Hawaii Society for Technology in Education

Author: Tammy Musiowsky-Borneman

Hawai‘i Island Independent School Director of Teaching & Learning 

November 14, 2023

At the 2023 ASCD Leadership Summit, an announcement was made about the ISTE / ASCD merger. This year, the still-merging organizations held what I would consider a boutique leadership summit for about 500 educational leaders. ASCD and ISTE are known for large annual events, but the Leadership Summit is a smaller, more intimate leadership-focused event.

CEO Richard Culatta kicked off the event with his candid introductions, getting leaders excited, inspired, and preparing our ways for thinking about leading through ASCD+ISTE Principles for Transformative Learning: 

1. Create the conditions

2. Foster cognitive development

3. Empower the learners

…because, as it turns out, what learners think about an experience… matters. A lot. Pedagogically, this is the way I think about teaching and learning, so knowing these are the principles that drive the organization made me feel good about the place where I was about to spend three days.

Principal Baruti Kefele was the beginning keynote for the event, asked the most important questions we could probably ask ourselves as educational leaders: Is my school better because of me? Are my teachers better because I coach them? Are the students better because of me? That focus, why we lead, kept me focused throughout the event. This set the stage for what I was looking for in sessions. And honestly, it was easy for me to choose because I knew a lot of folks presenting. 

For a boutique event, there were just the right amount of sessions to choose from without being overwhelmed. From Artificial Intelligence to Sustainable Development Goals and getting staff to solve their own problems, there were choices about transformation and thoughtful leadership for all who attended. 

I particularly enjoyed a session about how Nevada educator Rachel Croft, a fellow ASCD Emerging Leader, brought the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to life with students in her district. We used a Padlet to map out connections between our favorite things to the goals. I already have a plan to work this into our school curriculum next semester. 

It was great to see a strong representation of staff from both organizations at the welcome reception, author’s reception, and in the sessions in between. At several sessions I attended, ASCD and ISTE staff were there to see presenter styles and to engage in the learning along with leadership participants, and it was a pleasure to learn alongside them. The event met my expectations for learning and connecting.