The AASA, the School Superintendents Association is a non-profit organization that focuses on providing leadership training for educators, developing programs that promote left-of-center talking points on “educational equity,” and holds an annual education conference. ^{[1] [2]} Originally part of the National Education Association teachers union, the AASA became an autonomous organization in 1973.

The organization receives most of its revenue from program service fees, although it has received large grants from left-of-center foundations including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Wallace Foundation, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Founding

The AASA began as the National Association of School Administrators on August 17, 1865. The organization merged with the National Teachers Association and the American Normal School Association to become the National Educational Association in 1870 and became the National Education Association’s Department of School Superintendence. ^[6]

Members of the organization approved a name change to the American Association of School Administrators in 1937, but AASA was still a department of the National Education Association until 1969 when it became an associated organization. AASA severed any link with the National Education Association in 1973 and it became an autonomous organization. ^[7]

The AASA began charging membership fees of $5 a year in 1921. The price of these membership fees increased to $10 a year in 1949, $75 in 1975, and $125 with special rates for students, professors, and retired members in 1983. ^[8]

The American Association of School Administrators moved into a new shared headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, with the National Association of Elementary School Principals in 2011. AASA also partnered with the Children’s Defense Fund in 2011 to enroll children in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. ^[9]

AASA rebranded and renamed itself again in 2014 to the American Association of School Administrators, the School Superintendents Association. ^[10] As of June 2022, the organization is now renamed AASA, the School Superintendents Association. ^[11]

The organization focuses on developing programs that promote left-of-center talking points on “educational equity,” provides leadership training for educators, and holds an annual conference on education. ^{[12] [13]}

Finances

Revenue and Expenses

The AASA received a total revenue of $13.1 million in 2018, $7.6 million of which came from program service revenue, while just under $3.5 million came from contributions and grants. The organization’s total expenses amounted to $12.2 million, $4.9 million of which was spent on salaries, employee benefits, and other compensation. ^[14]

The organization’s revenue decreased in 2019 when it received a total of $12.6 million. AASA received $7.9 million from program service fees and just over $2.5 million from contributions and grants. Its total expenses amounted to $12.2 million, with just over $5 million being paid towards salaries, employee benefits, and other compensation. ^[15]

AASA’s revenue increased again in 2020 when it received nearly $14 million in total revenue, $8.8 million of which came from program service fees and $2.8 million from contributions and grants. Its total expenses amounted to just over $12 million, with just under $5.1 million being spent on salaries, employee benefits, and other compensation. ^[16]

AASA’s executive director Daniel Domenech received $402,370 in compensation from the organization in 2018, $418,890 in 2019, and $451,664 in 2020. ^[17]

Support from Big Philanthropy

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, formed in 2000 by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his then-wife Melinda French Gates, contributed $417,697 to the AASA in April 2011, and another $331,512 in June 2011. The foundation also committed one grant of $450,271 and another worth $748,976 in 2015. Most recently, the foundation granted AASA $99,723 in August 2020, and $525,781 in October 2020. ^[18]

The Wallace Foundation, a left-of-center grantmaking foundation in New York City which supports underperforming schools through special programs, has provided the AASA with three grants. The foundation provided the AASA with grants of $350,000 in 2018, $130,000 in 2020, and another $350,000 in 2021. ^[19]

The left-of-center W.K. Kellogg Foundation provided AASA with an $858,634 grant from 1991 until 1997. According to the AASA website, the foundation also provided funds to the organization in 1955. The website also notes the Ford Foundation provided the organization with funding in 1977. ^{[20] [21]}

The Raikes Foundation, a left-of-center private grantmaking foundation, provided the AASA with a single grant of $50,000 in 2021. ^[22]

The AASA lists the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative as a partner to its 2020 National Conference on Education. Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is the grantmaking brand of Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan. The initiative donates to many left-of-center foundations and a substantial fund to Zuckerberg’s pro-Democratic political committee, FWD.us. ^[23]