Laurens County School District 55 Superintendent Dr. Ameca C. Thomas Inspires 1300 Educators
March 29, 2023
The 22nd annual NIET National Conference was held on March 23-24, 2023 in Indianapolis. This year’s theme was Elevating Educators. The overall objective of the conference was to provide support to educators in strengthening instruction and accelerating the learning of students. The conference was divided into five strands: Unleashing Teacher Leadership, Transforming School Leadership, Ensuring Success Through Robust Instructional Practices, Establishing Positive Environments, and Building the Educator Pipeline. The mission of the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) is to build educator excellence to give all students the opportunity for success. The conference had over 1300 attendees.
Dr. Miguel A. Cardona, the United States Secretary of Education, gave remarks during the opening session on the work of NIET, the importance of education, and the Department of Education’s current priorities, among other insightful information regarding education in the country.
Dr. Ameca C. Thomas, Superintendent of Laurens County School District 55 and NIET Educator Advisory Board Member, also served as one of the keynote speakers during the opening session of the conference. Dr. Thomas’s remarks focused on Transforming School Leadership. Transformative leadership positively impacts teacher effectiveness and student achievement.
Thomas said, “Transforming school leadership is based on strong collective leadership focused to empower educators to be reflective practitioners who lead with a student-first mindset. Leaders need to build their skills to coach and empower their administrators and teachers while keeping student achievement front and center.” Thomas stated, “My goal was to receive actionable strategies to continue to improve my practice that I can immediately transfer back to positively impact the students, educators, and administrators that I serve in Laurens County School District 55.”
Dr. Thomas also shared real-life examples of how these skills and structures have transformed leadership in Laurens County School District 55.
Other speakers at the NIET National Conference consisted of superintendents, district leaders, state-level leaders, and leaders from higher education. Dr. Thomas, together with these individuals, inspires and empowers educators from across America to make public education better for all students.
