Partners Matter Newsletter
Partners Matter is a digital newsletter created by Partners for Educational Leadership to examine and address barriers, challenges and opportunities school districts and their leadership teams face daily. Articles include team profiles, news and events, case studies and a variety of resources we hope will be useful and informative in our community members’ day-to-day lives.
Superintendent Churn: What It Means When They Leave
Superintendent turnover is often described as inevitable—but the current level of churn is not simply a feature of the role. It is a signal. When superintendents leave at elevated rates, it reflects a misalignment between the demands of the position and the conditions districts create for leaders to succeed. If districts
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Why Role-Specific Communities of Practice Matter in Educational Leadership
Participants work on group activity during monthly ILC meeting. Educational leaders are expected to respond to pressing challenges with speed and certainty. But the work of leadership is too complex to rely on individual expertise alone. What leaders need is not just new information, but practical wisdom—developed through reflection,
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Rethinking Instruction: A New Book Challenges Our Beliefs About Teaching and Learning
On May 12th, PEL co-authors Tom Nobili, Isobel Stevenson, and Andrew Volkert gathered with family, friends, and colleagues at Elicit Brewing in Manchester to celebrate the launch of their new book, Maximizing Opportunity to Learn: A Guide for Equitable and Ambitious Instruction. The event served as both a celebration and a
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Meet the Team: Kath Serino
Kath Serino, Partners associate and co-facilitator of the Systemic Instructional Improvement Program (SIIP), is less interested in quick fixes than in better questions. That instinct traces back to a childhood shaped by both structure and adventure. She grew up in Plainville, Connecticut, one of eight siblings in a household where conversation
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School Leadership in the AI Era
Superintendents are moving from reaction to strategy—building systems that guide responsible, values-driven adoption When a group of superintendents recently gathered to discuss artificial intelligence, the conversation quickly moved beyond the technology itself. What emerged instead was a deeper leadership question: who will shape how AI enters our schools—and what values
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Norwalk Public Schools: Turning a Corner with Clarity, Coherence, and Care
Superintendent Alex Estrella speaking with a student Norwalk Public Schools is turning heads—and for good reason. Recent gains in SBAC scores and graduation rates, along with state and national recognition of Superintendent Dr. Alex Estrella, have put the district in the spotlight. But this progress is not a quick
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