NAESP Feature: The Connected Conference: Moving from Leadership Isolation to Collective Strength

Inspiring speakers, full-circle moments, and meaningful connections left one school leader energized, reflective, and ready for the work ahead! Check-out my Feature on the NAESP website: https://www.naesp.org/blog/the-connected-conference-moving-from-leadership-isolation-to-collective-strength/

July 22, 2026 | By Sonia Matthew

Categories: Conference

Topics: Professional Learning

Coming off an incredible, whirlwind week at the NAESP National School Leader’s Conference in Orlando, my heart and mind are completely, overwhelmingly full. If this conference made one thing crystal clear, it is this: we are absolutely nothing without each other. The shared wisdom, the hard-earned experience, and the pure energy of this collective network are what power our schools.

An Opening Keynote That Stays With Me

Opening a national conference requires a specific, rare kind of energy, and Merlyna Valentine delivered exactly what our community needed to shake off our collective exhaustion. Hearing the story of a quadruple amputee dedicated to absolute perseverance and unyielding, contagious passion was a profound lesson in perspective. It stripped away every excuse we try to hide behind and served as a fierce, unrelenting reminder that we can do hard things.

Seeing that story brought to life on stage, delivered with deep vulnerability and power, pushed me to a new level of reflection. Valentine challenged all of us to actively bring fresh courage back to our own buildings. We cannot be content with “the way we’ve always done things.” We must have the heart to match our daily roles with a deep, human purpose.

Meeting a Trailblazer: Divine Intervention

Sometimes, the most profound moments at a conference happen entirely outside the parameters of a scheduled workshop or a keynote ballroom. They happen in the quiet spaces, the hallways, and the moments that feel divinely orchestrated.

Ever since arriving at my school building, I have been aware that I am walking in the footsteps of a true trailblazer: our school’s very first principal. Principal Carol Leveillee, the visionary leader who opened our building almost two decades ago, laying down the cultural bricks of excellence that define our school community every single day.

To see her in person for the first time and to share an embrace right there was an unforgettable, full-circle moment. It served as a beautiful reminder that the seeds of leadership we plant today outlast our physical tenure. When the days get long and the emails pile up, I will look back at the photo of that embrace and remember exactly why we build solid foundations.

The Power of the Written Word and Heart-Centered Leadership

I had the distinct honor of serving as a room host for Lauren Kaufman, someone who profoundly inspired me to write. What an unbelievable feeling to meet her in person for the very first time. Her book, The Leader Inside, was a mentor-in-a-book for me, validating how powerful the written word can be. Lauren passed that sentiment directly to me: I write for myself first, and if that writing touches others, that is the ultimate bonus. Introducing her was a true gift.

Kaufman’s session was a beautiful lesson in working with teachers with empathy placed squarely at the center. As a former reading specialist, this is a topic close to my heart. She addressed the core of school culture: how to support people, not manage them. All too often, professional growth turns into a checklist of requirements. Kaufman flipped the script, providing real, heart-centered ideas focused on giving more of our authentic selves to our colleagues to build unbreakable trust. Relationships are the only vehicle that drives sustainable change.

Looking in the Mirror With My Educational Hero

Sitting in a room with principal Baruti Kafele is always a soul-stirring experience. He doesn’t just deliver content; he holds up his mirror and forces you to look at your reflection, asking the critical, uncomfortable, and absolutely necessary questions that many avoid.

Kafele is my educational hero. He is the leader who inspired me to write a book on the most underrepresented leaders in our field: the assistant principal. He even wrote the foreword to my upcoming book. I look at him in absolute awe, so to serve as his room host and introduce him to a packed room was a surreal, “wow” moment.

Kafele put honest self-reflection squarely at the heart and soul of leadership. He challenged us to evaluate not just what we are doing as building leaders, the tasks, the schedules, the paperwork but also exactly who we are being for our staff and our students every single day. Are we a presence or just a position? His words were the final catalyst for this reflection. As he reminded us in his recent Saturday Academy monologue, “Leaders are writers.” We must use our voices to write the narrative of our school communities.

Breaking Bread and Disrupting the Status Quo

The next session brought the honor of hosting two trailblazers I have long looked up to and who have mentored me: T.J. Vari and Kim Gameroz. To experience their humility and kindness, to break bread with them and gather tips for the work, and then to host their room left me in complete awe.

The national conversation around school culture and emotional well-being took a powerful, much-needed turn during their session. Hearing them describe the blunt reminder to “don’t cut the cake” was a defining moment—a sharp, beautiful metaphor for avoiding the trap of doing all the work as a leader and instead leveraging and empowering your team.

This beautifully complements Gameroz’s BISON framework: Just as bison turn and charge directly into a storm to navigate through the chaos faster, leaders must face disruptions head-on. By combining that intentional, courageous confrontation of challenges with collective leadership, we can truly transform school communities from the inside out.

