Bourbonnais Elementary School District #53

Dr. Adam Ehrman, Superintendent of Bourbonnais Elementary School District#53 (BESD#53), builds resilient school systems through upstream thinking. By strengthening classroom instruction, cultivating district culture and prioritizing organizational health, he has improved outcomes for students and staff, earning recognition as Education Insider’s 2026 School District Superintendent of the Year.

“Don’t Chase Symptoms, Cure the System”

When I began my tenure at BESD#53 in July 2020, the district faced a perfect storm: a global pandemic, a looming teacher strike and significant school board turnover.

Under that pressure, our initial efforts were reactive, focused on intervention after students fell behind. We were stuck in response mode. Yet a district cannot become resilient by improving crisis management. True resilience requires a shift in strategy. The work must begin before data shows failure, not after students have lost time and confidence.

That realization moved my approach toward upstream thinking, solving problems at their source before they escalate. In education, this means strengthening core instruction, organizational health and adult capacity so academic gaps and staff burnout are prevented rather than managed later.

We pivoted from reactive Tier 2 support toward an elite Tier 1 instructional program. By hiring instructional coaches, we strengthened pedagogy before learning gaps required intervention. It was the difference between pulling people out of the river and going upstream to fix the bridge.

“Don’t Be Interested, Be Obsessed”

Our Mission 2033 commits us to ensuring that 100 percent of students achieve and maintain academic proficiency by eighth grade. We do not treat this as a lofty goal. We treat it as an outcome we have built and are on track to accomplish. That is the difference between being interested and being obsessed.

“Effective leaders do not stop at merely identifying problems. We must get better at naming what is wrong, but think just as critically about the systemic barriers blocking solutions from reaching our students.”

A line from Cars has always stayed with me: “I just never thought I couldn’t.” That carries a profound leadership truth. Systems lower expectations long before they admit it. They claim every child can succeed, yet their habits, staffing and resources often plan for exceptions. I have never accepted that gap between belief and behavior.

Mission 2033 exists to close that gap. It is the operational standard by which every decision is tested. The “ALL IN” messaging appears on shirts, poker chips and materials because the behavior is real. Every initiative, curriculum choice, professional development hour and system change must move us closer to 100 percent proficiency by eighth grade. If it does not, it is a distraction.

Education is full of popular activities that look good but fail to change outcomes. Feel-good initiatives may photograph well, but leaders ask: Does this improve achievement? Saying “no” is difficult, but measurable progress must outrank performative motion. If an idea pushes us toward 2033, we consider it. If not, the answer is an uncompromising “no way.”

The Meat and Potatoes Behind the Visible Work

There is no out-of-the-box literacy initiative I can call a magic solution. The key is alignment.

Our complementary programs like administrators reading to classes, our Dolly Parton reading partnership, Book Wars, Family Literacy nights for schools and Read Across America keep families connected and demonstrating that reading is a district-wide priority.

Those efforts are simply the dessert. The meat and potatoes happen behind the scenes: selecting a high-quality curriculum, implementing it with fidelity and giving teachers tools to improve. For English Language Arts curriculum, most teachers preferred one option, but research and data led us to choose the rigorous curriculum because it offered a better path. I told the Board of Education, “We have done our research, and this is what is best for kids.” Years later, we have nearly universal buy-in.

The same process guided math curriculum work. Our visible programs show our passion for learning, but an aligned, research-backed curriculum makes that passion sustainable across classrooms and grade levels. Without the hard instructional work, the visible pieces fall apart.

To make alignment work, we created protected collaboration time. Reducing instructional minutes is difficult. The question became: How can less time produce more learning? We used that time to build true PLCs, where teachers analyze data, plan around common goals and hold one another accountable.

PLCs surface passive protesting, statements that sound harmless: “I am trying my best,” or “I did not fully understand the curriculum.” Leaders cannot ignore this. When underperformance is protected, high performers learn that excellence does not matter. A genuine PLC brings work into the open. Data speaks, fidelity gaps become visible and the team corrects the course.

“Saying ‘no’ is difficult, but measurable progress must outrank performative motion. If an idea pushes us toward 2033, we consider it. If not, the answer is an uncompromising ‘no way.”

At the administrative level, I call this “sharing the blueberries.” If someone finds blueberries but never tells the tribe where they are, that person protects individual value rather than elevating the group. A teacher or principal may find an effective strategy, but if it remains isolated, the system does not improve. We shifted from “What are you doing?” to “What are we doing as a district?” That turns accountability into shared responsibility.

“Pay the Tax Up Front”

Every sustainable change requires a tax. You can pay it up front through difficult conversations, hard work and political noise or later through weak outcomes, lost trust and regret. I will always choose to pay the tax up front.

This philosophy filters decisions on curriculum, instructional coaching, professional learning time and financial stewardship. Fiscal reality dictates it. As a Tier 1 district within the Illinois Evidence-Based Funding formula, we navigate an annual shortfall of over $10 million against state adequacy.

Every dollar must invest in student outcomes. We cannot afford performative motion. Every resource must be intentional.

Our results validate this belief. BESD#53 became one of only 100 districts nationwide to exceed pre-pandemic performance in reading and math. Shabbona Elementary more than doubled its ELA and math proficiency. LeVasseur Elementary exceeded the state math average by more than 14 points. Liberty Intermediate earned Model PLC School and Illinois Blue Ribbon recognition. Shepard Elementary, Shabbona Elementary and Liberty Intermediate School have earned the state's Exemplary Status designation.

Use AI to Become More Human

I utilize AI frequently, but its highest value in our schools is not automation. It is the freedom it creates for human interaction.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed a critical limitation: technology can deliver content, but cannot replicate the teacher-student relationship. Without that connection, student engagement, trust and emotional development decline. By using AI to reduce workloads, we create more time for interaction. That shift strengthens education's human elements.

There is No “Again” for Children

Effective leaders do not stop at identifying problems. We must get better at naming what is wrong and think critically about barriers blocking solutions from reaching students. When teachers and PLC teams review data, four principles should guide them:

1. Prioritize equity across student groups and ensure access to grade-level tasks.

2. Use real-time data to adjust instruction, task quality and assessment alignment.

3. Translate analysis into one high-leverage action.

4. Rely on multiple sources of evidence to understand student learning.

That shifts leading learning to survive into leading learning to transform. School is not a dress rehearsal. Every child gets only one kindergarten year, one third-grade year and one eighth-grade year. We do not get the luxury of saying, “Let’s try that again next year.” Leaders must show up prepared and give their best while they have the chance.