On April 12, 2026, educator, family member, colleague, mentor, and friend, Jerome “Jerry” Belair passed peacefully among family. Over twenty years ago, when I began my relationship with Connecticut education, I was invited by CAPSS to facilitate a statewide assistant superintendents' retreat.  It was there that I first met Jerry. I still remember being struck right away by the rare combination of intellect, charisma, sense of humor, and genuine warmth he carried into the room. That first meeting launched a
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Yesterday, a room full of superintendents did something that looks small on paper and feels deceptively simple in real time: we practiced taking another person's perspective. Not as a feel-good exercise. Not as a political tactic. As a leadership discipline. We began, as we often do, by making space to arrive. A short mindfulness protocol invited people to notice what they were carrying—what was in their heads, what was in their hearts—and to decide, intentionally, what could be set at
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Several weeks ago, I had the privilege of joining Dr. Peter Stiepleman on The Imperfect Leader Podcast—and I had a lovely time. The conversation moved in the way the best conversations do: curious, honest, and grounded in the real work of leading human systems. We covered a lot of terrain—mental models and why they quietly shape what leaders see (and miss); my work with Partners for Educational Leadership; what it means to facilitate superintendents’ networks in a moment where the
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by Richard Lemons, Jennifer Perry Cheatham, and Rydell Harrison   At our recent meeting of the Connecticut Superintendents’ Network, we found ourselves gathered around a familiar scene: a set of charts and graphs thrown up on the screen, lines bending and breaking, bars climbing and collapsing. Enrollment trends. Workforce data. Student learning results. Teen mental health. The future of college. Someone finally named what many of us were feeling: It is very hard to lead a school system when the
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Markers squeaked against poster paper as thirty superintendents stood around the room, sketching visions of the future of learning. The question before them was simple and immense: What should learning look like in the future? Members of the CT Superintendents' Network were invited to think aspirationally—to imagine schools unbound by the constraints of today. Soon, the chart-papered walls filled with words and phrases that pulsed with purpose: student agency, belonging, competency-based learning, critical consciousness, whole-child development. Some drew circles, placing
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"Trusteeship requires the ability to see the organization whole, to understand its relationship to its environment, and to act on behalf of the institution's long-term best interests." — Richard P. Chait, William P. Ryan, and Barbara E. Taylor Strong governance is the quiet backbone of every mission-driven organization. Research reminds us that effective boards do more than oversee finances or monitor compliance; they serve as stewards of mission and vision. Chait, Ryan, and Taylor's work on governance as leadership suggests
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  It is with deep admiration and sorrow that we mark the passing of Andrew Lachman—former Executive Director of the Connecticut Center for School Change (now Partners for Educational Leadership); a visionary leader whose influence has rippled through classrooms, districts, and communities across Connecticut, New York, and the nation. Andrew passed away on June 6, 2025, following several years of living with Alzheimer’s. Yet even in the face of this difficult illness, he remained committed to the work he believed
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Over the past nine months, I’ve had the distinct privilege of spending meaningful time with hundreds of system leaders across the country. Not in fleeting, surface-level exchanges. Not in rushed hallway chats between conference sessions. But in real conversation. In quiet conference rooms, over shared meals, during long walks between school visits—I’ve had the luxury of listening deeply. These moments have offered something rare: space for leaders to speak candidly about what it feels like to do this work right
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“The master key of knowledge is, indeed, a persistent and frequent questioning.” – Peter Abelard, medieval philosopher “Do you know where you’re going to?” – Diana Ross, diva and Supreme Empress of Soul “Should I stay or should I go?” – The Clash, English rock legends and, perhaps, unintentional educational improvement philosophers As we enter the early days of October, the academic year is in full bloom. Students and families have settled into routines, and educators have found their rhythm,
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Partners for Educational Leadership has lost a visionary forefather. Dr. Gordon Bruno, the founding Executive Director of Partners, then the “Connecticut Center for School Change,” passed away on December 19, 2023. In his time at the Center, he brought gravitas to a small and fledgling non-profit, establishing it as a force for intellectual leadership, policy advocacy, and high-quality support for practitioners. Gordon’s vision of a more equitable state challenged the tight ties across land ownership, municipalities, and educational quality, and
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