Newsletter archive

Issue No. 5: Introducing Susana Córdova, this year’s keynote speaker for the Strategic School Staffing Summit

Issue No. 4: The Next Education Workforce initiative’s commitment to collaboration

Issue No. 3: What I want for my own children and for every student

Issue No. 2: What we learned this year about strategic school staffing

Issue No. 1: Welcome to the Next Education Workforce newsletter

Issue No. 5: Introducing Susana Córdova, this year’s keynote speaker for the Strategic School Staffing Summit

Introducing Susana Córdova, this year's keynote speaker for the Strategic School Staffing Summit

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Having trouble viewing this email? View the web version: Issue No. 5 | Oct. 28, 2025

Attend the Strategic School Staffing Summit — no airplanes required

This fall, I’ve been on a ton of airplanes and have been lucky enough to see firsthand how schools and systems are rethinking how they organize and support the education workforce. Across Arizona, Mississippi and, internationally, in England, momentum is building. Leaders are redesigning roles, building educator teams and making schools more supportive places to teach and to learn.

That’s why I’m especially excited for this year’s Strategic School Staffing Summit, where we’ll welcome Colorado Commissioner of Education Susana Córdova for a keynote conversation with our Dean, Carole Basile. Commissioner Córdova brings a powerful perspective, as an educator, district leader and now state policymaker, on how bold leadership and enabling policy can turn big ideas into better outcomes for students and educators alike.

The Summit is one of the best ways to appreciate the variety of ways that team-based strategic school staffing is happening across contexts. And, because it’s fully virtual, you can join from anywhere. No airplanes required. Join us to see fresh ideas and examples from the movement to redesign the education workforce. Can’t wait to see you there.

In the meantime, if you have ideas, questions, or challenges you’d like us to explore in future issues, please drop us a line at edworkforce@asu.edu. We’d love to hear from you.

— Brent Maddin, Executive Director

Meet our Summit keynote speaker

A graphic with the text Strategic School Staffing Summit 2026 keynote and the headshots of Carole Basile and Susana Córdova

When Susana Córdova talks about education, she doesn’t just speak as a policymaker. She speaks as a former bilingual educator and superintendent, and now as Colorado’s Commissioner of Education, where she works to shape the future of learning for an entire state.

This perspective, grounded in experience and lifted by a vision for what schools can be, is exactly what the movement to reimagine school staffing needs right now. That’s why we’re honored to welcome Commissioner Córdova as the keynote speaker for the 2026 Strategic School Staffing Summit.

Learn more about Commissioner Córdova

What does it take to move from ‘student-centered’ to ‘student-driven’ learning?

In his latest blog, Brent Maddin explores the Three Horizons framework from the International Futures Forum and how it helps us understand the evolution of team-based staffing models. What might Horizon 3 look like, when learners and families shape their own educator teams?

Brent argues that the future won’t emerge overnight, but Horizon 2 innovations are laying the groundwork for what’s next.

Read the blog post

Empowering high schoolers to make a difference in classrooms

An illustration of a young man, a woman in a wheelchair, and a dog at a crossroads. A sign has different illustrations representing career pathways.

“I was once a student leader in the pathway, then a teacher of the pathway, and now I get to help shape the future of the pathway,” Lennon Audrain, who worked as a career and technical education teacher in Mesa Public Schools, shares. “If you care about student outcomes right now, CTE pathways represent a huge untapped opportunity: high school students ready and eager to contribute when given the right preparation.”

An upcoming webinar hosted by the leaders of the Community Educator Learning Hub, an award-winning online learning platform developed by the Next Education Workforce, will highlight resources relevant to CTE education professions pathways. The free webinar tomorrow, Wednesday, Oct. 29, will also include a demonstration of the Hub’s nanocourses and time for questions at the end.

Learn how the Hub can help

In the news

Momentum builds in schools for team-based staffing models: A K-12 Dive article on how strategic school staffing models are gaining traction nationwide
MLFC Dean Carole Basile shared with Insider Higher Ed how the college is redesigning teacher preparation and how collaboration is key to driving educational transformation. Listen to the Weekly Wisdom podcast
Delaware unlocks $7.2 million in grants to boost early reading: An article highlighting how Next Education Workforce models will play a role in the state’s investment in strengthening and accelerating early literacy success

Before you go

Register for the 2026 Strategic School Staffing Summit
See team-based school staffing models in action. Register to join us in person in Arizona at a Site Visit.
Hear from educators and leaders successfully implementing team-based staffing models with a free, virtual Explore Experience
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