CEO Message

FADSS 2026-27 Board of Directors Installed

Walton County School District Superintendent Russell Hughes Takes the Helm

Yours in education,

Bill Montford



"Education is not the filling of a pail, 
but the lighting of a fire."

— William Butler Yeats

As the newly installed president of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents (FADSS), what are your priorities for the association?

My priorities as FADSS president are to make sure I am available for every superintendent in the state of Florida and to build consensus so that we are a unified voice for all our children across that state who will make an eternal impact on our world! I also plan to work collaboratively with our Governor, and the newly appointed Commissioner of Education Dr. Henry Mack. This is what we are assigned, called, and fully committed to do!

What do you feel is the most pressing issue facing public education as a whole?

I feel the lack of dedicated teachers coming into this extraordinary profession, along with the struggle for adequate funding for the school systems statewide are the key challenges facing public education. It really feels that all schools are in competition for the same funds, and with so many providers of education pulling from the same funding sources this naturally places pressure on the system as a whole.

In your 10 years serving as WCSD superintendent, what are 2-3 key pieces of advice that you would share with your colleagues that have enabled you to stay focused on the primary goal of educating students while still addressing the societal issues that impact the whole child.



Focusing on the well-being of all children keeps The Main Thing, The Main Thing! All the other detracting factors, noise, decisions, and challenges call for the right kind of leader to make the right decision for the child/children putting the detractors aside while prioritizing the REAL ISSUE which is to "Do What's Right For Children". Many times it's unpopular because often people look from only one perspective, but the leader has to look at the perspective of all so as not to exclude ANYONE! 

You boast an impressive career in public education that spans 36 years. During that time, you have held instructional and administrative leadership roles starting as a Business Education Teacher and then rapidly advancing to hold positions of Dean of Students (9 years), Assistant Principal (4 years) Middle School Principal (3 years), and High School Principal (9 years), before being elected Superintendent in 2016. Out of all the positions you have held in public education which has been the most rewarding and why?

Out of all the positions I have held, the most rewarding I would say is the role of a teacher, especially my first three years. The reason is truly because it established "My Why" in totality. It also served as the foundation of all the things I would get to do on this incredible thirty-six-year educational journey. I was able to touch each child in a personal, professional, teacher-to-learner way based on the academics, as well as to address the needs of each child socially as they were becoming adults and preparing for life after public education. As a beginning teacher, only four years older than the age of most of my students at that time, I knew exactly what they were facing as I had just completed my college life and went directly into the teaching profession. It was real life, real adult perspectives and real challenges, that I knew every one of my students was about to face head on! Of course, this has followed me through my administrative commitment including my nine years as Superintendent where we are making sure we are "Preparing all Children for a life of Success"!

Read and download the full article HERE.

In the school calendar, summer is a time for change and renewal in schools, and the same can be true higher up the chain as well. This summer, following the departure of Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas to lead Polk State College and a brief stint as Interim Commissioner by Dr. Paul Burns, Florida will begin the new school year on August 3, 2026, with Dr. Henry Mack leading the state’s PreK-20 school system as Commissioner.



The State Board of Education approved Dr. Mack’s nomination at its July 22, 2026, meeting, and superintendents were well-represented. Current FADSS President, A. Russell Hughes (Walton), past-president Dr. Jose Dotres (Miami-Dade), and Dr. Kam Patton (Alachua) all chose to make the long trip to Orlando to support Dr. Mack’s nomination. Dr. Mark Rendell, who was already on the agenda to represent FADSS and share success stories from Brevard Public Schools, also had an opportunity to express his support for Dr. Mack and thank Dr. Burns for his years of collaboratively working with superintendents.

Dr. Mack may have been serving as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor most recently, but he has a long history in Florida that superintendents remembered well. Whether it was during his time serving as Senior Chancellor for the Florida Department of Education or even earlier when he worked at Broward College, the superintendents recalled the same thing about Dr. Mack’s leadership style – he engaged directly with the superintendents who are leading our school districts. He listened to them, and he shared his ideas and collaborated with them. As a result, each superintendent who spoke about their prior interactions with Dr. Mack said that their districts improved their level of service to their students thanks to those interactions.



Thus, just as many students and staff will be returning to school in August under the leadership of a new principal, the entire state will be starting off the new school year under the leadership of a new Commissioner of Education.

Selecting and implementing instructional materials is a responsibility for every school district. The Florida Materials Navigator is a free online resource designed to support that work.

Developed by Impact Florida and grounded in deep work with Florida school districts, the Navigator provides practical tools, templates, and guidance to help district teams navigate each stage of the instructional materials process. Rather than recommending specific instructional materials, the Navigator helps districts build strong review processes and make informed decisions based on their unique needs and priorities.

The Florida Materials Navigator will launch Monday, July 27. We encourage district leaders and instructional materials teams to explore the available resources and discover how the Navigator can support their work.

See what’s coming: https://impactfl.org/navigator

ICYMI

A Mile Wide, an Inch Deep: 
The State of Civic Learning in U.S. School Districts

Published July 7, 2026

This brief is the first in a three-part series from the American School District Panel (ASDP), a research partnership between RAND and the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) at Arizona State University, that surveys hundreds of school district leaders. As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, civic learning is at the forefront of people’s minds, but new data suggests that more support is needed to move students from knowing the basics to participating in civics learning and practice within their communities.

Some key findings:

• 90% of district leaders report embedding civics in a required academic class, but far fewer give students structured chances to apply that knowledge. Just 13% require experiential civics opportunities, and only 23% mandate community service or volunteer work.
  
• District leaders want more than knowledge transfer—they want students who can analyze issues, make decisions, and participate in their communities.
  
• Professional learning hasn’t caught up: it’s far more likely to cover state standards than civics skills, instructional materials, or how to facilitate discussion of controversial topics.

Getting civics into more classrooms isn’t the hard part anymore. Building the conditions for students to actually practice it is; this requires clearer goals, shared instructional resources, stronger teacher training, and more consistent chances for students to practice civic skills. Read the full brief for:

• What districts are (and aren’t) offering students, by opportunity type
• Where district leaders’ goals diverge from what’s actually being taught
• The specific professional learning gaps holding teachers back
• What districts, states, and civic learning advocates can do next