Leadership
Boards that can't govern and superintendents who can't lead — those are the failure modes that quietly destroy California school districts. We train both sides of the governance equation to do better, through the Leadership 2.0 Academy cohort program and through in-house custom engagements designed for individual districts.
Our approach
What you get
Outcomes
Boards that ask better questions, superintendents who get better answers, and California-wide peer networks among the leaders who graduate together.
Frequently asked
Leadership 2.0 is School Leaders' six-month cohort program for sitting and emerging California superintendents, CBOs, and cabinet members. The founding cohort ran September 2025 through February 2026 across a 2.5-day kickoff bootcamp at Marriott VEA Newport Beach, four bi-monthly in-person sessions, virtual sessions between convenings, and a capstone applied to the participant's home district. Investment is $1,500 per participant. The 2026–27 cohort is open for enrollment.
The faculty bench is veteran California K-12 leaders: Dr. Sherine Smith (former Superintendent, Laguna Beach USD), Dr. Suzette Lovely (former CA superintendent and author), Yuri Calderon (General Counsel and Executive Director, Small School Districts' Association), Joe Dixon (former Asst Superintendent of Facilities/Governmental Relations, Santa Ana USD), Dr. Kristen Coates, and Dr. Kyle Jensen (Assistant Dean of AI and Emerging Technologies, Arizona State University). The 2025–26 cohort featured George Mumford — mindfulness coach to Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and the championship Lakers and Bulls — as keynote speaker.
Yes. In addition to the Leadership 2.0 Academy cohort, we design and deliver in-house leadership training for individual California districts — board and cabinet together, on the topics each district names: board governance redesign, bond oversight and CBOC training, AI policy, strategic plan rollout, crisis communications, fiscal posture training for boards in or near qualified certification, and AB 1912 closure-process training. Most engagements are scoped as a full-day workshop or as a multi-session series across a quarter or year.
Most in-house sessions are for the board plus cabinet together. Some districts run board-only sessions; others run 'all-hands' trainings that include site administrators. Leadership 2.0 Academy attendance is typically the superintendent plus one to two cabinet members per district. We design around the audience and the goal.
A standalone in-house workshop is a full day. Multi-session engagements (typical for governance overhauls) run quarterly across a year. The Leadership 2.0 Academy is a six-month cohort program.
Yes — John Carver Policy Governance is one of the frameworks we work in, alongside Lighthouse, traditional Robert's Rules-based governance, and hybrid models. We meet boards where they are rather than imposing a single doctrine.
From our team
Meet Joe Dixon, founder of School Leaders and a 40-year veteran of transforming educational environments. From starting at the bottom of Capistrano Unified in 1984 to leading Prop 51's passage for California school funding, Joe's journey proves that great schools create great communities — sometimes one lunch table at a time.
Meet Dr. Stella Kemp, whose intentional approach to leadership has transformed school districts across California. From her international roots in Germany to walking every street campaigning for school bonds, Stella's career demonstrates the power of purposeful leadership, authentic mentorship, and knowing when to put your oxygen mask on first.
Meet Dr. Jason Viloria, former superintendent and educational leader who has transformed high-performing school districts through his relationship-centered approach. From working at a feed store in high school to leading top-ranking academic districts, Jason shares the leadership philosophy that puts relationships, continuous improvement, and individual student care at the center of everything.
30 minutes with one of our advisors. We'll listen first, share where we've seen this play out, and tell you honestly whether we can help.
