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School Leader

NJSBA’s quarterly magazine focuses on trends and issues of interest to boards of education and their top administrators.

School Leader • Summer 2026

Vol. 58 No. 1
Feature

Workshop 2026: Charting the Path, Empowering Journeys

The New Jersey School Boards Association will chart a course for education excellence at Workshop 2026, taking place October 19-22 at the Atlantic City Convention Center.   Co-sponsored by the New Jersey Association of Administrators and the New Jersey Association...

An open curling map on a blue background with a teal to green gradient landscape with land shapes and a silhouette of children walking a red dotted line path. There are three gold and blue hot air balloons with pencil tip baskets. In the center The words Workshop 2026 is written in a modern cursive font in lime green with a teal and dark blue drop shadow.
Feature

Workshop Keynote Tim Shriver to Deliver Message on Dignity in Schools & Society

When Timothy Shriver addresses thousands as the keynote speaker at the New Jersey School Boards Association’s 2026 Annual Workshop this fall, he will not focus on test scores or education trends. Instead, he likely will pose questions such as: How...

Timothy Shriver smiling candidly
Feature
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Guiding Special-Needs Students and Families From School into Adult Life

For families with special-needs children, the reliability of a public school system’s programs and professional support can be a vital resource. However, when their children grow up and no longer qualify for those services, many families say they feel lost...

Special needs boy smiling and posing with a giraffe statue at a zoo
Feature
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The Hidden Cost of Broken Systems in School Districts

School districts are often judged by their outcomes, such as student performance, community trust and the ability to balance their annual budgets. Yet beneath these visible metrics lies a less discussed but equally influential factor: the systems that drive daily...

vector graphic of diverse peopel in business suits standing on teal lines accross from eachother with a severed connection. The background is navy blue with gray a hexagon pattern
Feature
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Artificial Intelligence: Friend, Foe or Frenemy?

In a world where technology is increasingly accessible from almost anywhere at any time—while time remains a precious and fleeting commodity—school officials face a difficult dilemma: deciding if and when to use artificial intelligence.  Board of education members and charter...

A digital-looking pink and blue desktop computer with a smily face sits atop an abstract pink and blue digital image of a circuit board.
Feature
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Signaling Change

This article was originally published in the Winter 2026 issue of Apptegy’s SchoolCEO magazine. By the time this study is published, Clinton Central School Corporation’s Melissa McIntire will have earned her doctorate in education. Her thesis asks a question that’s...

A black halftone style graphic of a hand holding books and the letters AI over a pastel gradient mesh background
Feature
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NJSBA’s "Reel Jersey" student film category

You may have seen the New Jersey School Boards Association sponsoring a category in the Garden State Film Festival and wondered, “Why is the NJSBA involved in filmmaking?”  For the past seven years, the NJSBA has sponsored a student category...

Middle school-aged student in a hoodie holding a video camera to his face pointing down in front of a black background
President's Message
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Now Is the Time to Reflect and to Renew Our Resolve

Summer has a way of slowing things down just enough to allow for a clear-eyed look at where we have been and where we still need to go. As I write this for our summer edition, I find myself genuinely...

Executive Word
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Advocacy Is Not Optional

Across New Jersey, school districts continue to face financial pressures that threaten our ability to provide the educational opportunities our students deserve. The combination of the state’s funding formula and the rigid 2% tax levy cap continues to create challenges...