Dr. Sharonica Hardin-Bartley, superintendent of The School District of University City, is one of 15 leaders nationwide to be selected to participate in the prestigious Children and Family Fellowship program with The Annie E. Casey Foundation.
She joins an elite group of national leaders from the public, nonprofit and for-profit sectors who will participate in 21 months of intensive executive leadership training to lead major systems reforms and community change initiatives.
The Fellows will strive for change that ensures all youth ages 16 to 24 have the necessary connections to school, work and family to have bright futures. The group includes other leaders in public education, including the managing director of the New Mexico Public Education Department and the deputy superintendent of public instruction for the California Department of Education.
Created in 1948 by UPS founder Jim Casey, The Annie E. Casey Foundation strives to dramatically improve the lives of children, families and caregivers. The Children and Family Fellowship has nurtured 140 leaders since its inception in 1993.
“This is a vital opportunity to connect with the national movement to shape our local and national landscapes so that our children get what they need from schools and society to thrive in the future,” Hardin Bartley said. “To whom much is given, much is required. I am honored to be selected and understand the exceptional responsibility of this opportunity.”
Hardin-Bartley is a native of St. Louis City with 26 years of teaching and administrative leadership in regional St. Louis urban schools. She serves on numerous local boards, and was recently named board chair for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri. She was part of the Child Well-Being and Education Equity Committee of the Ferguson Commission and serves on advisory boards for Harris-Stowe State University, Webster University and University of Missouri-St. Louis. A regional and national speaker on equity in education, Hardin-Bartley was also a principal writer on state guidelines for trauma-informed schools for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
In March 2019, she was honored with the New Superintendent of the Year for the St. Louis District award by the Missouri Association of School Administrators. In 2020, Hardin-Bartley received the Stellar Performer in Education Award from the St. Louis American Foundation.
