Our Community

How we work

We provide district and system leaders with strategic communications resources and strategies within a trusting community of peers so that they may navigate their environments intentionally and advance their student-centered priorities. Member benefits includes:

Learning Cohorts

  • One in-person convening and four virtual sessions, with virtual peer coffee chats over the course of 15 weeks
  • Cohort sessions are grounded in a leader’s problem of practice and include an expert briefing + resources that superintendents can immediately apply

Direct support and tailored referrals

  • Strategic advisors available for just-in-time assistance to navigate particularly intense or complex situations
  • Connections with partner organizations that can lean in to priorities adjacent to strategic communications (e.g., academic strategy, talent recruitment)

Virtual Community

  • Monthly briefing sessions and superintendent roundtables, a password-protected resource library, Slack channels for peer and expert connectivity

Testimonials

  • Leading Now is a place where I know that I’ll receive not only skill development and content knowledge — they also provide a community of other people that continue to remind me of my strengths and why I want to spend the rest of my life continuing to be a champion for children.

    Dr. Cheryl Watson-Harris, Board Chair Superintendent-in-Residence (GA)

  • Leading Now addresses something that is so important in the superintendency — the political stressors of being a superintendent. They don’t gloss over it; they tackle it head-on. I appreciate that approach very much.

    Dr. Mary Catherine Reljac, Superintendent – Fox Chapel School District (PA)

  • The quality of the professional development has been extraordinary, particularly in areas you don’t often see in superintendent training programs or conferences — around strategic communication and navigating challenges in a way that builds trust.

    Dr. Joe Sawyer, Superintendent – Shrewsbury Public Schools (MA)

  • Leading Now is the only place I know that responds this quickly, especially when you’re in the midst of a crisis or just need a sounding board. Their support not only meets us in the here and now, but it is research and evidence-based.

    Dr. Dana Bedden, Superintendent – Centennial School District (PA)

  • This is about joining a community that is for you. The time is for you. This is about your professional, as well as your emotional, care.

    Dr. Monique Darrisaw-Akil, Superintendent – Uniondale Union Free School District (NY)

Resources

Leading Now members have access to a wide range of resources: communications checklists, leadership values exercises, stakeholder mapping tools, suggestions for school board collaboration. Here’s a taste: