AASA/NSPRA Leadership for Public Trust

Civic Leadership Track

As public education becomes increasingly shaped by political tension, competing community expectations, and heightened scrutiny, leadership teams must be equipped to navigate complexity while maintaining focus, alignment, and trust. This track explores how leaders incorporate communication awareness into decision-making so that actions are understood, supported, and grounded in community context.

Session 1: Leading in Complex Community Contexts (March 4, 2027 12 - 1:30 pm Eastern)

Superintendents are expected to lead in environments defined by competing values, public pressure, and rapidly shifting expectations. Strong leadership requires not only sound decisions, but an awareness of how those decisions will be experienced across the community.

This session focuses on how leadership teams can make stronger, more informed decisions by incorporating communication awareness early, considering how issues may be interpreted, where tensions may emerge, and how to align internally before decisions become public. The goal is not simply to manage reaction, but to lead in ways that build clarity, credibility, and public trust from the outset. This session moves beyond engagement and transparency as standalone practices and focuses on how leadership teams use community awareness to make more effective decisions in real time.

Presenter: Jennifer Perry Cheatham, Ed.D., Senior Lecturer on Education | Harvard University (Mass.)

Pricing for a single virtual session: $299