President's Perspective

Bringing the Excitement Back

Brian Kirkendoll, AAEA Board President

Being able to conduct in-person meetings and conferences has brought a lot of excitement back to education. This holds true with administrators, teachers, and especially students. This year feels so much more like pre-Covid and I am certainly thankful. Being able to allow students to attend state, regional, and even national events has been more relieving than many of us would have imagined. I have seen an obvious level of excitement and enthusiasm for school that has been absent the past few years. Our students have more opportunities to enjoy school and have trips to look forward to. The expense for school districts to attend conferences can be difficult to budget, and logistics can be complicated. However, the benefits of personal connections, greater personal engagement, and having fun enjoying each other’s company are well worth the cost. I can personally attest as a building principal that our kids look forward to getting to go places, and they are getting excited again to be a part of school.

Speaking of conferences, the AAEA Fall Conference is right around the corner. The conference will be held at the Benton Event Center on October 18th. Please make an effort to attend to support each other and get away from the office for a day. Also, congratulations to Dr. Jared Cleveland of Springdale for being selected as the AASA Superintendent of the Year!