Fifty Top Educators Selected for 2016 ASCD Emerging Leaders Class

Alexandria, Va. — ASCD has announced the selection of 50 educators for its 2016 class of emerging leaders. The Emerging Leaders program recognizes and prepares young, promising educators to influence education programs, policy, and practice on both the local and national levels. To view the entire list of the 2016 emerging leaders, visit the Emerging Leaders Directory.

“This year’s group of emerging leaders are the education rock stars of tomorrow,” said Ronn Nozoe, ASCD Associate Executive Director. “Each of these educators brings a special passion and commitment to ensuring all kids succeed. We look forward to learning from each of these extraordinary leaders and giving them a platform to increase the positive change they bring to the profession and to the lives of students.”

The 2016 class is the largest since the program’s inception in 2005, surpassing last year’s previous record total of 46 class members. The class is geographically diverse—the emerging leaders hail from 20 states, the District of Columbia, Bermuda, and Taiwan—and New Jersey leads the way with seven emerging leaders. The class includes superintendents, assistant principals and principals, teachers, literacy coaches, professional learning specialists, and a digital learning specialist, among other roles and titles.

All emerging leaders are enrolled in the program for two years and help to shape education policy, advocate for the whole child, and explore multiple ASCD leadership pathways. Alumni from the program—including Steven Anderson, Fred Ende, Tony Frontier, and Pete Hall—have become ASCD authors, while others have become ASCD Faculty members and Board members. While in the program, educators have the opportunity to take advantage of numerous opportunities, such as the following:

  • Attending the invitation-only Leader to Leader (L2L) conference in July, where leaders of various ASCD constituent groups convene to learn, share, and lay the groundwork for further collaboration
  • Presenting at ASCD conferences and events
  • Writing for ASCD publications, including the Inservice blog, and contributing blogs and articles to other outlets
  • Facilitating the #ASCDL2L Twitter chat, which occurs on the first Tuesday of each month
  • Hosting episodes of ASCD Learn Teach Lead Radio, a weekly program produced in partnership with BAM! Radio Network

“I look forward to meeting the 2016 emerging leaders at the L2L conference in July,” said Rachael George, a 2015 ASCD Emerging Leader. “In my first year in the program, I’ve taken advantage of many great opportunities that I otherwise would not have had, and I look forward to sharing my experiences with the new class and learning from these impressive educators.”

Educators selected for the Emerging Leaders program have been in the education profession for 5 to 15 years; demonstrate a passion for learning, teaching, and leading; come from a diverse range of positions, locations, cultural backgrounds, and perspectives; hold promise as leaders; and are committed to ASCD’s beliefs and to pursuing leadership opportunities.

For more information on ASCD’s Emerging Leaders program, visit www.ascd.org/emergingleaders.

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