Chris Gdowski, superintendent of Adams 12 Five Star Schools in Colorado, has been named the state's Superintendent of the Year for 2026. Gdowski, who has led the district for 16 years, is recognized for improving graduation rates, particularly among Hispanic students, expanding career and technical education and managing voter-approved bonds for facility improvements.

Instead of waiting for permission from others, living authentically requires you to consciously permit yourself to act in ways that align with your values, including taking risks and expressing vulnerability, says Alaina Love, the CEO of Purpose Linked Consulting. In this interview with SmartBrief's Candace Chellew, Love outlines how permission works and how her new book, "Permission to Be You," can provide a "coach in a box" to help you recognize and honor who you already are.

The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia has introduced a three-year pilot fellowship program aimed at enhancing civic education in rural and remote schools. The initiative, expected to launch in 2026-27, seeks to address the limited access rural educators have to professional development opportunities, and aims to foster engagement and civil dialogue among both teachers and students through targeted training on constitutional topics.

Erie Public Schools in Pennsylvania have introduced the Aspiring Educators program, a two-year career and technical education initiative aimed at preparing students to become teachers in elementary and secondary schools. The program is hosted at Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy but is open to all high-school students in the district, and covers topics such as classroom management, child development and special education.

Eighty-nine percent of principals are concerned that generative AI tools will make students reliant on technology for completing basic assignments, 87% say that the technology will hinder critical thinking and 82% say it will prevent students from engaging with course material, a report from the College Board finds. However, 69% of students report using AI regularly to find information, with only 45% worried about its impact on skills and 52% concerned about overreliance, the report finds.

A federal judge in Seattle has ruled that the Trump administration must restore millions of dollars in school mental health grants to certain recipients in sixteen Democratic-led states. The judge found the administration's decision to withhold the funds, citing opposition to diversity-focused criteria, was arbitrary and capricious. The preliminary order restores funding to affected districts while the legal challenge continues.

“Urgent” tasks can pull leaders in every direction. In the October issue of EL, Frederick Buskey, author of A School Leader's Guide to Reclaiming Purpose, shares how to get back to what’s most important.