FETC 2027 School Leaders Track Spotlights Principal Leadership in AI, Culture, and Student Success

Nationally recognized principals to tackle some of K-12's most pressing challenges: AI adoption, teacher retention, and chronic absenteeism at FETC 2027.

WEST PALM BEACH, FL, UNITED STATES, July 14, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC) today announced four Featured Speakers for its 2027 School Leaders track, which includes nationally recognized principals and school leaders who navigate AI adoption, teacher retention, and culture-building in schools every day.

Research from the Learning Policy Institute, the Wallace Foundation, and Frontiers in Education consistently identifies the school principal as the single most central factor in addressing K-12's most pressing challenges, from teacher shortages and chronic absenteeism to declining student mental health and AI disruption in the classroom. The data is striking: schools led by well-prepared principals retain teachers at an 89% annual rate, compared to 78% under less-prepared leadership. When a strong principal leaves, student achievement can continue to decline for up to five years.

The FETC 2027 School Leaders Featured Speakers are:

Ashley Moore (Principal Mo), Principal of The Empowerment Academy and a 2024 Maryland Association of Elementary School Principals Connected School Leader Award recipient, brings a practitioner's perspective on AI in school leadership, drawing on 18 years of experience in teaching, special education, and administration at her PreK-8 school in Baltimore.

Dr. Kim Abel, Head of School at Optima Academy Online, is among the first educators in the country to examine how agentic and adaptive AI are reshaping learning. Abel leads one of the nation's first K-12 schools to fully integrate virtual reality into daily instruction, bringing both research and real-world application to Orlando.

Dr. Danny Steele, Speaker & Author, Leadership Learning and Culture, LLC, brings 31 years across every level of school leadership and six books on school culture and leadership to his work on what keeps schools and staff steady when everything else is moving, especially during times of rapid change.

Dr. Sonal Patel, CEO of Educate2Elevate, holds a doctorate in Leadership for Educational Justice and will address one of K-12's most pressing equity challenges: ensuring all students have meaningful access to edtech, AI, and computer science through human-centered learning experiences.

The FETC 2027 School Leaders track addresses the full scope of what principals and school leaders face today from AI adoption and teacher retention to culture and student outcomes. The Featured Speakers join a broader roster of school leadership experts presenting concurrent sessions, roundtables, and hands-on workshops throughout the conference.

FETC 2027 runs January 26–29 in Orlando, FL. Registration is open at fetc.org, with group discounts available for teams of three or more.

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About FETC
The Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC) (https://www.fetc.org/) is the premier gathering and year-round professional learning network for education technology leaders, innovators, and educators dedicated to achieving measurable results. Through deep-dive seminars, collaborative roundtables, hands-on workshops, and rigorously vetted sessions, FETC equips K-12 leaders and educators with proven strategies and tools for immediate implementation. The event’s expansive exhibit hall showcases more than 450 leading solution providers, while FETC’s collaborations with industry partners and state education technology associations amplify diverse perspectives and foster grassroots innovation.

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Arc is a B2B events, data, and media platform, backed by investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital. Founded to redefine business networking, Arc organizes over 120 events a year and operates critical content platforms in HR technology, agriculture and food, financial services, investing, and education technology. Arc has over 300 talented colleagues in the U.S., U.K., Netherlands, and Singapore, who create new ways to connect communities, wherever, whenever, or however people need to come together to grow their businesses. Its education brands include District Administration, University Business, District Administration Leadership Institute, Leadhership Network for Women, and the Future of Education Technology Conference.

Jodie E Buenning
Buenning Strategies
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