Sheldon Berman

Sheldon Berman has been a teacher, president of a non-profit organization, and superintendent throughout his distinguished 40 year career. On this site you can connect with Shelley and review his past and current publications, along with some of the innovative educational initiatives he has led.
This website offers a plethora of content covering the books, articles, editorials, podcasts, and webinars that Dr. Berman has written and offered over his career. Please explore the content of greatest interest to you. In the sidebar, you will find the most recent publications as well as upcoming webinars and presentations.

Upcoming Events

April 15, 2025
4:00 PM PDT

Getting SEL Implementation Right: A Conversation With Dr. Sheldon Berman, Featured Speaker, FSWS Conference

Meet our First Six Weeks of School Conference featured speaker and education expert Dr. Sheldon Berman, AASA Lead Superintendent and long-time advocate of Responsive Classroom. Dr. Berman will share how to navigate and strengthen social-emotional learning implementation in diverse districts and discuss strategies that lead to success. Drawing from his book Implementing Social-Emotional Learning: Insights from Districts’ Successes and Setbacks, he will provide valuable lessons from his work across rural, suburban, and urban districts.

Learn More
October 2, 2025

The 'Call to Courage': standing up to intolerance & injustice in K-12 (live)

Recent Books

Comments

Mark Manuel

Sheldon Berman is one of those rare educators who combine intellect, passion, and caring. My highest compliment is he was “authentic” His leadership and many initiatives like “authentic learning” and capstone projects really connected with the students. Andover schools soared under Shelly’s leadership. Shelly was a fellow Andover Rotarian and it just seemed like he was everywhere around town. I was saddened when I heard the news he was retiring but incredibly grateful for the example of excellence and goodness he demonstrated to the community and my 3 high school daughters since he arrived in 2015!

Wishing you and your family continued success, health, and happiness!

Douglas Reeves

Dr. Berman is the best ambassador for positive school culture I have seen in 40 years of education. His students know and love him, even in his role as superintendent. He gives a leader’s most precious asset – time – to his students, not to the million external demands on his time. His commitment to equity includes students of all ethnicities, all cognitive levels, and all backgrounds. He is the sort of inspiring leader I would like to be when I grow up.

Ada Sullivan

Dr. Berman is one of the most talented school district superintendents with whom I have had the pleasure of working. He cares deeply about student-centered instructional practice that is inclusive of all students.

For the past 7 years I have worked with Dr. Berman and found him to have a remarkable ability to lead from a collaborative perspective. On a number of occasions I have seen him participate in groups where diverse opinions have been expressed, and have seen him listen carefully and come up with ideas for next steps that are made richer by those diverse opinions. He makes every effort to hear and understand what has been expressed before he makes a recommendation or decision.

You’ll also find that he doesn’t shy away from making the tough decisions. His inclusive nature, coupled with his highly developed analytical thinking and communication skills, make his recommendations ones that have a high rate of success.

He is highly respected because of the respect he consistently shows to those with whom he works. It is my pleasure to make a comment on this extraordinary educator.

DeVone Holt

Dr. Sheldon Berman is an exceptional leader in the field of education who has an undeniable track record of improving outcomes for diverse populations of students. His passion for producing substantive results along with his commitment to embrace industry innovations places him among the nation’s elite practitioners.