AASA Launches the Daniel A. Domenech Scholarship to be Awarded to Educators Participating in the AASA Aspiring Superintendents Academy® for Latino and Latina Leaders

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
James Minichello
703-774-6953
jminichello@aasa.org

San Antonio, Texas – February 16, 2023 – Given America’s critical need to create more innovative pathways for Latino and Latina leaders to reach top level educational administration positions, AASA, The School Superintendents Association is pleased to announce the creation of the Daniel A. Domenech Scholarship, named after the organization’s executive director who is retiring this month.  

The needs-based scholarship will help fund recipients’ participation in the Aspiring Superintendents Academy® for Latino and Latina Leaders, a highly interactive year-long program that provides participants with the real-world skills a next generation Latino and Latina superintendent will need to thrive. Today’s announcement was made at AASA’s National Conference on Education in San Antonio, Texas.

“We have a student population that is extremely diverse. We need women and men to represent the young people who look like them—so these students can aspire to become leaders in generations to come,” said Gladys Cruz, superintendent, Questar III BOCES in Castleton, N.Y., and a lead instructor of the program. “We are proud to name this scholarship after Dan Domenech, a native of Cuba who spent more than half a century in public education, including 27 years as a superintendent and 15 years as the executive director of AASA. Dan dedicated his professional career to being a champion for all children.”

Between 2008 and 2018, the Latino share of the total U.S. population increased from 16% to 18%, with Latinos accounting for about half (52%) of all U.S. population growth in that period. Yet of the 13,600 school districts in the United States, only 2% of superintendents are Latino or Latina. This scholarship seeks to support aspiring superintendents that, due to financial hardship, are unable to participate in the academy.   

“I knew at a young age that I wanted to pursue a career in public education and help other kids like me,” said Domenech. “Since then, the issue of equity has already been near and dear to my heart, which is one of the reasons why I am so grateful this scholarship was created—to pave the way for an aspiring Latino or Latina administrator who otherwise might not have the opportunity to fulfill his or her dream.”

The program includes modules and focus areas, including:

• Knowing Yourself and Your Leadership Strengths and Areas of Growth
• Leading for Equity with Urgency: Unique Challenges Facing Latino and Latina Superintendents in Confronting Bias, Limited Access and Opportunity, and Inherent Structural Inequities.

Through the generosity of the Frank and Shirley Dick Trust and Imagine Learning, AASA will award four scholarships for the next Aspiring Superintendents Academy®️ for Latino and Latina Leaders which begins in March 2023. 

For additional information about the Aspiring Superintendents Academy® for Latino and Latina Leaders, visit the AASA website or contact Gladys Cruz at gcruz@questar.org or Debbie Magee, director, Leadership Network, at dmagee@aasa.org. To donate to the scholarship, click here, (link coming) and for information about becoming a sponsor of the Daniel A. Domenech Scholarship, contact Tammy Barbara at tbarbara@aasa.org.

Domenech began his teaching career in New York City, where he taught sixth grade in a predominantly black and Hispanic community in South Jamaica, Queens. An AASA member since 1979, Domenech served as president of AASA from July 1998 to June 1999 then as executive director from 2008 to 2023.

Regarded as the most comprehensive professional learning and networking event for school superintendents and administrators, AASA’s National Conference on Education is addressing the most critical issues affecting public education today, including leading through the COVID-19 pandemic, equity in education, social and emotional learning, personalizing education, health and wellness, technology and school safety.

Click here to access Conference Daily Online for more information about the conference.

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About AASA
AASA, The School Superintendents Association, founded in 1865, is the professional organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders in the United States and throughout the world. AASA’s mission is to support and develop effective school system leaders who are dedicated to equitable access for all students to the highest quality public education. For more information, visit www.aasa.org.