Education Week's 2026 Leadership Symposium Full Program

Speaker:

• Sean Cavanagh, Managing Editor, Education Week

Our editorial team offers insights on how school systems are weaving the technology into classroom lessons, efforts to improve student behavior, and more.

Speaker:

• Kevin Bushweller, Deputy Managing Editor, Education Week
• Holly Kurtz, Director, EdWeek Research Center

Meet 2026 class of Leaders to Learn From: Seven district administrators who have shown persistence and creativity as they navigate the challenges facing schools in an increasingly diverse, rapidly changing world.

Speakers:

• Daniela Franco Brown, Assistant Managing Editor, Education Week
• Alyson Klein, Assistant Editor, Education Week

In this panel, we’ll talk about the major questions that are emerging in states and school systems across the country about what instructional practices are most effective and how standards for research should be applied to the selection of academic resources and classroom strategies.

Speakers:

• Lindsey Henderson, Senior Policy Director, Math, ExcelinEd
• Nancy C. Jordan, Dean Family Endowed Chair and Professor of Education at the University of Delaware
• Sarah Schwartz, Senior Staff Writer, Education Week (moderator)

EdWeek’s editorial team has been following the impact of Trump administration policies and the battle for control of Congress, and what it will mean for key programs that fund schools. In this briefing, we’ll break down the implications of fast-moving changes coming out of the nation’s capital on school district policy and finance.

Speakers:

• Mark Lieberman, Staff Writer, Education Week
• Matthew Stone, Assistant Managing Editor, Education Week

Sponsor content provided by Lexia

Instructional change rarely fails because of the practice itself. Rather, it falters when district leadership systems don’t evolve alongside it. In this session, district leaders will explore why leadership coherence, collective learning, and structural alignment are essential for turning literacy investments into consistent classroom impact. Participants will examine the structural conditions that accelerate change, learn to recognize early warning signs of performative implementation, and consider what to deimplement to reduce overload. The session concludes with clear, practical next steps leaders can take immediately to strengthen systemwide instructional change.

Speaker:

• Lori Silver, National Literacy Consultant, Lexia

Active reading, peer-assisted learning, and other ways to scaffold literacy instruction, are among the classroom practices districts should consider as they go about the difficult work of building student reading skills. Research points to classroom models in which teachers can directly support developing readers, in ways that accelerate student learning by using more challenging text than a student might be able to handle independently. We'll talk about promising strategies in this session.

Speakers:

• Jennifer Throndsen, Education Advisor, Former Teacher, Instructional Coach, and District Office Specialist
• Mary Hendrie, Deputy Opinion Editor, Education Week (moderator)

School systems are under pressure from parents and others in the community to get students off phones, and screens – or at least find more of a balance between tech and non-tech options. In this panel, we’ll talk with district administrators about how their K-12 systems are attempting to go about this difficult work, with creativity, and with an eye on improving student engagement, social-emotional skills, and academic performance.

Speakers:

• Barbara Haeffner, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Innovation, Meriden Public Schools (CT)
• Brigette Whaley, Associate Professor of Education at West Texas A&M University
• Christopher Wegemer, Senior Researcher, Emerging Technology & AI Literacy, Digital Promise
• Arianna Prothero, Assistant Editor, Education Week (moderator)

The Nashville school system used to teach special education students in separate learning environments from their peers. Its leaders say it was an approach that not only stigmatized students but also ran afoul of federal requirements. Under the guidance of Debra McAdams, a 2026 EdWeek Leader to Learn From, the district has overhauled its approach so that students with disabilities attend their zoned neighborhood schools and take part in core general education classes unless there’s a clear educational justification not to do so. What lessons can other districts learn from Nashville? And as identification of students with special education continues to climb in school systems nationwide, how can districts find creative and effective ways to support these students while managing resources and personnel effectively?

Speakers:

• Debra McAdams, Executive Director, Department of Exceptional Education, Metro Nashville Public Schools (TN)
• Evie Blad, Senior Staff Writer, Education Week (moderator)

Sponsor content provided by PowerSchool

As the school year closes, leaders face critical decisions about instruction, staffing, and student support. This session explores how viewing assessment, attendance, and early warning data together—rather than in isolation—helps educators identify student needs, match learners with the right supports, and monitor impact over time. Learn how a connected, cyclical approach to data enables smarter end‑of‑year reflection and stronger instructional planning for the year ahead.

Speakers:

• Kelly Ady, Senior Education Value Director, PowerSchool
• Ericka Waterman, Senior Director, Product Management, PowerSchool

For two consecutive years, the 4,700-teacher Knox County district in Tennessee started the school year essentially fully staffed, even as districts small and large, in every corner of the country, struggle with teacher shortages. It’s a stark turnaround for Knox County from a few years ago, when the vast majority of the district’s schools reported at least one vacancy. We talk with Alex Moseman, the district’s director of talent acquisition, about how the Knox County system works throughout the calendar year to think strategically about filling positions. We look at what other districts can learn, and how they can navigate hiring pressures to fill critical roles in the classroom and other areas of staffing.

Speakers:

• Alex Moseman, Executive Director of Talent Director of Talent Acquisition, Knox County Schools (TN)
• Elizabeth Heubeck, Staff Writer, Education Week (moderator)

When the EdWeek Research Center has surveyed district and school leaders about the authors who have most informed their work, Zaretta Hammond is one of the names that rises high on the list. Hammond, the author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain, has written extensively about how innovative approaches to instructional practice can help students, and how schools and policymakers often misunderstand the goals of culturally responsive teaching and what it can bring to schools. Too often, school districts focus on – and misunderstand – the cultural aspect of the term, and lose sight of the “responsive” aspect, connected to evidence-based approaches to instruction, says Hammond. She is more recently the author of Rebuilding Students′ Learning Power: Teaching for Instructional Equity and Cognitive Justice. In this Q and A, Hammond will guide our audience through what school districts get right and wrong in their approach to culturally responsive teaching, how they can navigate various academic and community pressures they face.

Speakers:

• Zaretta Hammond, Author, Teacher Educator, and Education Consultant
• Sean Cavanagh, Managing Editor Education Week (moderator)

Speaker:

• Sean Cavanagh, Managing Editor, Education Week