Awards Nominate a Colleague Superintendents to Watch

Nominations for 2025-26 Superintendents to Watch are now being accepted!

Each year the National School Public Relations Association recognizes up to 25 superintendents as Superintendents to Watch. Honorees are 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. They use communication technology in innovative and effective ways to engage and inform their school communities and to expand two-way communication and outreach efforts.  

To be considered for the award, nominees must have:

• Fewer than five years of cumulative experience as a superintendent of schools in a school district/school board system(s) at the time of nomination;
• Implemented a communication program for the district that includes the use of new communication technology as well as more standard communication tools;
• Integrated communication goals and strategies into the district’s strategic plan; and
• Active, visible involvement in the district's communication effort (e.g., social media presence, participates in face-to-face engagement activities, responsive to media requests, models good communication for staff).

Nominees do not have to be an NSPRA member. Nominators will be asked to provide the following information on the nomination form:

• A statement in 500 words or less on how the nominee demonstrates excellence and leadership using specific examples.
• A statement in 500 words or less describing a communication program implemented by the nominee, including the use of new and more traditional communication vehicles with specific examples.
• A statement in 500 words or less about how the nominee integrated communication goals and strategies into the school district’s strategic plan and how those goals and strategies are communicated to all stakeholders.
• A statement in 500 words or less about the nominee's visible involvement in the district's communication efforts (e.g., participates in face-to-face engagement activities, responsive to media requests, models good communication for staff, etc.).
• Upload a file of or provide links to samples that demonstrate the work of the school communications program of the nominee (if uploading a file, do not to exceed more than 10 pages total).
• Two (2) letters of support for the nominee.
• Current headshot of the nominee.

Supplementary materials and information are also permitted, but optional.

Submit a Nomination

Selected superintendent honorees receive a special certificate and are recognized on the NSPRA website, in an NSPRA e-newsletter, on NSPRA social media and during the Superintendents' Luncheon at the annual NSPRA National Seminar. 

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Congratulations to the 2024-25 Superintendents to Watch!

Dr. Carol Birks Allentown (Pa.) School District	Vince Breunig School District of Lodi (Wis.)	Dr. Cheri Burke Granby (Conn.) Public Schools
Terry Connor Sarasota County (Fla.) Schools	Dr. Carter Davidson Litchfield (Ariz.) Elementary School District	Dr. Angela Dominguez Donna (Texas) Independent School District
Dr. Elizabeth Eminhizer Covina-Valley (Calif.) Unified School District	Dr. Karen Gagliardi Lakeland Central School District, Shrub Oak, N.Y.	Dr. Erwin Garcia Billings (Mont.) Public Schools
Dr. Royal Gurley, Jr. Charlottesville City (Va.) Schools	Dr. Nyah Hamlett Chapel Hill-Carrboro City (N.C.) Schools	Dr. Crystal Hill Charlotte-Mecklenburg (N.C.) Schools
Dr. April D. Jordan North Cook (Ill.) Intermediate Service Center	Dr. Demetrius McCall Sheldon Independent School District, Houston, Texas	Dr. Ginni McDonald Russellville (Ark.) School District
Dr. Leslie Ricciardelli Collier County (Fla.) Public Schools	Dr. Ángel Rivera Mesquite (Texas) Independent School District	Bradley Roberson Oxford (Miss.) School District
Jason Rowland Bossier (La.) Schools	Dr. Darrin Slade Kalamazoo (Mich.) Public Schools	Craig Sosebee Oneonta City (Ala.) Schools
Dr. Victoria Stockton Bellwood (Ill.) School District 88	Dr. Antwon Sutton Chester County (S.C.) School District	Dr. Kathleen Truitt Lee County (Ga.) School System
Dr. Marco Villegas El Rancho Unified School District, Pico Rivera, Calif.

Nominations for 2025-26 Superintendents to Watch are expected to open in September 2025. You are welcome to preview the nomination application from last year, but please note this is subject to change from year to year.

To be considered for the award, nominees must have:

• Fewer than five years of cumulative experience as a superintendent of schools in a school district/school board system(s) at the time of nomination;
• Implemented a communication program for the district that includes the use of new communication technology as well as more standard communication tools;
• Integrated communication goals and strategies into the district’s strategic plan; and
• Active, visible involvement in the district's communication effort (e.g., social media presence, participates in face-to-face engagement activities, responsive to media requests, models good communication for staff).

Nominees do not have to be an NSPRA member.

Selected superintendent honorees receive a special certificate and are recognized on the NSPRA website, in an NSPRA e-newsletter, on NSPRA social media and during the Superintendents' Luncheon at the annual NSPRA National Seminar. 

For more information about this program, contact Communications Manager Sarah Loughlin at sloughlin@nspra.org or 301-519-1221. View previous winners here.