SUPPORT

Featured Wellness Tip

AASA and Sourcewell Present Helping Kids Mini Grant Program

AASA is looking for applications to the 2023 Helping Kids Mini Grant Program. The focus of the program this year is a continuation of AASA’s Live Well. Lead Well. initiative.

AASA launched the Live Well. Lead Well. initiative as a result of the many challenges that have arisen since February 2020, which made the Superintendent’s job even harder than it already is. AASA recognizes that if you aren’t living well, you can’t lead well.

In partnership with Sourcewell, a total of $40,000 in grants will be given in 2023 to 16 AASA member public school districts ($2,500 each) who will use the funds to promote healthy students, staff, and/or buildings.

AASA is accepting applications through 11:59pm PT on Sunday, November 13, 2022. Winners will be announced on January 5, 2023.

APPLY TODAY

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Videos & Webinar Recordings

Upcoming Events

Save the Date: 2023 AASA National Conference on Education | February 16-18 | San Antonio, TX

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Podcasts

Thank you to our Live Well. Lead Well. partners for their continued support.

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HOPE

• Inspirational Stories of Hope Coming Soon

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APPRECIATION

Thankful for YOU
School leaders make an immense impact on many lives every single day. Below are just a few of the countless stories of gratitude from AASA staff members for our nation's champions of children.

Thank You, School Leaders!

"One of my favorite things about superintendents is how few of them started out wanting to be a superintendent. They started as educators at heart,  reached into administration as they saw an opportunity or a need for leadership, and stepped up to answer that call. It's that type of response—leaning into the need—that makes working with and for superintendents so special. And in the context of the last 20 months, where the pressures were exponential, it was amazing to see grace under pressure and the ability to evolve as our understanding of COVID shifted and changed."

"When I started working at AASA I knew very little about the job of a superintendent. I just kind of assumed public education and those involved meant teachers, principals, parents and students. Over the past 20 years as an AASA staff member, I’ve grown to appreciate just how much a superintendent does to positively impact not only the staff in their district, but parents, students and their overall community alike. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting so many of them over the years and one thing is clear: All of them have an incredible dedication to educating and helping kids. So many of them have expressed that they knew it was “their calling”. They began as a teacher and moved into a leadership role because they saw the impact being a superintendent could have. I think what they do is incredible. And I am humbled to be able to support them through the work we do at AASA."

Ann Levett, superintendent, Savannah-Chatham Schools

Ann Levett's steadfast focus on providing access and opportunity for all students to be aware of, strive toward, and attain meaningful post secondary options has resulted in >90% graduation rate with a plethora of apprenticeships and other job-embedded experiences. Savannah's youth are empowered to strive toward viable careers through the work of Dr. Levett and her team. 

Doug Wheeler, superintendent, College Community School District (IA)

Marlon Styles, superintendent, Middletown City School District (OH)

Susan Enfield, superintendent, Highline Public Schools (WA)

I cannot think of one person who doesn't admire the work that Susan Enfield has done in her district which sits just outside of Seattle, Wash. It was a pleasure to attend the Digital Consortium a few years ago in which her district hosted. During a visit to one high school, there were Boeing 747 jet planes in the parking lot. At this school, scores of students are studying aeronautics and will someday become airline pilots, mechanics, etc. When I received media requests from journalists, I know they were always get a good story by interviewing Susan. 

Jay Curtis, superintendent, Schools in Park County School District One (WY)

 

Luvelle Brown, superintendent, Ithaca City School District (NY)

Author of the "Culture of Love," Luvelle is the co-chair of AASA's Equity in Action Cohort. He is the superintendent of New York's Ithaca City School District. I met him in 2019 when he was a keynote speaker at AASA's SEL Cohort meeting. In short, he was amazing. "I survived that dirt road," he said. Born in 1974, he grew up on a dirt road in central Virginia. Nearly a dozen other African American boys were also born in the same rural neighborhood. Of the nearly dozen, Luvelle is only one alive today. "I survived high school because I became strategically compliant," he said. "I'm only here because of the love I received at home. That magic allowed me to survive situations that involved young people who looked like me who were growing up in poverty who didn't survive." 

 

I admire many AASA superintendent members for their love and dedication to public schools, children and their communities. I especially wish to highlight Katrise Perera and Susan Enfield for their exemplary women leadership nationwide. I had the privilege to work with both of them in the Social Media Lounge at various National Conferences on Education, and I have always admired their knowledge, expertise and willingness to support other leaders like them. 

Have a story of appreciation for a school leader? Show your support and submit your story here.

Follow AASA and #AASALiveWellLeadWell on social media for the latest updates, resources and conversations.

We Want to Hear from You
What more can AASA do to support you? What types resources would you like to see? Have any advice for other school leaders?
Submit your feedback here. 

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