Leaders Matter Talking Points

• AASA’s Leaders Matter campaign brings to the forefront powerful contributions being made every day by the outstanding men and women charged with leading our school districts. The campaign also shines a spotlight on the high-performing districts themselves and what they mean to their communities. The objective of this campaign is to document and disseminate how the work of superintendents is essential to securing and sustaining student learning.

• The superintendency is one of the toughest jobs in America. It’s not enough to be a good manager. A superintendent also has to be an education thought leader, politician, financial wizard and best friend to each of his/her Board members. A superintendent has the awesome responsibility of keeping children and staff safe in this environment of violence and terrorism all while raising student-academic achievement outcomes.

• Some of the focus points of the campaign will be to feature district leaders who have: testified before Congress on key education policy matters; held instrumental roles through AASA leadership programs (i.e. Digital Consortium, Personalized Learning Cohort, Urban Academies, etc.); served as ambassadors for equity, health care, school discipline, school breakfast and other key elements that comprise the “total child.”

• The campaign will concentrate on the accounts of superintendents with a demonstrated record of leading student learning resulting in high performing school districts. While some of these accounts of effective leadership already exist, it is the intention of this initiative to further document and disseminate how the work of superintendents is essential to securing and sustaining student learning.

• A school district can only be as strong as its leader. AASA’s Leaders Matter campaign highlights the solutions being developed and carried out by a superintendent that have a direct impact on the students’ learning and growing in that district and the community in which the district is located.

• We need the help of educators, local business and community leaders, parents and the media throughout our communities to help lead, shape and grow the broad dialogue to support public education. This campaign is designed to highlight the success stories being generated by public school districts across the country.

• Public education is the bedrock of America. As our superintendents succeed, so too will our public schools. As our public schools succeed, so too will our students. The success of future leaders of this great country critically depends on the support given to public education by our community and other like-minded communities from coast to coast.