Social Events and More!

Date & Time: Tuesday, January 7th at 4 pm ET

Get ready to make the most of your time at the 2025 Future of Education Technology Conference (#FETC)! Join us for an engaging webinar hosted by featured FETC speakers, designed to help you unlock the full potential of your experience at the nation’s largest independent edtech event. Explore the infinite possibilities and opportunities to improve the future of teaching and learning through high-quality professional development in tailored tracks to personalize your experience.

Here is the No. 1 reason for superintendent turnover

The good news is that superintendents, in districts of all sizes, are most likely to leave of their own volition. 

School scheduling: 3 things every superintendent should know

Better schedules can be a major lever for improvement, simultaneously helping raise student achievement and lower costs.

Geothermal schools: K12 is now ideal for this tech

Geothermal energy systems use the soil, bedrock and groundwater under your school. Drilled wells allow heat exchange with the underground.

Superintendent Raymond Sanchez: Active listening is so important now

A superintendent's work is professional and personal for Raymond Sanchez, who leads the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns in the suburbs just north of New York City.

Election-related stress: How to help students manage anxiety

Students may still be experiencing heightened levels of election-related stress and anxiety as they process its outcomes and implications due to a non-stop, 24-hour news feed of information enabled by personal devices.

How a school shooting impacted this leader’s approach to safety

In 2004, former special education teacher Michael Bennett was the victim of a gunshot wound by a student. Twenty years later, he's prioritizing safety as a superintendent.

FETC 2025: How to return to relevance in the ‘era of distraction’

There are more effective ways of re-capturing your students’ attention than banning smartphones. As most educators know, engagement was a challenge prior to the arrival of Snapchat and TikTok.

Boiling point: How to predict the post-ESSER pressure cooker

While post-ESSER transition presents significant challenges, it also offers an opportunity for districts to reassess priorities and innovate.

Superintendent Renee Nugent: How to truly connect

The whiteboard in Superintendent Renee Nugent's office at USD 409 Atchison Public Schools reflects one of her top priorities: her schedule of school and classroom visits.

School boards: These topics were more in focus in 2024

At the top of the list are CTE and pre-K, two concepts at opposite ends of the K12 spectrum, according to the school data tracking firm Burbio.

K12 workforce building: The Times They Are a Changin’

School districts that emphasize inclusivity, mobility and flexibility build a stronger workforce and a culture centered on human needs.

Superintendent Darin Brawley: How to empower a rising school district

A skyrocketing number of Compton USD graduates are majoring in STEAM fields since Superintendent Darin Brawley made coding, robotics and esports key pillars of K12 instruction.

How this district improved graduation rates by 25 percent–and how you can, too

The Lansing School District has pioneered an intentional approach to boosting graduation rates. And here's the good news: It's seamlessly replicable.

Texas board advances plan to allow Bible material in elementary school lessons

The curriculum—designed by the state’s public education agency—would allow teachings from the Bible such as the Golden Rule and lessons from books such as Genesis into classrooms. Under the plan, it would be optional for schools to adopt the curriculum though they would receive additional funding if they did so.

Teacher pay: Bigger raises and better benefits will ease shortages

Teachers report that their pay grew over the last two school years. But the average raises fell far below the increases teachers desired, according to a new survey.

Reasons high school graduation rates are where they are

The majority of states had lower graduation rates in 2022 than they did before the pandemic. Here's why.

You may want to borrow this district’s successful smartphone rules

Many schools are enforcing strict policies that keep students from checking their smartphone throughout the entire school day. This superintendent is doing it a little differently.

FETC 2025: How to grow when things don’t go our way

A lot has changed, and a lot has stayed the same for educators since the turbulence of the COVID years, says FETC 2025 featured speaker and former superintendent Jill Siler.