USHCA

The assistant principal role has grown dramatically over the past three decades. But are we doing enough to prepare these leaders for what's next?

A new report from the Wallace Foundation finds that 67% of U.S. public schools had at least one assistant principal in 2024–25, up from just 34% in 1990–91.

Yet as the role expands, responsibilities continue to vary widely from school to school, and important questions remain about whether assistant principals are getting the development they need to become effective school leaders.

A few findings that stood out to us:

🔹 Most assistant principals have access to mentoring and professional development, but need more support in leadership skills, using data for school improvement, and instructional leadership.

🔹 69% of principals reported that at least some of their assistant principals were prepared to lead schools.

🔹 The report points to an opportunity for districts to more intentionally align assistant principal roles with school needs, career aspirations, and stronger pathways to principal leadership.

For K–12 HR and talent leaders, this raises an important question: How are we using the assistant principal role to intentionally build the next generation of school leaders?

https://wallacefoundation.org/report/assistant-principals-growth-and-implications-school-leadership-closer-look-expanding-k-12

Grab your notebook. You’re going to want to bring these ideas back to your school district.

The challenges facing K–12 HR and talent leaders are getting more complex, and finding the time to think strategically about them can feel nearly impossible when you're managing the day-to-day.

That's why we created the Human Capital Academy.

Join us for three days in San Diego where you'll:

Gain practical tools and approaches you can apply to your own talent strategy.
Build relationships with K–12 HR and talent leaders who understand the work and are solving similar challenges.
Get dedicated time with your team to step away from daily demands, think strategically, and identify actionable opportunities for your school system.

Come with your biggest questions. Leave with new ideas, meaningful connections, and a clearer path forward.

October 26–28, 2026 | San Diego, CA

Grab your notebook and join us. Submit your interest today! DM Us!

AI is the #1 area K–12 HR and talent leaders say they want to grow in. But wanting to start and knowing where to start are two very different things.

The biggest mistake we see? Starting with the technology instead of the problem.

Before asking, "Where can we use AI?" start with a better question:

What are the two or three things our people team most needs to be great at right now?

Then look at the work creating the most friction.
The repetitive tasks that drain time.
The processes that slow your team down.
The knowledge that lives with one person instead of being shared across the organization.

That's where AI may be able to help.

And using AI thoughtfully also means being clear about where human judgment must remain firmly in place,
especially in high-stakes decisions involving hiring, evaluation, pay, and people.

You don't need a massive AI strategy to begin. You need clarity on your priorities and one real problem to solve.

Start with the problem. Keep it human. Learn. Then do it again.

Swipe through for a practical approach to getting started with AI in K–12 HR. 👉

Your team doesn’t need another meeting. You need dedicated time to work on what matters most in your school district.

Time away from the day-to-day demands.
Space to think strategically about your biggest workforce challenges.
A community of K–12 HR and talent leaders who understand the complexity of the work because they’re living it too.

At the 2026 Human Capital Academy, you and your team will have three days to work through real challenges facing your school system, gain practical tools to strengthen your talent strategy, learn from experts and innovators across the field, and build relationships with peers you can continue learning from long after the convening ends.

Come with your biggest questions. Leave with actionable ideas and a clearer path forward.

📍 San Diego, CA
📅 October 26–28, 2026

Join us at this year’s Academy and make time for the work that’s too important to keep squeezing between meetings.

Submit your interest today (link below and in bio).

We’re not talking about leadership turnover enough.

When progress stalls in school systems, we often point to teacher shortages, broken data systems, or bureaucracy. But there’s another challenge quietly disrupting momentum: frequent turnover among superintendents, HR chiefs, and other senior leaders.

A new leader comes in. They spend months listening and learning. Priorities shift. Existing work gets paused or shelved. Then the leader leaves, and the cycle begins again.

Meanwhile, teams enter a holding pattern, waiting to see which priorities will last and which they can simply outlast.

This creates what behavioral psychologists call a momentum tax: the friction, energy, and time required to restart work after interruption.

We talk constantly about the teacher retention crisis in education. We need to be talking about the leadership momentum crisis, too.

You can’t build anything durable on a revolving door.

How does your organization protect progress and keep important work moving during leadership transitions?

Let us know below. 👇

Declining student enrollment will test your workforce strategy. And most districts aren't ready.

After nearly 40 years of growth, K–12 public school enrollment is in sustained decline. Forty states and the District of Columbia are projected to continue losing students, while the share of students requiring additional support is growing.

The workforce decisions school systems make now will shape students' access to great teaching for years to come.

The question we should be asking is: How do we reconfigure our people, roles, and time to meet a changing enrollment landscape without sacrificing opportunity for the students who rely on us most?

Our CEO, Danielle Pickens, shares her perspective on what declining enrollment means for K–12 workforce strategy and the decisions leaders need to make now.

Check out the full post below. 👇
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/declining-student-enrollment-test-your-workforce-strategy-pickens-oktmc/

Our Academy is just the beginning. We know that the real work starts when you return to your district.

The challenge for many HR and talent leaders isn't finding great ideas.

It's finding the support, community, and accountability to turn those ideas into action.

That's why USHCA isn't a once-a-year event.

It's a year-round community built for leaders responsible for ensuring every student has access to great teaching every day.

As a member, you'll gain access to:

✓ Peer learning and collaboration with district leaders across the country
✓ Expert guidance and practical resources
✓ Monthly office hours and ongoing support
✓ Early access to tools, research, and emerging practices
✓ A trusted network that understands the realities of K-12 workforce challenges

Because teacher shortages, retention challenges, leadership transitions, and workforce planning don't happen once a year.

And neither should the support.

If you're looking for more than an event—if you're looking for a community of leaders committed to strengthening talent systems and improving student outcomes—we'd love to connect.

DM us to Learn more about membership and Academy participation, or leave a comment below. ⤵️

Your district doesn't need any conference. It needs a solutions focused one.

Teacher shortages.
Leadership turnover.
Hard-to-staff schools.
Retention challenges.
Budget pressures.

The challenges facing K-12 talent leaders are growing more complex—and the stakes couldn't be higher.

Because every staffing decision impacts students.

That's why the Academy brings together district HR and Human Capital leaders from across the country to tackle real workforce challenges, learn from peers facing similar realities, and leave with strategies they can actually implement.

When you join us, you'll gain:

✅ Practical solutions to today's talent challenges
✅ Proven strategies from leading districts nationwide
✅ Dedicated time to think, plan, and problem-solve
✅ A trusted network of peers and experts who understand the work

At USHCA, our mission is simple:

To help districts build stronger talent systems so every student has access to great teaching every day.

If you're responsible for recruiting, developing, supporting, or retaining educators in your district, this Academy was built for you.

Academy Convening 2026
📅 October 26–28, 2026
📍 San Diego, CA

Ready to bring practical solutions back to your district?

Submit your interest today. Link in comments⤵️