Henderson County Public Schools (HCPS), in partnership with the Henderson
County Education Foundation (HCEF) will host the HCPS Leadership Summit on March 2–4, 2026,
bringing together educators, school and district leaders, and community partners from across the
Carolinas and Georgia to explore how leadership can be sustained at scale and celebrated in practice.
The Summit will begin with an optional Pre-Conference on Monday, March 2, held at the VFW Building,
900 North Main Street, Hendersonville. We invite businesses and other leaders to join us for the pre
conference experience, Trust and Inspire: How Truly Great Leaders Unleash Greatness in Others, based
on the work of Stephen M. R. Covey, is designed to help leaders move beyond traditional command and
control leadership and provides actionable strategies that foster trust, inspire collaboration, and elevate
student and educator success.
The main HCPS Leadership Summit will take place Tuesday and Wednesday, March 3 and 4, at Blue Ridge
Community College’s Blue Ridge Conference Hall in Flat Rock. Centered on the theme Leadership
Without Limits: Honoring the Journey, Celebrating the Impact, the Summit will highlight how HCPS has
built leadership as a district wide culture that is aligned, intentional, and sustainable.
This Summit is a celebration of the work happening every day in Henderson County schools. HCPS
students and educators will serve as emcees, keynote hosts, breakout session leaders, panelists, and tour
guides throughout the event. Participants will hear directly from student leaders who are living
leadership in their schools and from educators who have embedded leadership into classrooms, school
culture, and academic systems. School tours hosted by HCPS students and staff will provide an authentic
look at leadership in action across grade levels.
Henderson County Public Schools has been engaged in the Leader in Me framework since 2012 and is
now a Leadership District, with all 23 schools implementing leadership practices aligned to leadership,
culture, and academics. Operating under a Certification and Development model, the district has
P.O. Box 1267 ∙ Hendersonville, NC 28793 ∙ Phone: 828.697.5551 ∙ Fax: 828.697.4738
invested in building internal capacity, including a trained district leadership team and a full time
leadership coach who supports schools daily.
Summit experiences will include:
• Student led and educator led breakout sessions
• Student emcees and facilitators throughout the conference
• School tours hosted by students and staff
• Student performances and leadership showcases
• Panels featuring students, educators, and community partners
The Summit will feature keynote addresses from Muriel Summers, who led the work at A. B. Combs
Elementary School, the first Leader in Me school in the world, and A. B. Combs, whose legacy continues
to influence leadership and innovation in education. Muriel Summers’ work demonstrated how
empowering students with leadership responsibility can transform school culture and outcomes.
“The Leadership Summit is designed to be more than a conference,” said HCPS Superintendent Mark R.
Garrett. “It is a celebration of our students and educators and an opportunity to learn directly from
them, see leadership in action, and engage in meaningful dialogue about building systems that endure.”
Tickets and registration for the HCPS Leadership Summit and Pre Conference can be purchased online at
https://secure.qgiv.com/for/leadershipsummit2026/event/hcef/
The HCPS Leadership Summit is ideal for school and district leaders, teachers, instructional coaches, and
community partners committed to developing student voice, strengthening adult leadership, and
creating sustainable systems that support student success.
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About the Henderson County Education Foundation: Founded in October 1986, the Henderson County
Education Foundation’s mission is to serve Henderson County Public Schools, by investing in and
responding to the whole school and the whole child to create a thriving community.
