Over the summer, a group of Kansas education leaders met to discuss how to better support high-quality instruction for elementary and secondary students. While these leaders have been united in their pursuit of this goal for many years, these meetings provide a special opportunity to collaborate. The workshops are an ongoing collaboration to bolster the supports they provide school district superintendents with content created by the Central Comprehensive Center (Central CC) and the attendees themselves.
Bolstering Supports
The workshops are one piece of the Kansas State Department of Education’s (KSDE) larger commitment to spotlight high-quality instruction for every student. With the support of the new commissioner, Dr. Jake Steel, the KSDE is committed to positively impacting student academic success and understands that strong leadership within school districts is necessary to achieve this goal.
To ensure high-quality instruction is supported statewide, this group of leaders is focused on strengthening district superintendents’ capacities as instructional leaders with the belief that strong leadership at the top means principals and teachers receive evidence-based support to implement high-quality instruction in every classroom.
“Often times, a great idea gets stored on paper. We want to make sure the knowledge extends to application,” said Dr. Doug Moeckel, a project co-lead from the Central CC.
The KSDE-led partnership launched the Kansas Superintendent Leadership Network (KSLN) during the 2019–2024 Comprehensive Center cycle. Since then, KSLN has been connecting, supporting, and developing cohorts of school district superintendents.
“Kansas schools are only as strong as the leadership capacity we build in the people entrusted to lead them. The Kansas Superintendent Leadership Network is creating a statewide culture in which superintendents continually strengthen their leadership, learn from one another, and develop the capacity to lead their communities through increasingly complex challenges,” said Dr. Randy Watson, Former Kansas Commissioner of Education, Founder & CEO, Sunflower Leadership Consultants.
“The partnership and expertise of the Central Comprehensive Center, particularly in helping us deepen and strengthen the six domains of superintendent leadership, is helping KSLN build something that will have a lasting impact—not only on today’s leaders, but on the future of public education across Kansas,” he continued.
Cross-Agency Partnerships
Launched by the KSDE, KSLN includes multiple partners that directly support local education agencies and have been instrumental to its success, including four that connect, train, coach, mentor, and advocate for superintendents:
- Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB)
- Kansas Educational Leadership Institute (KELI)
- Kansas School Superintendents’ Association (KSSA)
- United School Administrators of Kansas (USA Kansas)
The KSDE-led partnership recognized that in order to develop and grow the capacities of all 285 school district leaders, they need to rely on—and support—these organizations that work directly with the school districts.
“It’s unique to have this many partners from different backgrounds working in harmony, and it’s because the mission is so important,” said Dr. Moeckel.
By working together, this cross-agency partnership is able to leverage each organization’s professional relationships with districts across the state. Together, they form a network that reaches all Kansas school districts in a more familiar way than KSDE can alone.
Learning Together
To advance their shared goal of supporting superintendents, representatives from KASB, KELI, KSSA, and USA Kansas were invited to participate in a series of professional learning workshops presented by the Central CC. The workshops are designed to strengthen the supports partners provide to superintendents through KSLN.
“This is a group of experienced leaders within their own organizations who are still open and eager to rethink how things are done and embrace continuous improvement and continued learning,” explained Dr. Jaunelle Pratt-Williams, Central CC project co-lead. “It’s a unique collaboration, full of individuals who are excited to learn about best practices to improve outcomes for students.”
The June 2026 workshop explored topics that could support superintendents in assessing the needs of their district, support the pipeline of educators, and provide learning opportunities that increase the skills of Kansas educators. The broad set of topics allowed the group to identify a series of topics on which they could collaborate in future workshops.
In August 2026, the group met again. This time, the workshop focused on how instructional leadership and culture facilitate high-quality instruction for students.
In both workshops, attendees engaged in conversations driven by a shared commitment to improve. By learning together, participants are working to provide superintendents across the state with consistent resources and support so they can better serve their school principals. All of this is done with an eye on the classroom, ensuring every student attends a school with leaders who understand how to cultivate an environment where every student receives high-quality instruction.
The group is looking forward to continuing to collaborate in the fall.