Uniondale Superintendent Dr. Monique Darrisaw-Akil Receives AASA Humanitarian Award

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK—Uniondale School District Superintendent Dr. Monique Darrisaw-Akil recently received the prestigious 2026 Dr. Effie H. Jones Humanitarian Award from the School Superintendents Association, also known as AASA. This national accolade recognizes individuals who represent the best of public education leadership, with a commitment to the advancement and mentorship of women and underrepresented groups in public schools.

“It is an absolute honor to receive this distinction and to champion the remarkable work we have done to empower scholars,” said Dr. Monique Darrisaw-Akil. “In the Uniondale School District, we aim to unlock students’ full potential and encourage them to embrace their passions through a framework of equity, leadership, respect, diversity and academic and extracurricular excellence.”

Dr. Darrisaw-Akil was one of three recipients, selected alongside Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Aaron Spence from Ashburn, Virginia and Saint Paul Public Schools Superintendent Stacie Stanley from Saint Paul, Minnesota. All received their awards during the 2026 AASA National Conference on Education on February 12^th in Nashville, Tennessee.

AASA described Dr. Monique Darrisaw-Akil as “a transformative educational leader who believes that within every child resides a unique ‘genius’ waiting to be affirmed.”

Dr. Monique Darrisaw-Akil is an active leader in education at the local, regional and national levels. During her tenure as Uniondale School District’s superintendent, the Uniondale School District has achieved a remarkable increase in the high school graduation rate—to national acclaim—was named one of only 27 My Brother’s Keeper communities by the Obama Foundation and earned exceptional recognition for its AP programs. The District received the College Board’s AP Spotlight for its outstanding gains in AP participation, especially among young men of color, and the high school was recently named to the AP School Honor Roll, with a bronze designation.

Dr. Darrisaw-Akil is also on the AASA Governing Board, the College Board Middle States Regional Council and the New York State Council of School Superintendents Diversity and Equity Commission. She inspires emerging leaders as a lead faculty member for the AASA/Howard University Aspiring Superintendents’ Academy. She was named the 2023 Superintendent to Watch by the National School Public Relations Association and the Uniondale Herald Beacon 2023 Person of the Year.

For more information about Uniondale School District, please visit the District’s website at https://district.uniondaleschools.org and ‘like’ our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/uniondalek12.