The Leadership Academy

Our President & CEO, Nancy B. Gutierrez, is joining The Hunt Institute's Homeroom with Education Leaders on May 27 to discuss one of the most important questions in education right now: how do we build systems that truly support and sustain high-quality leaders at every level?

The session will feature opening remarks from The Honorable David Willis (NC House District 68) and will be moderated by Rena Johnson of the Aviv Foundation. Dr. Gutiérrez will be joined on the panel by Darcy Fernandes of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education and Dr. Erick Pruitt of Ankeny Community School District for a conversation spanning national, state, and local perspectives — from leadership pipelines and principal support to the policies and practices that keep great educators in schools.

Strong, stable leadership is what creates the conditions for teachers to stay and students to thrive. This is a conversation you won’t want to miss!

🔗 Register here: https://buff.ly/E1ayDYk

Three days. One question driving all of it: how do we get better, together?

Members of our team were in Baltimore this week with Schusterman Family Philanthropies and a community of peer nonprofits for their Professional Learning Collaborative convening. A space designed for shared learning across grantee organizations doing parallel, mission-driven work.

Some of the highlights: measurement that actually matters, science of learning, deep dive into literacy and comprehension, organizational health, the real implications of AI for our sector, and what it takes to move from services to systems.

What we love about a PLC like this: it's built on the belief that no single organization has all the answers, and the most useful learning happens when we share what's working, and what isn't, out loud.

High school assistant principals from across NYC are in the room today with The Leadership Academy and Former First Deputy Chancellor Marisol Rosales, digging into one of the most essential and underdeveloped parts of school leadership: coaching.

Together, we’re unpacking the everyday moves leaders can take to support adult learning and behavior change over time: intentional listening, thoughtful questioning, meaningful feedback, and creating spaces where both support and challenge can coexist.

The AP role may look different in every district and every building, but the need for strong instructional and people leadership is constant.

Learn more about our work supporting APs in NYC: https://www.leadershipacademy.org/services/ap-academy/

Central office is where transformation begins.

The systems, structures, and decisions that make great school leadership possible are built intentionally by district leaders who understand that their work sets the conditions for everything else.

When central office operates with clarity, coherence, and a strong coaching culture, that energy moves through the entire system. Principals lead with greater confidence. Teams align around shared priorities. And students experience the difference.

That's the power of strong system-level leadership, and it's exactly what we partner with district leaders to build.

At The Leadership Academy, we work with superintendents and central office teams to develop the strategic alignment, leadership culture, and coaching capacity that amplifies impact at every level of the system.

Learn how we support district leadership teams: https://www.leadershipacademy.org/services/

Most educators can point to a leadership training they attended. Far fewer can point to one that truly changed how they lead.

The difference usually isn’t the content. It’s whether the learning fits who you are, where you are in your journey, and what your students and communities need right now. And, it's whether the learning changes how you show up once you’re back in the day-to-day work of schools and classrooms.

That’s the work we’ve been committed to at The Leadership Academy for more than 20 years.

We partner with teachers, aspiring leaders, principals, and superintendents across the country, not to deliver a one-time program, but to build leadership practices that last. Because leadership development that sticks should not be rare.

Whether you’re exploring your next step in leadership or looking for stronger support in the role you’re already in, we’d love to connect.

Learn more: https://www.leadershipacademy.org/services/

Our President & CEO, Nancy B. Gutiérrez, Ed.L.D., took the stage today alongside San Antonio ISD's Superintendent Jaime Aquino and Chief of Strategy & Global Development for IXL Learning & former NYCPS Chancellor, Richard Carranza at New Teacher Center's National Professional Learning Network Convening this evening to share their unfiltered, human truths about leadership and moments that have challenged them to stay, grow, and lead.

Nancy has led from many places in education, and tonight, she spoke candidly about moments of growth and lessons it can offer all of us:

🔷There is a difference between the leaders we aspire to be, and the leaders our communities need us to be. Leadership is about being trusted by those around you.

🔷Shared identity doesn't guarantee shared trust... trust must be earned.

🔷Humility should never become invisibility. Hiding your light doesn't make you humble. It makes you absent.

Thank you to the New Teacher Center for making this meaningful space for reflection possible. This convening was built on an important truth framed by the NTC team at the convening: "We cannot effectively help others stay, grow, and lead if we have not first secured our own foundation." And growth, as uncomfortable as it can sometimes be, is part of building and securing that foundation.

This is what sustained leadership investment looks like.

In Atlanta Public Schools, we’re supporting system leaders who are navigating the real, complex challenges of ensuring educational opportunity for every student.

Through sustained, multi-year professional learning and coaching, this work goes beyond quick wins. It’s about strengthening the leadership systems that make innovative, student-centered practices possible across schools.

When those systems shift, what’s possible for students shifts too.

Learn more about our impact: https://www.leadershipacademy.org/our-impact/

Many districts have strengthened accountability systems over the last several years through clearer rubrics, more frequent walkthroughs, and tighter evaluation processes.

But stronger accountability does not automatically lead to stronger leadership development.

Without intentional alignment, systems can end up reinforcing compliance over growth. Leaders become highly skilled at managing processes and expectations, but receive limited support in improving practice and outcomes.

That’s the core tension: accountability culture and development culture are not inherently the same thing.

Accountability asks:

Are leaders meeting the standard?

Development asks:

What support, coaching, and feedback will help leaders grow beyond it?

Leadership growth rarely comes from accountability alone. It comes from systems intentionally designed to connect accountability with development.

What does that balance look like in your district?

Growth as a leader isn't always comfortable. At New Teacher Center's National Professional Learning Network Convening, our very own Dr. Nancy B. Gutiérrez will take the stage to share her "grow story," an honest, unfiltered look at what it truly takes to grow as an education leader, even when growth feels uncertain or hard.

Because the leaders who transform schools aren't the ones who have it all figured out, they're the ones who are willing to reflect, adapt, and keep showing up for the students and communities who need them most.

That belief is at the heart of everything we do at The Leadership Academy — helping education leaders grow with purpose, lead with intention, and build systems that enable every student to thrive.

Leadership on the Ground:

At a recent Professional Learning Community convening hosted by The Wallace Foundation in Denver, CO, Denver Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero joined The Leadership Academy and district leaders from across the country to share ideas and discuss the future of leadership development in schools.

Together, they explored how school systems can sustain strong leadership pipelines that keep the right people in the right roles and students at the center of the work.

One insight that stood out: when districts design around roles rather than individuals, they prevent organizational bloat, reduce role creep, and build systems that remain focused on what matters most.

At The Leadership Academy, we partner with districts nationwide to build leadership pipelines that create lasting change, from aspiring leaders to the superintendent's office.

Learn how we can support leadership development across your system: https://lnkd.in/eCpZVqNK

Our President & CEO, Nancy B. Gutiérrez, joined education leaders from across the country at the Harvard Institute for Superintendents and District Leaders, where she participated in a panel session titled "Leadership is Theater." The convening was co-chaired by Deborah Jewell-Sherman Horner and Mary Grassa O'Neill.

Alongside fellow panelists Metro Nashville Public Schools Superintendent Adrienne Battle, Malden Public Schools Superintendent Timothy Sippel, and Detroit Public Schools Community District Superintendent Nikolai Vitti, she explored the real demands of district leadership: the resilience it requires and the purpose that sustains it.

It was a powerful reminder that the strongest leaders are those who know themselves deeply and bring that clarity into the work every single day, shaping what's possible for students.