Bold Leadership, Big Bets 3 Women State Chiefs are Leading K-12 Education Recovery

Early data are painting a devastating picture of the pandemic’s toll on our nation’s public schools. From unfinished learning, to growing concerns around students’ wellbeing, to historic superintendent turnover with a disproportionate impact on women chiefs, the past two years have illuminated the need for fresh thinking as K-12 system leaders and their teams begin to chart a course toward recovery. This session will feature three bold female state leaders whose big bets to accelerate student outcomes are leading the field. From high-dosage tutoring to a first-of-its-kind teacher apprenticeship program to new frameworks for focusing on students’ mental health and wellbeing, these leaders’ approaches can serve as a model for other leaders looking to leverage this once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine our systems to better serve all of our students now, and in the long term. Likewise, as women leaders in a historically and increasingly male-dominated field, panelists will discuss some of the challenges they’ve experienced, and how our nation’s public school systems, school boards, mayors, and governors can address the gender inequities that are playing out in education leadership to enable more women to thrive in their roles and propel more women into these top jobs.