About NSPRA
The Superintendents to Watch award recognizes school district leaders who have fewer than five years of experience as a superintendent and who demonstrate dynamic, fast-paced leadership with strong communication at its core.
Since 2023, Dr. Suzanne Johnson has served as superintendent of School District U-46, the second-largest school district in Illinois, leading more than 33,000 students across eleven diverse communities. Her leadership is grounded in a deep personal connection to the district and a communication-first approach that prioritizes transparency, trust and shared ownership.
“Dr. Johnson has always believed that strong communication is at the heart of effective leadership.” — Karla Jiménez, Chief Community & Government Relations Officer, Elgin Community College (former Director of Communications and Community Relations at U-46)
Leading Through Authentic Connection
Dr. Johnson’s roots in U-46 run deep: she was a student, teacher, coach, principal, district administrator and now superintendent, with her family also connected to the schools. That lived experience shapes how she communicates and leads across the district’s diverse communities.
One of her most visible accomplishments was leading Unite U-46, a community engagement initiative that secured voter approval of a $180 million bond to fund major districtwide improvements, including new schools, expanded preschool, boundary changes and extended instructional time. The community support is now powering the completion of several district-defining, decades-in-the-making projects that will result in a major shift of the current educational landscape. These monumental changes required efficient, effective and courageous leadership.
"Dr. Johnson possesses a remarkable ability to make everyone she meets—from students and employees to community members and colleagues—feel important and seen. She is a strong advocate for and role model of relationship building within the community." — Tara Burghart, Assistant Director of Communications & Community Relations, School District U-46
Making Communication a Leadership Practice
Dr. Johnson uses video as a primary way to connect with staff and families, creating a consistent personal presence across the district. She produces weekly employee videos and leads a districtwide series that highlights the work of staff in every role, reinforcing the message that every employee contributes to student success.
Key elements of her communication approach include:
“Dr. Johnson's leadership extends beyond words. She champions innovation and invests in collective action and impact.” — Amber Peters, Executive Director, Enriching Partnerships for Early Learning
Communication Embedded in District Strategy
Johnson led the creation of a new district strategic plan built on 37 community planning sessions and a 40-student planning team to ensure student voices were included. Communication is woven into the plan through the Portrait of a U-46 Graduate, which identifies students as “collaborative communicators” who listen actively, communicate using diverse methods and build trusting relationships.
She continues to reinforce the plan through monthly student advisory meetings, weekly video updates, board presentations and public reporting in both English and Spanish.
Extending Communication Beyond the District
Johnson’s communication leadership also extends into the business and community sector, where she has built extensive partnerships to expand student opportunity and economic mobility. Highlights include:
She regularly presents to organizations within the district’s eleven communities and serves as an active board member of community-based organizations including the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce, the U-46 Educational Foundation, Enriching Partnerships for Early Learning and Alignment Collaborative for Education.
"Dr. Johnson’s day to day work reflects her belief that raising student achievement...creates responsible, productive, and contributing members of society. She is making a direct impact on the lives of students and families, ensuring that young people have the resources and guidance they need to pursue their dreams.” — Nancy H. Coleman, Executive Director, Alignment Collaborative for Education
Dr. Johnson was recognized as the Illinois Principals Association Kishwaukee Region Superintendent of the Year Award recipient in 2025. She has also been honored as the Kane County Administrator of the Year in 2017 and was the recipient of the Midwest AdvancED Values-Driven Award of Excellence in 2018.
B.A. - Mississippi State University; MPA - University of Georgia
I believe school PR/communications is what I was born to do! One of the biggest decisions a parent can make is where to send their child to school, and it’s an honor to share with our parents the engaging work that their children are doing under the guidance of world-class teachers and leaders. On any given day, in any given school, there are many stories to be told and I take that charge seriously. As school communicators played a key role in COVID-19 communications, storytelling was more important than ever – not only did I share information with parents about our protocols, but I also made over 80 visits to schools last year and told a variety of stories about how students were thriving with both in-person and distance learning options. I also worked with principals to determine best mitigation practices and helped make those pervasive, because positive action must be the foundation of what we are ultimately communicating. School public relations is incredibly complex and I love that each day brings a new challenge.
My greatest school PR success was completing 11 nationally-innovative school communication audits using a process of research, planning, implementation, and evaluation. I am now in phase two of this project and am attending school council meetings to garner feedback from parents about school-level communication and how I can better support the work of their schools. One of the most significant findings is that as students take more ownership of their learning, they also take more ownership in parent communication. Therefore, next steps are to better prepare parents for this transition and to also determine best practices from exemplar teachers and coaches at the secondary level so we can strike the right balance with parents feeling informed and fostering student independence.
My greatest school PR challenge is overcoming rigidity. Like many PR professionals, I am detail-oriented and a self-described perfectionist. It’s a blessing and a curse to see when something is one pixel off, but the greatest challenge I have faced in my 13 years in this field is to learn to be more flexible. I might have an aversion to Comic Sans or Curlz, but it’s not the end of the world if those are a font favorite elsewhere. What’s more important is the bigger picture – staff and parents feeling well-informed and students growing and learning in positive school cultures. Instead of telling someone their website isn’t formatted properly, I now make a 2-3 minute screencast if I think there’s a quick tutorial I can offer to provide ongoing professional learning. By being much more flexible, I have deepened relationships and become better at supporting the most important job that occurs in our school system: teaching.
My favorite part of my job is the relationships. I often say that there is no substitute for showing up, and that’s why I make so many school visits each year. From getting to hold a gorgeous monarch butterfly to watching a vibrant student musical to seeing 3-D printing in action from engineering students, I have witnessed countless unique opportunities, and these experiences are just a small piece of what our students get to take part in each and every day. If I didn’t take the time to form relationships, I wouldn’t know that what students value is knowing that the photos I take may show up in their yearbooks. I wouldn’t know the myriad of annual activities that teachers do across our schools because I wouldn’t have witnessed them firsthand. I wouldn’t know about the families of our principals or what they believe makes their school unique. All of that is invaluable because at the end of the day and at the end of this career, relationships are what will remain – both professionally and personally.
The communication tool I use the most is Canva! I would be a brand ambassador if they asked! I am not very mathematically-minded and it can be challenging for someone with an eye for good design – but not an eye for rulers and gridlines – to be a graphic designer. However, Canva has made it possible and I am able to create aesthetically-pleasing graphics with short turn-around times. I have trained communication ambassadors at our schools how to use it as well. Right after Canva, the tool I most use is iMovie. I am completely self-taught in videography and using iMovie and Canva together has made me someone who can add “videographer” to their list of expertise.