What does it mean when hundreds of school and system leaders, policymakers, service providers, philanthropists, journalists and researchers interested in strategic school staffing get together for two days?
If you ask Brent Maddin, executive director for the Next Education Workforce™ and founder of the Strategic School Staffing Summit, the gathering signals the increasing awareness and commitment to rethinking our education workforce and how we staff schools.
“We know to affect great change, we’re going to need the larger educational ecosystem working together,” Maddin said. “We’ve tried to create a space that honors and highlights the truly innovative spirit of what educators across the country and world are designing, offering it up humbly — not as the answer, but as inspiration to others doing the work. And that together we’re forming a network of people at all levels who are interested in producing better outcomes and experiences.”
The Strategic School Staffing Summit 2025, hosted by Arizona State University’s Next Education Workforce, will take place virtually Feb. 5-6, 2025, and feature more than 40 sessions highlighting important topics relating to innovative team-based school staffing, such as:
- High-impact tutoring as a strategic staffing component with Stanford University
- Transitioning to strategic staffing models: Changing mindsets of pre-service and in-service teachers with Appalachian State University
- Supporting multilingual learners with teacher-led teams and high-quality instruction with TeachPlus
- Using micro-credentials to identify and develop strong, diverse lead teachers with New America
- Empowering educator teams to shape GenAI’s role in team-based learning environments with Leading Educators
- Redesigning strategic school staffing for inclusive schools: Empowering special educators highlighting research from the American Institutes for Research
At the end of the first day, there will also be an opportunity to network with speakers and fellow attendees.
Together we’re forming a network of people at all levels who are interested in producing better outcomes and experiences.
Now in its sixth year, the all-virtual annual Summit has welcomed thousands of attendees as well as keynote speakers including U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten and Professor Emeritus at Stanford University Larry Cuban.
Over the years, Deirdre Smith, who has led programming and operations for Summit for the past five years, has seen the Summit change and grow immensely — from the number of attendees and the diversity of the presenters to the transition from an in-person event in 2019 to an all-virtual event beginning in 2021. However, while many conferences have shifted back to pre-pandemic modalities, the move online has been somewhat of an unexpected gift.
Not only does an online format allow participants to go back and watch every session, but Maddin said it’s made the Summit more inclusive and accessible.
“While I love the idea of getting together in person with colleagues, a virtual event increases accessibility and inclusivity, and that has helped us to grow in number and enhance the diversity of attendees,” Maddin said.
No matter how much the Summit has grown or changed, it’s always been, and will always be, about bringing together some of the best thinkers in the education space to discuss strategic school staffing.
“I think the goal with the Summit is to always have participants who can continue to nourish, grow and foster this work in communities across the country and world,” Maddin said. “There is no shortage of inspiration and innovation in this community.”
The Strategic School Staffing Summit hosted by the Next Education Workforce™ initiative brings together hundreds of stakeholders from across the education ecosystem to share ideas, strategies, practices and conditions that enable a more diverse, team-based education workforce.
Event
Strategic School Staffing Summit 2025
