What if the most important job of today’s schools is preparing students for a future none of us can fully imagine?

As communities across the nation continue celebrating America’s 250th birthday this year, there is much to reflect upon. For 250 years, our democracy has endured, adapted and grown through periods of extraordinary change. Yet, as I think about this milestone, I find myself focused less on the first 250 years and more on the next 250.

That raises an important question for those of us in public education: Are we meeting the moment?

Are we preparing students not only for the world they will inherit, but for the world they will create?

Every generation has faced this challenge. When California became a state in 1850, one of its first acts was to establish a public school system. Our state’s leaders understood that education would be essential to building communities, creating opportunity and sustaining democracy. As California grew, public education evolved alongside it, welcoming generations of families, preparing students for a changing economy and helping shape one of the most dynamic and diverse societies in the world.

That history reminds us of something important: public education has never been static.

Schools adapted to the needs of an agricultural society. They evolved during industrialization. They changed again as technology transformed our economy and daily lives. At each turning point, education leaders were called upon to prepare students for a future they could not fully predict.

Today we are facing one of those moments.

Artificial intelligence is transforming how we work, learn and communicate. Information is available instantly. Many of the careers our students will pursue have yet to be invented. The pace of change continues to accelerate, creating new opportunities and new challenges.

At the same time, the qualities that sustain democracy remain remarkably constant. Our communities need citizens who can think critically, communicate effectively, evaluate information thoughtfully and engage respectfully with people whose experiences and perspectives may differ from their own.

Preparing students for that future requires more than academic knowledge alone. It requires adaptability, creativity, empathy, civic understanding and the confidence to lead.

As President of CSBA, I have had the opportunity to visit schools throughout California this year. Those visits have given me reason for optimism.

I have seen elementary students learning responsibility, belonging and what it means to contribute to a community. I have observed middle school students engaging in civil dialogue and developing the skills to navigate complex issues thoughtfully. I have met high school students participating in service learning, leadership programs and civic experiences that connect learning to real-world challenges.

I have also visited a redesigned high school where learning is organized around competency-based assessment, personalized mentorship and workplace experiences. Students are demonstrating mastery through authentic projects and building relationships with mentors who help connect learning to future opportunities. They are developing the skills to navigate a world that is changing faster than any curriculum guide can anticipate.

What stands out most in these visits is not a particular program or initiative. It is the students.

Across California, I see young people taking ownership of their learning in remarkable ways. They are asking thoughtful questions, pursuing their interests and demonstrating a genuine desire to make a difference. In many respects, students are already showing us what the future of learning can look like.

Today’s students have access to tools, information and opportunities that previous generations could scarcely imagine. The barriers to learning continue to shrink. Our responsibility is not to define the limits of what students can achieve. It is to create the conditions that allow them to discover what is possible.

California’s tradition of local control gives communities the ability to shape educational priorities that reflect local needs and aspirations. Effective governance requires both stewardship and vision. It requires us to preserve the values that have long defined public education while remaining open to innovation and new approaches to learning.

Meeting the moment does not mean predicting the future. It means having the courage to prepare students for an uncertain one.

That calls for bold leadership. Leadership willing to ask difficult questions, challenge assumptions and create opportunities that did not exist before. Leadership that sees student agency not as an outcome, but as a starting point, and recognizes that the future will belong to learners who can adapt, collaborate, create and lead.

As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, I am reminded that every generation has been entrusted with preparing the next. The leaders who built California’s public schools could not have imagined the world we live in today. Yet they understood their responsibility to create opportunities for those who would follow.

Now it is our turn.

The question before us is simple: Are we meeting the moment?

When I look at the students in our schools, I believe we are on the right path. If we continue to invest in strong public schools, civic learning, student agency and bold leadership, there is no limit to what they can achieve.

They will not simply inherit the future.

They will define it.