Meet the Leaders Special Report

2022 EdWeek Leaders To Learn From

Recognizing excellence in school district leadership

We are excited to reveal our 2022 honorees. These innovative district leaders showed resiliency and fortitude as they found ways to support students and families during a year of continued disruption.

Meet the 2022 Leaders

Families & the Community Leader To Learn From Philadelphia Leader Brings a Bold Approach to Family Engagement
Jenna Monley has launched bold new parent-engagement programs, while also honing a time-honored strategy: listening.
Evie Blad
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9 min read
Jenna Monley, deputy chief of family and community engagement at Philadelphia Public Schools, stands for a portrait in downtown Philadelphia on December 15, 2021.
Jenna Monley has bolstered family engagement in the school district by improving communications, creating avenues for parents to work with teachers, and giving the community forums to air problems.
Michelle Gustafson for Education Week
School & District Management Leader To Learn From A Finance Officer Who Anticipates the Worst and Plans for the Best
In the Cleveland district, chief financial officer Derek Richey connects his work directly to what’s happening in classrooms.
Mark Lieberman
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9 min read
Derek Richey, the chief financial officer in the Cleveland school district, helps 4th grade student Kevin Bonner with an art project during art class at Memorial School.
Derek Richey, the chief financial officer in the Cleveland school district, helps 4th grade student Kevin Bonner with an art project at Memorial School.<br/>
Dustin Franz for Education Week
Families & the Community Leader To Learn From Using the Power of Language to Serve Students and Families
Marifer Sager has made language translation services in the Portland, Ore., district more accessible, timely, and relevant.
Madeline Will
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11 min read
Marifer Sager, manager of the Language Access Services Department for Portland Public School in Portland, Ore.
Marifer Sager goes beyond language translation to create multilingual tools and supports for families in the Portland, Ore., district.
Leah Nash for Education Week
School & District Management Leader To Learn From Health Care Was Hard to Come By. So This Superintendent Stepped Up
Ben Thigpen, the superintendent in rural Jones County, N.C., launched a telehealth program to improve medical care for students and staff.
Elizabeth Heubeck
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8 min read
Ben Thigpen, the superintendent of the Jones County school district in rural North Carolina, started a telemedicine program in partnership with East Carolina University to provide acute minor medical care and mental health and nutrition counseling to students and staff.
Ben Thigpen, the superintendent of the Jones County school district in rural North Carolina, partnered with East Carolina University to bring a telehealth program that provides acute minor medical care and mental health and nutrition counseling to the district's students and staff.
Alex Boerner for Education Week
Equity & Diversity Leader To Learn From As Students, They Felt Disconnected. As Leaders, They Champion Equity
The superintendent and chief academic officer in Hartford, Conn., are creating a system that centers the needs of students and families.
Andrew Ujifusa
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10 min read
Madeline Negrón, the chief academic officer for the Hartford public schools, (left), and Leslie Torres-Rodriguez, the superintendent, in the Student Success Center at Hartford Public High School on Dec. 20, 2021.
Madeline Negrón, the chief academic officer for the Hartford public schools, left, and Leslie Torres-Rodriguez, the superintendent, launched the Student Success Center at Hartford Public High School to help students get back on track to graduate.
Christopher Capozziello for Education Week
School & District Management Leader To Learn From Their N.C. School District Was Pandemic-Ready. Here’s Why
The Union County district went big on technology training, tutoring, and mental health supports before the pandemic.
Alyson Klein
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10 min read
Casey Rimmer, left, is the director of innovation and ed-tech for the Union County School District in North Carolina. She's helped both staff and students navigate the glut of tech tools and applications that became a part of daily life during the pandemic. Andrew Houlihan, right, is the superintendent in Union County and developed a high-dosage tutoring strategy to combat student learning loss. Pictured here on Dec. 16, 2021.
Casey Rimmer, left, and Andrew G. Houlihan have kept Union County, N.C., steps ahead of the pandemic's disruption. Rimmer, an innovation and ed-tech leader, helped staff and students navigate the glut of tech tools that became a part of daily life, while Houlihan, the superintendent, developed a tutoring model to bolster academics.
Alex Boerner for Education Week
School & District Management Leader To Learn From A DIY Approach to Boost STEM Engagement in Rural Schools
Arkansas educator's technology integration and mobile STEM lab offer students better access during remote instruction and beyond.
Sarah D. Sparks
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8 min read
Susan Gilley, the executive director of federal programs and instructional technology for the Harrison Public Schools in Harrison, Ark., created the GOBSmobile, a mobile learning library and STEM lab for students.
Susan Gilley, the executive director of federal programs and instructional technology for the Harrison Public Schools in Harrison, Ark., created the GOBSmobile, a mobile learning library and STEM lab for students.
Liz Sanders for Education Week
School & District Management Leader To Learn From Reinventing the School Librarian's Role: How a NYC Library Director Adapted to Change
When schools moved online at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, librarians had to learn quickly new ways to support teachers and students.
Sarah D. Sparks
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7 min read
Melissa Jacobs, the director of library services for the New York City school system, takes a breather at the Murry Bergtraum High School Campus Library.
Melissa Jacobs, the director of library services for the New York City school district, at the Murry Bergtraum High School Campus Library.
Michael Kirby Smith for Education Week
Student Well-Being Leader To Learn From How Putting Students’ Welfare First Can Transform a District
For Lateshia Woodley, a relentless focus on supporting students facing trauma comes from her own lived experience.
Eesha Pendharkar
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9 min read
Lateshia Woodley, the superintendent of student support for the Kansas City public schools, speaks with Jareon Brown, 17, and other students in Southeast High School's restorative-justice class.
Lateshia Woodley, the assistant superintendent of student support for the Kansas City public schools, speaks with Jareon Brown, 17, and other students in Southeast High School's restorative-justice class.
Julie Denesha for Education Week

Read more from this report

Visiting educators tour Hope House in 2016, the shelter and foster home for homeless students that Tiffany Anderson opened as superintendent of the Jennings School District in Missouri. Anderson, now the superintendent of Topeka Public Schools in Kansas, said that educators from around the country reached out about her work in Jennings after she was profiled as a Leader to Learn From in 2015.
Visiting educators tour a shelter and foster home for homeless students that Tiffany Anderson opened while superintendent of the Jennings district in Missouri. Anderson, now the superintendent in Topeka, Kan., said that educators from around the country wanted to learn about her work after she was profiled as a Leader To Learn From in 2015.
Courtesy of Tiffany Anderson
Professional Development 'Ambassadors of Hope': Why Past Leaders Lean on Their Fellow Honorees
Sarah Schwartz, February 16, 2022
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7 min read
Conceptual image for leading in tumultuos times.
School & District Management Leading Schools in Tumultuous Times: 7 Lessons From the Nation's Best District Leaders
Catherine Gewertz, February 16, 2022
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3 min read
Austin Obasohan, the superintendent in Duplin County, N.C., is a member of the inaugural class of Leaders To Learn From. He was lauded for ramping up the district's college-readiness program, which he's expanded in the last decade.
Austin Obasohan, the superintendent in Duplin County, N.C., was a member of the inaugural class of Leaders To Learn From. He has since expanded the college-readiness program he was lauded for.
Alex Boerner for Education Week
School & District Management Leader Reflection How an Award-Winning School Leader Is Making College Readiness a Reality
Austin Obasohan, February 16, 2022
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5 min read
Christie Jo Adams
Christie Jo Adams
Eman Mohammed for Education Week
School & District Management Catching Up With Past Leaders To Learn From: Where They Are Now
February 16, 2022
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3 min read