Meet the Leaders

Each year, Education Week identifies some of the nation’s most exceptional school district leaders in its EdWeek Leaders To Learn From report and shines a spotlight on their extraordinary impact on the success of educators and students.

2025 Leaders

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2025 EdWeek Leaders To Learn From
These district leaders have shown persistence and creativity as they navigate the challenges facing schools in a rapidly changing world.
Meet the 2025 Leaders

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Putting Creativity at the Center of Student Learning
Aileen Owens, director of innovation in Pittsburgh’s South Fayette school district, is changing mindsets about what it means to offer hands-on, creative learning to students. She is recognized as a 2018 Leader To Learn From.
Aileen Owens
For This Champion for Student Health, P.E. Extends Beyond the Gym
As the honcho for student wellness in the South Orange-Maplewood school district in New Jersey, Judy LoBianco is changing what schools do to educate students about their physical health. She is recognized as a 2018 Leader To Learn From.
Judy LoBianco
Personalized Learning in Practice: How a Risk-Taker Tailored Learning in Her District
Patricia Deklotz instills a culture of personalized learning in which students choose how and what they learn and teachers create their own microcredentials to advance their careers.
Forging a Firm Path to College With High Expectations and No Excuses
Dolores Gonzalez, the chief program officer for IDEA Public Schools, has shaped an academic program that focuses on erasing achievement gaps in the earliest grades and putting first-generation college-goers on a firm path to higher education. She is recognized as a 2017 Leader To Learn From.
Preparing All Students for College - Meet a 2017 Leader to Learn From
Superintendent Fosters Love of Reading
Superintendent César Morales leveraged his district’s 1-to-1 tablet initiative to create a massive bilingual-literacy campaign and make tens of thousands of electronic books in English and Spanish accessible to students and their families in Oxnard, Calif. He is recognized as a 2017 Leader To Learn From.
Fostering a Love of Reading - Meet a 2017 Leader to Learn From
An Unwavering Advocate for Racial Equity in Schools
In Kentucky’s Jefferson County Public Schools, John D. Marshall uses data to unmask racial inequities and demand policy changes and supports for students of color and those who are poor. He is recognized as a 2017 Leader To Learn From.
Amid Flint's Water Crisis, Schools Chief Is a Calm Force
Bilal Tawwab, the superintendent of schools in Flint, Mich., refuses to use the city’s lead-water crisis as an excuse from keeping his team of educators focused on improving student achievement in a long-struggling school district. He is recognized as a 2017 Leader To Learn From.
Bilal Tawwab
Superintendent Builds Bridges to New Immigrant Communities
With his “teach them all” ethos, Superintendent Jim Rollins is on the leading edge of helping immigrant students and their families find a foothold in Arkansas’ Springdale Public Schools and the broader community. He is recognized as a 2017 Leader To Learn From.
Educator's Pre-Veterinary Program Sends Navajo Students to College
Clyde McBride, the director of career and technical education in Kayenta, Ariz., runs a powerhouse pre-veterinary-sciences program that gives Navajo students hands-on experience that propels them to college, prepares them for the workforce, and puts them at the center of supporting their communities. He is recognized as a 2017 Leader To Learn From.
Building Up the Teacher Workforce in Small-Town Iowa
Superintendent Chris Coffelt works tirelessly to recruit, retain, and improve the practice of teachers who might otherwise be drawn to bigger cities and bigger salaries outside his small Iowa school district. He is recognized as a 2017 Leader To Learn From.
Casting a Wider Net for Giftedness
Seminole County, Fla., schools Superintendent Walt Griffin, along with school psychologist Jeanette Lukens, are scouting more broadly for talent and bringing more diversity to the district’s gifted student population. They are recognized as 2017 Leaders To Learn From.
Superintendent Knocks Down Barriers to Learning for Poor Students
In South Carolina's Greenville County Schools, Superintendent W. Burke Royster enlists a wide array of partners to help keep students—especially those in poor communities—engaged in school and on track to graduate. He is recognized as a 2017 Leader To Learn From.

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