This fall, BHSSC, Compass, and Community & Family Services partnered with SASD, the Cook Center, and the Superintendents Association to host the Fall 2025 Superintendent Academy at the K Bar S Lodge. Twenty-seven superintendents from across South Dakota gathered for two days of professional learning and collaboration.
Compass staff led engaging sessions on AI tools and strategies that superintendents could implement in their districts. Meanwhile, Community & Family Services facilitated a powerful “Poverty Escape Room” experience, where superintendents and their spouses worked through real-world scenarios designed to build understanding and empathy around the challenges families face.
Participants left the Poverty Escape Room experience wanting to replicate the experience for teachers, administrators, and support staff at their own schools and districts. Leaders committed to:
- Working with counselors and social workers to learn more about available resources
- Reviewing desensitization and building empathy among staff
- Training front office staff on the importance of being helpful and friendly
- Reminding school partners that everything they do matters
- Being more cognitive of real-life family situations
Overall, the academy provided an invaluable opportunity for South Dakota’s educational leaders to learn, network with colleagues, and bring fresh ideas back to their communities.
