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In this Q&A, Nick Carson, the assistant director of regional implementation support for the Next Education Workforce™, answers questions about the initiative’s Leader Launchpad workshop, including why it was created, what changes have been made to the offering and what he’s most excited about.

In the 2024-25 school year, 143 schools across 17 states embraced innovative Next Education Workforce™ models, a transformative step to improve outcomes for learners and educators through team-based strategic school staffing.

Nearly 70 educators and school and system leaders attended the Next Education Workforce™ initiative’s November Site Visit, joining a growing number of out-of-state, and even out-of-country, educational innovators coming to Arizona to see team-based strategic school staffing models in action. And the reason they can come see these models in action can be attributed largely to the Mesa Public Schools district that decided to take a big step forward in transforming how it supports its students and educators.

The Community Educator Learning Hub’s high-impact tutoring nanocourses and a new micro-credential are providing new career advancement and learning opportunities for tutors across the country.

The Strategic School Staffing Summit 2025, hosted by Arizona State University’s Next Education Workforce, will take place Feb. 5-6 and feature more than 40 sessions highlighting important topics relating to innovative team-based staffing.

School and system leaders share their experiences launching team-based strategic staffing models in new Next Education Workforce™ Virtual Site Visits videos.