Student's View: Top Five Reasons to Join AASA, The School Superintendents Association

By Tatiana Le, student intern, AASA, The School Superintendents Association

 In my quest to unravel the mysteries of AASA, The School Superintendents Association, I found an opportunity to interview C.J. Reid, associate executive director, governance, membership & affiliate services.

What I learned about AASA membership from C.J. wasn’t what I expected. There aren’t five amazing reasons I can list that will convince any school administrator to join AASA, there are over 20,000 reasons: one slightly different, personal reason for each individual member. C.J. summarized the situation succinctly, “There is no one silver bullet to membership.”  

As such, I’m going to attempt to come up with my five bronze bullets to consider when debating whether to become an AASA member. 

1. Legal support program

Insurance, as C.J. put it, “is important, but not sexy.” Insurance is one of those things that most people hope never to use, but they sleep better at night knowing it’s there anyway.

I know as well as the next person how necessary that security can be. Life likes to hit us all with a little rain now and then. Through the legal support program, AASA is providing its members up to $20,000 in legal support now, up from $10,000 last year.  

2. Advocacy

As a national association, AASA can advocate for school leaders in ways that state associations logistically can’t. From preserving Medicaid spending in schools to ensuring that low-income students are able to eat breakfast, AASA does its best to represent the interests of school leaders trying to help their students on Capitol Hill and in the White House. That means constantly listening to members online, in person or through the governing board and executive committee. AASA represents its members to the government, not the other way around.

3. Networking

There is only one superintendent in a school district; sometimes, superintendents are spread over multiple districts. AASA’s national network of superintendents gives school leaders the ability to connect and collaborate with people facing similar problems across the country. The support of a community can have astronomical effects on district confidence and success. C.J. is convinced that AASA’s National Conference on Education could be “a room full of chairs and the superintendents would all be content to talk to each other for three hours.”

4. Professional development

AASA hosts an ever-growing collection of programs, cohorts, consortia and academies to help school administrators lead and support their respective schools. Twenty percent of AASA members retire every year, which means that school administrators need to be prepared for a variety of environments, challenges and positions. Whether that means taking advantage of the Urban Superintendent’s Academy or The Rural School and Community Trust, AASA does its best to provide opportunities for its members to grow. 

5. School Administrator (and other resources)

School Administrator, AASA’s award-winning monthly magazine full of insight from school administrators and other professionals in the field, is physically sent to every member every month.

Additionally, members receive two electronic newsletters, all AASA toolkits, access to the resource library and discounts for all AASA books. AASA ensures that all members stay as updated and prepared as possible. If that means having a 24-hour hotline as part of the School Safety & Crisis Planning toolkit, AASA makes it happen. 

 

Learn more about AASA at aasa.org and if you like what you see, join at aasa.org/join or call 703-875-0748.