March 21, 2023

Now Accepting Breakout Session Proposals

Breakout sessions are the backbone of the AESA Annual Conference! We want to hear from you. Please consider submitting your idea to showcase the work of your ESA!

Proposals are due April 17, 2023.

Executives in Residence Applications Now Accepted

The Executives in Residence Program is a yearlong, performance-based opportunity that:

* includes a strong mentor component by CEOs of the council and host organizations;

* provides access to a variety of leadership experiences;

* and works in a cohort model providing national networking and communication.

Limited Space Available! Apply now!

Once a Year Opportunity: Learn from Duncan Simester

MIT Sloan School of Business Marketing Professor, Dr. Duncan Simester, leads you through this Business Strategy Framework workshop.

Dr. Simester teaches this session, tailored for ESAs, in true MBA style using business cases and hands-on work with real-team projects to enhance the learning.

Transform Data Into Impact

Come learn with us at the 2023 AESA Summer Leadership Conference!

If you are spinning in data, then turn that data into actions that will propel your ESA forward.

If your ESA is already using data, then turn to your colleagues for inspiration that will take your organization to the next level. Either way, we know data drives improvement.

What your Employees can expect using Terrace Metrics

High stress and poor behavioral health are the biggest reasons why school employees leave their jobs. School administrators struggle to find tools that allow employees to understand and manage their own stress.  Now there’s a way.  Terrace Metrics provides school employees with a fast, confidential, and comprehensive way to measure, address, and monitor their own behavioral health anytime, anywhere, using any online device. Only employees can see their own results; neither employers nor Terrace Metrics have access to results.

Employers receive a deidentified, aggregate behavioral health report, which provides key insights into the collective strengths and needs of their employees. 

Terrace Metrics provides resources such as videos and a self-guided curriculum, which allows employees to identify possible areas of concern and address them privately.

If requested, Terrace Metrics will reach out to employees for additional resources. For employers, Terrace Metrics translates workplace results into actionable strategies that promote employee behavior health and better workplace outcomes. 

'Parents Bill of Rights' Passes Education Committee

MARCH 14, 2023

On Wednesday, the House Education & Workforce Committee passed H.R.5, The Parents Bill of Rights. The contentious mark-up, which included dozens of Republican and Democratic amendments, passed on a party-line vote. The bill is scheduled for a vote on the floor of the House in two weeks.

AESA’s engagement on full floor votes and calls to action are reserved for bipartisan bills, bills of priority, and/or bills that have a companion bill in the Senate and may stand a chance of getting to the President’s desk. This bill is a Republican priority, and while it will likely pass out of the House, it is a partisan bill that has no chance of passing in the Senate. Given this, we are not asking AESA members to do anything in response to the bill and are monitoring at the staff level.

We know that this may be a topic of conversation in the schools you serve; to that end, here are two things to be aware of about the legislation:

1. As champions of local control, AESA has long opposed top-down, prescriptive federal education policies that dictate how districts utilize limited federal funding, pressure districts to adopt specific standards or curriculum, or create national teacher or educator standards and requirements.
2. The Parents Bill of Rights is another example of federal overreach and undermines local control over education.

There are practical issues with the legislation, chief among them changes to FERPA and PPRA that would drastically change districts use of education technology and maintenance of student data. 

AASA’s Child and Student Privacy Team has a write-up of all the tech, operations, and privacy related issues created by this legislation.

Private School Choice Explainer 

FutureEd just released a detailed explainer looking at the growth in private-school choice legislation, as well as existing programs.

In the resource, they try to answer some key questions--like who is being served, what the impact is, and what the growth looks like. Check out the main piece analyzing private-school-choice landscape.

In this explainer, they also share:

• a table detailing the private-school-choice options currently available in every state
• a legislative tracker listing 94 bills introduced in state legislatures so far this year 
• interactive maps of states offering each major type of public support for private education

Evidence for Social and Emotional Learning in Schools  

The Learning Policy Institute (LPI) released a new report (with an accompanying brief) about findings from 12 meta-analyses of school-based SEL programs.

Across these studies, LPI found a reliable effect of tested, evidence-based SEL programs on PreK–12 students’ social, emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes. The results indicate improved academic engagement and performance, growth of positive social behaviors, and lower rates of behavior problems and psychological distress, all applicable across gender, ethnicity and race, income, and other demographic variables. 

Buff Nuggets for Leaders: Empowering Others

Thursday, March 23 at 2 pm EST (1 pm Central; 12 pm Mountain; 11 am Pacific; 10 am Alaska)

Do you want to level up your leadership game? True leadership magic happens when people are empowered. In this session, attendees will learn the potent power of caring, purpose, leadership vulnerability, relevant professional development, and networking. You’ll leave with tips, strategies, and new perspectives to help you on your journey of increased empowerment.

About the Presenter

Brian Buffington is the Director of Instructional Technology at Pioneer Regional Service Agency in Cleveland. Named one of the "30 K-12 IT Influencers to Follow in 2021" by EdTechK12, he is an educator, innovator, and keynote speaker, inspiring teachers, administrators, and students throughout the world. Buffington specializes in Innovative EdTech, School Culture, Digital Living/Cyber Safety, and Marketing, and his presentations have earned high praise for being deeply insightful, thought-provoking as well as entertaining.