As school administrators, we are constantly on the hunt for the bridge that connects high philosophy with daily, concrete school practice. We need tools that work when the bell rings. That is why I am incredibly excited about the work shared by Daniel Jack in another session. He took a personal interest in me and my problem of practice, welcoming me warmly into his jam-packed room and even gifting me a copy of a leadership book. This is exactly what I mean when I talk about the power of genuine connection and passion among those who are deep in this work.

Jack provided tried, tested, and true templates alongside structured processes designed to drive genuine teacher progression and measurable student growth. Looking ahead to the upcoming school year, I am eager to implement these reliable pathways. They offer a helpful blueprint to move our daily practices away from a state of anxious survival and toward predictable, sustainable, and flourishing success.

Homegrown Inspiration: Elevating Maryland Voices

The energy continued with powerful sessions led by three phenomenal Maryland leaders: Ed Cosentino, Latanya Sothern, and Rachel Edoho-Eket. Consentino reminded us that well-being shouldn’t be an isolated block on a schedule or a box we check off. Instead, wellness must be completely embedded into the very fabric of our daily school routines, honoring the whole person, both the adults and the children. If our teachers are pouring from empty cups, our students will never receive the hydration they need to grow.

Sothern brought an urgent, sharp focus to foundational literacy and our earliest learners. Sothern brought the research and the passion. Ensuring that our youngest students have a rock-solid foundation and that the educators guiding them through those critical early years are heard, respected, and amplified, is the ultimate way to ensure every child succeeds.

On a personal note, seeing my dear friend, Edoho-Eket, take the national stage was an absolute highlight of my week. My heart swelled with pride as she shared her powerful story of belonging and leadership. Her words resonated deeply with everyone in that packed hall, serving as living proof that our authentic narratives, our vulnerabilities, our struggles, and our triumphs are our greatest tools for human connection.

Bridging Digital Spaces to Real-Life Connection

Another incredible standout from the week was the opportunity to connect deeply with Vincent Taylor. We have been following each other on social media for years, and I got to win a copy of his book and grab a few of his resources. Taylor is a retired teacher who is doing some of the most vital, impactful work in education today: He is taking a lifetime of rich classroom experience, deep wisdom, and educational expertise and pouring it directly into intentional learning materials for our kids. Too often, school materials are built by distant entities detached from the daily realities of the classroom. Seeing a veteran educator continue to innovate, advocate, and create high-quality student resources is incredibly inspiring. Our classrooms are richer, more culturally responsive, and more engaging because people like Taylor refuse to let their wisdom retire when they leave the school building.

I also shared a massive social media connection with Cynthia Gunner through her Dare to Disrupt work. She is operating exactly where my interests lie, daring to disrupt traditional spaces. Thank you, Dr. Gunner for that instant, authentic connection. She even jumped on the phone to chat with my husband, Devon. Can you believe that?

A massive, heartfelt congratulations to all the award recipients, especially Maryland’s NAESP National Outstanding Assistant Principals, Brianna Walker and Rhoda Nuñez-Donnelly, for their well-deserved award recognition. Watching our peers get lifted up and celebrated on a national stage is a collective victory for our entire profession.

There are truly too many incredible individuals to name them all individually, but please know how much I appreciate every single hallway conversation, shared laugh, and breakthrough moment over coffee. To all the new friends I made this week, and to the long-time colleagues I have connected with for years online but finally got to hug in person: thank you. You have refueled my tank.

We often speak about the profound isolation of school leadership. The weight of the building can feel like it rests entirely on our individual shoulders. But spaces like this disrupt that narrative. They remind us in no uncertain terms that we do not walk this path alone. The blueprint for a better educational future cannot be written by a single hand; it is co-authored through the vibrant networks, tight-knit communities, and authentic relationships we choose to build together.

Closing with Intention and Courage

When former U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona took the stage to close out our time together, the atmosphere in the room shifted. He spoke straight from the heart, passionately articulating the profound sacrifices of immigrant parents. I felt a deep, emotional chord strike within me, a grounding reminder of who we are ultimately fighting for. I, too, connected as a child of immigrant parents.

But Cardona didn’t just leave us with inspiration; he handed us a critical challenge that every single administrator in that room needed to hear: we must guard our calendars.

In a profession that constantly demands our time and energy, protecting our schedules is an act of survival. If we are not careful, our days will be entirely consumed by the urgent at the expense of the important. Guarding our calendars means protecting our capacity to lead with intention, empathy, and deep focus. When we say “no” to the distractions, we are saying “yes” to being present for our staff, our students, and our own well-being.

Let us take this incredible, electric energy, these cutting-edge strategies, and this renewed, beautiful spark, and bring it straight back to our buildings, our staff, and our kids! Our communities are waiting for the leadership we just co-authored together.

Sonia Matthew is assistant principal of Mary B. Neal Elementary School in Waldorf, Maryland.