ALBANY, N.Y. â Questar III BOCES Superintendent Dr. Gladys Cruz has joined with her colleague Dr. Lupita Hightower, who leads Arizonaâs Tolleson Elementary School District, to launch a groundbreaking new program for leaders who have been long underrepresented in public schools. Despite being 2,500 miles apart, Cruz and Hightower are leading The Aspiring Superintendents Academy for Latino and Latina Leaders, a project of AASA, the School Superintendents Association. AASA is a professional organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders in the United States and throughout the world. AASA selected Cruz and Hightower to help design the academy and serve as its lead teachers, due to their recognition as leaders in the education community.