Election season is in full swing—and the future of American education is on the ballot.
In addition to the U.S. presidential race, an analysis by the Education Commission of the States shows 11 states will hold gubernatorial races, nine states will elect members of their state boards of education, and four states will pick their next education chief. Moreover, voters will fill seats in 42 Senate chambers, 43 House chambers and the unicameral Nebraska State Legislature. All of these positions have influence on our students, families, and educators.
Ahead of this pivotal–and often polarizing–election, we sat down with a diverse group of the nation’s top female education leaders to understand what makes them hopeful for education in America. Here’s what they said.
‘If you take a moment and look at children, you can’t help but be optimistic’
Kyla Johnson-Trammel, superintendent of Oakland Unified School District, didn’t hesitate when asked about what gives her hope for the future. “It’s our kids, right?” she quipped.
She praised the ingenuity she observes from students in her school district. “Part of what pushes me to be on my game is the level of innovation they are bringing into the classroom. I always joke that our kids are five times ahead of us in terms of artificial intelligence. They’re already using many of these tools. We need to catch up.”
Penny Schwinn, a former state commissioner of education in Tennessee who is now vice president for PK-12 and pre-bachelor’s programs at the University of Florida, agreed: “Their curiosity, their wonder, the way they explore and interact with each other. If you take a moment and look at children, you can’t help but be optimistic.”
“Whenever I’m having a bad day, people think you go to kindergarten to see all the little smiles, and I do, and I love that, but I love nothing better than going to the high school,” said Kathleen Skeals, superintendent of North Colonie Central School District in New York. “They give me such faith in the future. They are hyper-aware of the issues in the world, but they want to make a difference.”
This is especially true of the young women, Seals said. “I’m amazed at how often the leaders are now our girls, which I don’t think was true years ago. They are running all the organizations. They are showing up. They are asking the hard questions. And I’m so proud of them for using their voice.”
‘People want to do better’
Julia Rafal-Baer, CEO of Women Leading Ed and ILO Group, said strong leadership makes her hopeful for the future of education.
“I really believe that people want to do better,” she said. “When you can show them how to do better and to give them that support, both in big and small ways, then we can see tremendous progress.”
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Rafal-Baer has seen this first-hand in her work to support female educators to fill leadership positions in school districts and state education agencies.
“Six years ago, I had a dozen women in the room, and at that time, only 23% of those women were stepping into a superintendent search versus 86% of the men,” she recalled. “Within two years, the women were surpassing the men in the percent of placements and equaled the men in the percent going into those top jobs.”
‘We’re in a period of change’
New technology, like artificial intelligence, also holds promise for the future of education, said Carolyne Quintana, former deputy chancellor of teaching and learning for New York City Public Schools.
“We are in a period of change,” Quintana said. “Technology … is going to bring in new tools and resources and help automate some of our work.”
This shift means education leaders have an opportunity to think about their roles differently, she said. “We’re returning to thinking about teaching and learning in a way that is grounded in deeper learning. What does it mean to really build hands-on experiential work for students to prep them for the world beyond high school? What does it mean to make sure that every teacher and leader knows how to take care of a student socio-emotionally within the academic spaces? What does it mean to really learn to communicate with one another? We have to return to this type of teaching and learning if technology is going to do so much more of what is rote for us.”
‘With strong education comes opportunity’
Shanie Keelean, deputy superintendent of Rush-Henrietta Central School District in New York, and Mary-Anne Sheppard, executive director of leadership development for Executive Director of Norwalk Public Schools in Connecticut, agreed they feel excited and hopeful about the opportunities and choices available to students.
“No matter your zip code, no matter where you live, no matter where you come from, you should be given the opportunity to make the decision for yourself when you exit 12th grade on what you want to do and how you want to be successful and flourish and thrive,” said Keelean.
Sheppard echoed that sentiment: “With a strong education comes opportunity. Education is a way we can support our students as they develop to be able to make choices about their life and to feel empowered.”
“I know that kids are graduating with choice and that all kids are being served,” added Kimberley James, superintendent of Willis Independent School District in Texas. “That to me is so impactful and that is how I know that we’re gonna be OK.”
Interviews were conducted by Presence, a provider of special education-related and mental health assessments and teletherapy services for K12 schools, as part of its Visionary Voices video series. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.
