On July 23–24, 2025, over 200 district superintendents and school administrators from across the Chicago area converged at the Destination High Performance (DHP) Chicago 2025 conference. Organized by Studer Education, this two-day event aimed to enhance leadership capacity and organizational excellence across school districts.
Held at a prestigious downtown venue, DHP Chicago assembled a diverse range of participants—including K–12 leaders, school board members, and educational experts. The focus was threefold: organizational excellence, internal service excellence, and leadership excellence.
The conference agenda featured keynote speeches, interactive workshops, and expert panels led by accomplished practitioners. A highlight was the “Fireside Chat & Superintendent’s Panel,” which explored challenges and practical strategies through peer dialogue. Workshops included sessions on effective communication tactics, building urgency around improvement, and leading through purposeful engagement.
One standout session, “PDSA Cycles Applied to Drive High Performing Math Achievement,” was led by Elementary Principal Patches Calhoun and Teacher Kimberly Day from the Oxford School District, Mississippi. They shared how Plan‑Do‑Study‑Act (PDSA) cycles helped them reinforce sustainable gains in student performance.
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According to Studer Education, DHP events aim to celebrate transformational leadership and fuel continuous improvement in education. These conferences support leaders in fostering innovation, elevating teaching practices, and reinforcing service excellence through an aligned organizational framework.
Using their Nine Principles® Framework, Studer Education guided districts to diagnose their needs, develop data-informed action plans, build sustaining tactics, and support iterative refinement. Emphasis was placed on “leading people with purpose” and building habits that amplify trust, engagement, and performance.
DHP highlighted key organizational tools proven in educational settings. One such practice, daily leadership huddles, was detailed by Studer Education President Dr. Janet Pilcher and Dr. Christi Barrett, Superintendent of Hemet Unified School District. They emphasized how consistent, small-group huddles allow leadership teams to address student behavior, highlight effective practices, and refine strategies swiftly.
Another session, led by Superintendent Rashon Hasan of Plainfield Public Schools (NJ), showed how rounded leader and survey feedback loops enhance engagement and trust across stakeholders, ensuring every voice shapes district decisions.
These national-level strategies come at a critical moment for Chicago-area schools. The city’s Chicago Leads initiative, a $50 million endeavor by the Chicago Public Education Fund, underscores the importance of investing in principals and assistant principals as pivotal leaders for school improvement.
Conference participants drew connections between DHP strategies—like daily huddles, communication clarity, and feedback systems—and Chicago’s efforts to empower instructional leaders within schools.
Although formal session transcripts are unavailable, participants shared enthusiastic accounts of the event’s impact. “The structure of DHP stimulated real reflection on our district systems and gave us practical steps for deepening alignment,” noted one superintendent. “Hearing from peers who’ve implemented daily huddles helped me see how even small shifts in routine can build trust and improve outcomes,” added an assistant superintendent.
These reflections aligned with DHP’s forward-looking design—supporting scales of excellence and continuous improvement through networking and peer learning.
Attendees left with tangible takeaways to implement in their districts, such as PDSA implementation plans, leadership huddle frameworks, communication toolkits, stakeholder feedback protocols, and strategies to build a sustainable leadership pipeline. Many schools plan follow-up sessions internally to embed these practices throughout their leadership teams.
Events like DHP Chicago reflect broader shifts in K–12 leadership development—away from episodic PD and toward embedded, team-based, continuous-improvement models. Prominent educational research underscores that leadership structures and routines directly impact school climate, teacher effectiveness, and student outcomes.
By focusing on tools like daily huddles and rapid feedback, DHP Chicago equipped leaders to transform their districts into more adaptive, responsive, and cohesive learning communities.
As Chicago’s public education leaders pursue ambitious goals for student growth and equity, participation in DHP Chicago 2025 signals a collective commitment to leadership excellence and organizational readiness. Armed with refined frameworks, peer insights, and actionable tools, local districts are now better prepared to sustain meaningful change.
