Join your peers to analyze and disseminate lessons from reconstructing your system during a year of uncertainty. Take away new tools for leading beyond crises.
Overview
District leaders have always faced enormous challenges, but a year of sustained social upheaval has called for greater creativity and endurance. Achieving a vision of excellence for each student grew ever more elusive as school districts responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and remodeled schooling to support their communities. However, these challenges have generated important lessons and created opportunities to transform school systems to serve learners more effectively.
The Harvard Institute for Superintendents and District Leaders is a forum for you to build community with other superintendents and make sense of your current leadership practice. This program provides space to reflect upon the lessons of the past year and to prepare for the challenges ahead. You will explore new leadership tools and strategies for developing a team with the full range of capacities needed to lead systemic improvement.
Program Details
The 2021 Harvard Institute for Superintendents and District Leaders is designed as a virtual institute. This new format will maintain the intensity and rigor of the residential learning experience and foster a community of seasoned leaders. The program structure will also give participants the flexibility and space to attend to personal and professional responsibilities.
Schedule for Live Sessions
Program schedule (to be confirmed) Sunday, Monday, Tuesday sessions 12:00–4:00 p.m. ET; the daily program schedule is expected to include 60- to 90-minute interactive class sessions or case discussions as well as peer coaching sessions lasting 45 to 60 minutes.
Objectives
- Share how your district team, school teams, and families overcame the biggest challenges to offering high-quality instruction
- Learn a new approach to system-wide policy implementation that prioritizes equity and empowers other leaders in your school district to respond effectively to rapidly changing circumstances
- Understand how to improve and align professional learning across your organization with priorities for student learning
- Learn to leverage behavioral economics for more effective family engagement
- Explore frameworks that will help you to lead and listen in a virtual or blended operating context
- Enhance your communication and approaches to stakeholder engagement
- Define and analyze a central challenge and consult with faculty and peers as you refresh your approach to managing it

Christy Prosser, Director of Student Information & School Safety, Jones County School System
Harvard Institute for Superintendents and District Leaders past participant

Jesse Welsh, Academic Manager, Clark Country School District
Harvard Institute for Superintendents and District Leaders past participant
Who Should Attend
- District superintendents and assistant superintendents
- School board members
- Central office administrators responsible for developing quality schools and central systems
We strongly encourage enrollment by teams of senior leaders that include a superintendent.

Deborah Jewell-Sherman is the faculty chair of the Harvard Institute for Superintendents and District Leaders, Women in Education Leadership, National Institute for Urban School Leaders, and Leading for Excellence and Equity: A CAEL Module and faculty co-chair of Race, Equity, and Leadership in Schools.
Fees & Policies
Tuition includes all instructional materials required for participation in the program.
Full tuition is due by the indicated payment deadline, please refer to the individual program’s community and application page for payment deadlines. While a purchase order confirms enrollment, full payment is still required by the final payment deadline. Please note that failure to pay by the payment deadline will result in your withdrawal from the program.
Please click here for more information on payment, refund, and withdrawal policies.
The Harvard Graduate School of Education reserves the right to change faculty or cancel programs at its discretion. The school is not responsible for any planning expenses incurred.