Educators Tackle the High School Crisis at ASCD 2025: New Panel Explores Bold, Inclusive Solutions

Sacramento, CA—June 24, 2025—SchoolStatus, the leading provider of attendance and family engagement solutions for K-12 districts, is joining a powerhouse panel of education leaders at ASCD and ISTELive in San Antonio this July. “High School Overhaul: Educators Leading Real Change” brings together five diverse changemakers who are breaking old models and building inclusive, data-informed systems that support every student—and every educator.

Across the country, high schools are continuing to battle chronic absenteeism. Students report feeling disconnected and unseen. And educators are often working in outdated systems that weren’t designed for today’s learners. 

To tackle these challenges head-on, the panel will discuss five key shifts needed to make high school a place students want to be. 

• Redesigning high school systems and schedules
• Centering equity, well-being, and student voice
• Using disaggregated data to scale success
• Empowering teacher leadership and retention
• Building true family partnerships to combat absenteeism

Each topic includes real-world examples, a strategic question to deepen the discussion, and time for audience reflection.

“This isn’t a conversation about fixing kids,” says Dr. Josephine Salvador, Director of the New York State Master Teacher Program. “It’s about reimagining schools so that students feel safe, known, and inspired to learn—and teachers have the support and trust to lead the way.”

Meet the Panelists

• Marcus Bratton, Sr. Director, Implementation & Partnership, Colorado Education Initiative
• Dr. Terry Harris, Executive Director, The Legacy Center STL
• Dr. Josephine Salvador, Director, NY State Master Teacher Fellowship
• Dr. Jonah Schenker, Superintendent & Chief Executive Officer, Ulster BOCES District 
• Moderator: Dr. Kara Stern, Director of Education, SchoolStatus

Panelists will share actionable strategies—and challenge attendees to rethink the “why” behind the systems we’ve inherited.

“This conversation reflects our mission at SchoolStatus—to turn insights into outcomes,” said Dr. Kara Stern, Director of Education at SchoolStatus. “By integrating communication tools with student data, we break down barriers and help educators create meaningful school-home connections that improve attendance, behavior, and academic performance.”

If you’re not able to attend in person, download SchoolStatus’s free attendance and family engagement resources or get in touch to discuss how this integrated suite of solutions can help you meet district goals.

Subscribe to edCircuit to stay up to date on all of our shows, podcasts, news, and thought leadership articles.