David Schuler, a superintendent in Ilinois, was named on Thursday as the 2018 National Superintendent of the Year at the annual gathering of school superintendents and district leaders in Nashville.
Schuler, who leads the 12,000-student Township High School District 214 in Arlington Heights, Ill., was chosen from a group of four finalists. The other contenders for the award were Wendy Robinson of the Fort Wayne, Ind., schools; Mary Sieu of the ABC Unified schools in Cerritos, Calif.; and Mike Winstead of the Maryville City, Tenn., schools.
The AASA, the School Superintendents Association, which gives out the annual award, applauded Schuler’s efforts to create a career pathways program that has helped students earn college credit and land internships, career-specific learning experiences, and industry certifications. He also helped launch a teacher-preparation program that provides mentoring and job placement to high school students who are interested in the profession through partnerships with elementary schools and postsecondary institutions.
Schuler served as the 2015-16 president of AASA and leads the organization’s Redefining Ready! program, an initiative devoted to helping educators appropriately assess whether students are college- and career-ready upon high school graduation.
Schuler began his career in education as a social studies teacher in Wisconsin before going on to serve as a principal. He served as a superintendent in two Wisconsin districts, Marshall and Stevens Points, before taking the job in District 214 in 2005.
The award comes with a $10,000 scholarship for a student who either attends the high school from which Schuler graduated, or a student in a school serving the same area.
Photo Credit: David Schuler, the superintendent of Township High School District 214 in Arlington Heights, Ill., is the 2018 National Superintendent of the Year. --courtesy of James Minichello, AASA