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1		SENATE RESOLUTION
2		WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to
3		congratulate David R. Schuler, Ph.D., on the occasion of his
4		appointment as the next executive director of the School
5		Superintendents Association (AASA); and
6		WHEREAS, Dr. Schuler is a highly experienced, successful,
7		and well-regarded educational leader; he has worked as a
8		superintendent for 22 years, serving 17 of those years at High
9		School District 214, one of Illinois' largest and most
10		innovative high school systems; he received his bachelor's
11		degree at Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and he
12		earned both his master's degree and doctorate at the
13		University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, Wisconsin; and
14		WHEREAS, Dr. Schuler has been serving as superintendent of
15		High School District 214 in Arlington Heights; there, he and
16		his team designed and implemented the District 214 Career
17		Pathways program to provide students with an at-scale model
18		for earning early college credit, industry credentials, and
19		work-based learning experiences before leaving high school;
20		under his leadership, District 214 has expanded learning
21		options and now offers 44 programs of study, including more
22		than 600 courses aligned with 16 national career clusters and
23		39 career pathways, all of which are continually updated and

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1		refined in consultation with working professionals in the
2		community; and
3		WHEREAS, With Dr. Schuler at the helm, District 214 has
4		become a nationally recognized leader in providing
5		career-connected learning through internships,
6		apprenticeships, and other workplace learning experiences by
7		establishing the Center for Career Discovery, which
8		encompasses more than 1,000 industry partners and delivered
9		approximately 2,500 work-based learning experiences during the
10		2021-2022 school year; and
11		WHEREAS, Under Dr. Schuler's guidance, District 214 has
12		become a leader in early college credit; partnering with more
13		than half a dozen colleges and universities to prepare
14		students for postsecondary work while reducing college costs,
15		opportunities for students include traditional AP and
16		certification programs and a rapidly growing array of dual
17		credit courses; in addition, he helped write, champion, and
18		pass legislation requiring every public Illinois college and
19		university to accept Advanced Placement scores of 3 or higher,
20		furthering opportunities for students and making the most of
21		students' AP experiences; and
22		WHEREAS, As an additional accomplishment, District 214 was
23		one of only 13 districts across the country to be named as an

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1		AASA Lighthouse Demonstration System; these districts serve as
2		models of positive change in public education; they are
3		members of AASA's Learning 2025 Network, which is a cadre of
4		more than 120 demonstration systems representing
5		forward-leaning, urban, suburban, and rural school districts
6		engaged in learning, networking, and working together to help
7		drive education policy and ultimately improve student
8		learning; and
9		WHEREAS, Through Dr. Schuler's leadership, District 214
10		created the District 214 Education Foundation, which has
11		raised millions of dollars to support innovation, student
12		success, and lifelong learning beyond the limitations of
13		conventional public education funding; and
14		WHEREAS, During Dr. Schuler's tenure, District 214 has
15		continued to expand its Community Education program, which is
16		among the nation's oldest and most extensive, to serve more
17		than 30,000 lifelong learners each year and to offer a wide
18		range of enrichment classes for children; in addition, the
19		program offers an Adult Education and Family Literacy program,
20		providing invaluable support as adults study English, earn
21		high school equivalency certificates, or prepare for the U.S.
22		citizenship test; and
23		WHEREAS, Dr. Schuler served on AASA's executive committee

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1		from 2011 to 2017 and as president from 2015 through 2016; he
2		is the architect of Redefining Ready!, an initiative
3		administered by AASA that introduces research-based metrics to
4		appropriately assess whether students are ready to pursue
5		their lifelong goals and dreams following post-secondary
6		education and defines what it means for them to be ready for
7		college, career, and life; since its launch in 2017,
8		Redefining Ready! has rapidly become a mainstay in AASA's
9		growing stable of Leadership Network professional development
10		programs, mobilizing thousands of superintendents and their
11		respective teams in order to drive innovation, thought
12		leadership, research, and collaboration among school system
13		leaders from coast to coast; and
14		WHEREAS, Dr. Schuler serves as a lead superintendent in
15		AASA's National Superintendent Certification Program and also
16		serves as a lead superintendent in AASA's Aspiring
17		Superintendents Academy; and
18		WHEREAS, Dr. Schuler is an active member of the Illinois
19		Association of School Administrators (IASA) and was named the
20		National AASA School Superintendent of Year in 2018;
21		therefore, be it
22		RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL
23		ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate David

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1		R. Schuler, Ph.D., on his appointment as executive director of
2		the School Superintendents Association (AASA) and commend his
3		long career in public education; and be it further
4		RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
5		presented to Dr. Schuler as an expression of our esteem and
6		respect.