November News & Updates

The Cahn Fellowship strengthens public education by developing and sustaining exceptional school principals through transformative leadership development, recognition, and a thriving national network ensuring great leaders grow, stay, and drive systemic results for the students they serve.

We are excited to welcome our 2027 Cahn Leadership Lab practitioners from Chicago, Denver, and New York City! Join us in celebrating these school leaders as they begin their leadership development journey.

Cahn Fellowship is proud to release our 2026 Annual Report, highlighting a year of meaningful growth, progress, and impact in developing and sustaining exceptional school leaders. The report showcases key accomplishments, including progress in advancing the five strategic priorities of our 2030 Strategic Plan, strengthening our leadership development programs, and expanding alumni engagement. It also shares encouraging preliminary findings from our external evaluation, demonstrating the Fellowship’s positive impact on principal retention, school leadership stability, and student outcomes. Together, these milestones reinforce our commitment to helping exceptional principals stay longer and lead stronger.

2027 Nominations Opening Soon

Interested in serving as a Cahn Fellowship reviewer?

As we celebrate our newest Fellows, we're also beginning to build our reviewer community for future selection cycles.

We invite Cahn alumni who are interested in supporting the selection process to let us know. Reviewer opportunities may include application reviews, interviews, and/or site visits.

BECOME A CAHN REVIEWER

Interested in becoming a district or charter partner?

Bring the Cahn Fellowship to your district and invest in the growth of exceptional school leaders.

If your district or charter organization is interested in partnering with the Cahn Fellowship to develop and support school leaders, please contact Robert Bhoolai, Interim Executive Director, at rbhoolai@cahnfellowship.org to explore partnership opportunities.

CAHN Practitioner 2026

Jeffrey Cooley

Tampa, Florida

Jeffrey Cooley, Cahn Leadership Lab Practitioner 2026 and Principal of Kenly Elementary School, was recently named Hillsborough County Public Schools' 2027 Principal of the Year. Since becoming principal in 2022, he has led a remarkable school transformation, raising Kenly's grade from a C to its first-ever A in 2024–2025 and maintaining that achievement in 2025–2026. Under his leadership, 100% of students demonstrated learning gains in reading in 2024–2025 and in math in 2025–2026.

CAHN Fellow 2026

Nico Victorino

Manhattan, New York

Nico Victorino, Cahn Fellow 2026 and Principal of P.S. 150, was recently named a 2026 NYU Steinhardt Ascending Champion, recognizing his leadership and contributions to education. This honor celebrates his dedication to educational excellence and his continued impact on students and the school community.

CAHN Alumni 2023

Dr. Christina Rogers

Atlanta, Georgia

Dr. Christina Rogers, Cahn Leadership Lab Practitioner 2023 and Principal of Carver Early College, was recently recognized by Georgia State University’s Principals Center as one of 14 principals honored for achieving double-digit gains on the Georgia Milestones assessments. This recognition highlights her leadership and the collective efforts of her school's teachers, staff, students, and families in advancing student achievement and fostering a culture of academic excellence.

CAHN Alumni 2014

Dr. Andy Szeto

Queens, New York

Dr. Andy Szeto, former Cahn Ally, will release his new book, A Life in English: A Learner’s Journey through Schooling, Language and Belonging, on November 7, 2026. Published by The Worthy Educator Press, the book explores his personal journey as an English language learner and educator, reflecting on the connections between language, identity, education, and belonging. The book will be available in paperback and e-book formats, with all proceeds supporting The Worthy Educator.

Learn more

Sponsor a Principal

Strengthen local educational leaders and identify key educational challenges. Your investment helps to build stronger schools - one principal at a time.

Sponsoring a principal helps Cahn Fellowship train, support, and retain school leaders who are building safe, inclusive, and high-achieving schools. Sponsors can be matched with a local principal and will help fund a School Community Project designed by that leader to address a key challenge in their school.

Our 2026-2027 Cahn Distinguished Principals Fellowship cohort has launched, and we invite donors to join our Sponsor-A-Principal community now.

Click here to learn more about 2026-2027 Sponsor-A-Principal program

For more information, please contact Nathan Blankenship

From Our Partners

Unlock More Funding for Your School & District

90% of America’s public schools have had at least one teacher post a project on DonorsChoose. Here is how you can bring greater visibility and funding to your school community:

For Your Building: Sign up for Principal Notifications to get alerts when teachers post projects, when new funding opportunities open, and when materials ship to your school.

For Your District: Central office leaders can enroll in the free District Partnership Program to unlock philanthropic matches and oversight. Share our District Partnership One-Pager with your superintendent or district administration to help them get started.

We invite you to support Cahn Fellowship on Giving Tuesday, December 1, 2026, a day dedicated to generosity and making a big impact! Your investment will directly support our mission to develop strong, effective school leaders who can drive meaningful change in their schools and communities.

Support Cahn Fellowship

Please consider supporting a Pre K - 12 principal today!

Your gift will help us improve metropolitan public school systems by investing in distinguished school leaders and aspiring leaders. We thank all of our supporters, donors, and strategic partners for their generous support.

Cahn Fellowship

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