LM Apr 2025

Message From the Executive Director

Every Day Matters: Finishing Strong and Preparing Tomorrow’s Leaders

Dr. Brent Clark

At the 2023 IASA Annual Conference, I shared my admiration for Steve Kerr — a man who not only captured five NBA championships as a player and four as a coach but embodied what it means to maximize potential through dedication and courage under pressure. Kerr once observed, “Success in basketball is like building a puzzle; every piece, every player, matters.” As we wind down the 2024-25 school year, I believe this wisdom resonates powerfully within our educational communities. School districts in many ways are like a puzzle, where all the parts create an ecosystem of learning and support. Superintendents provide vision, teachers unlock potential, custodians maintain clean facilities, counselors support emotional health, paraprofessionals offer critical classroom support, coaches build character through extracurriculars and nurses care for sick students. When even one piece is missing or disengaged, the integrity of the entire system weakens. As May unfolds, we face the annual temptation to ease our pace. Yet this is precisely when educational leaders must reinforce that our puzzle remains incomplete until the final bell rings on the last day. Our commitment cannot waver—not when each instructional minute contributes to a student’s foundation for life beyond our walls. This mission takes on deeper meaning as we watch our seniors prepare to cross the graduation stage. Graduation represents not just a student’s achievement,

but the culmination of countless contributions from teachers, counselors, support staff and administrators who guided them along the way. Our seniors aren’t just moving on to the next chapter of their lives – they’re stepping into roles our communities desperately need them to fill. From our local businesses to national industries, there’s a hunger for fresh talent ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work. In technology fields alone, experts project growth from 6 million jobs in 2024 to 7.1 million by 2034, with computer and IT occupations expected to have 356,700 job openings annually. Overall, the Future of Jobs Report 2025 indicates a net increase of 78 million jobs globally by 2030, with 170 million new jobs created and 92 million displaced due to factors like technological advancements and demographic shifts By preparing students well, we’re not just changing individual trajectories – we’re strengthening our towns, our state and our nation’s ability to compete and thrive in an increasingly complex world. Like Kerr’s championship teams, our educational communities achieve greatness not through individual brilliance alone, but through sustained collective effort until the final buzzer sounds. Let’s honor our profession by finishing strong and celebrating the graduates we’ve helped create.

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LM April 2025