Editorial Calendar and Submission Guidelines
You're an expert in education. Please share your knowledge and experience with your fellow school leaders in Principal Leadership magazine.
Write about one of the following themes or submit an article on another topic of interest to principals, assistant principals, or aspiring principals.
Principal Leadership is your magazine—help make it an even more valuable resource by writing an article or passing these themes on to a colleague who has a great program or unique perspective.
Principal Leadership Themes for 2012
January 2012
Primary to Postsecondary
How do you work with the schools in your system—elementary, middle, high school or postsecondary—to ensure an coherent system of education from kindergarten through college?
Deadline: September 1, 2011
February 2012
Language Minority Students
How are you meeting the needs of those students who need to learn or improve their English skills to be successful in U.S. schools, and how are you supporting the teachers who serve them?
Deadline: October 3, 2011
March 2012
Special Conference Edition
All confirmed conference presenters are invited to submit a manuscript for consideration.
Deadline: November 1, 2011
April 2012
Developing Instructional Capacity
Setting instructional direction is school leaders’ most important and most difficult job. How do you make time to be the instructional leader and support and develop teachers’ capacity to fulfill learning goals?
Deadline: December 3, 2011
May 2012
Special issue Breakthrough Schools
A special edition that includes profiles of the 2012 MetLife Foundation– NASSP Breakthrough Schools.
September 2012
Cost Effective School Improvement
Good practice doesn’t have to cost big money. Share the low-cost ways that you have improved your school by realigning resources, changing practices, raising expectations, or other creative means.
Deadline: May 7, 2012
October 2012
Holding on to the Humanities
With all the attention on testing in math and language arts, the class of studies known as the humanities are endangered in some schools. What is the state of social studies, civics, languages, and other humanities classes?
Deadline: June 6, 2012
November 2012
Culture and Safety
Strict policies and zero tolerance were reactions to tragic events, but they have proven to be ineffective and even detrimental to students well-being. A positive school culture is the only way to ensure meaningful change.
July 9, 2012
December 2012
Grading and Assessment
Meaningful measures of student learning are used to improve instruction and achievement. What constitutes good grading and assessment systems that foster success?
Deadline: August 6, 2012
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Principal Leadership Submission Guidelines
Content
Manuscripts should explore one of the monthly themes or other topics of professional interest to secondary school leaders. Manuscripts are evaluated by NASSP staff members and are judged on their relevance, interest to principals, timeliness, originality, readability, and credibility. Principal Leadership seeks articles that:
- Describe best practices and exemplary programs objectively and include evidence of success as well as a discussion of barriers or problems
- Address replicability and provide details about planning and process
- Include research as appropriate and necessary
- Explain how principals can act on the information
- Include tips, advice, resources, and examples for sidebars
- Offer opinions on some topic of professional interest to principals.
Requirements
Manuscripts should be no more than 2,000 words, including references, but may include additional supplemental material. Successful manuscripts are written in a tone and style appropriate to a magazine; are well-organized; clearly establish the purpose of the article; use specific examples—it is best to show, not tell; summarize relevant research succinctly; and adhere to the rules of grammar. When referencing other material, authors should use parenthetical references in text and a reference list according to the reference style outlined in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition. The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is used for all other style matters. Research manuscripts with extensive notes and references are more appropriately submitted to the NASSP Bulletin, a peer-reviewed journal.
How to Submit
Please send your manuscript to plmag@nassp.org and include:
- The manuscript prepared in MS Word for a PC.
- A cover letter that indicates your intention to submit the manuscript to Principal Leadership magazine and stipulates whether the manuscript has been submitted elsewhere.
- Contact information for each author: affiliation and title, mailing address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address.
- A two-sentence author identification for publication. The first sentence should include a current title, affiliation, and e-mail address; the second sentence should highlight key accomplishments or reinforce your authority in discussing the topic.
Important Considerations
Photographs
If you'd like to send photos to accompany your article, please attach the JPEG files to an e-mail and send them to plmag@nassp.org. (Photos should be at least 4"x6" at 300 dpi.) Include a photo credit and a brief caption that identifies the school and the context. NASSP does not identify individual students and does not require release forms. If no photos are available, NASSP will select file or stock art to enhance the article.
Permissions
If you use an extended quotation (including charts, graphs, and tables) from another publication, you must obtain written permission from that publisher before submitting the manuscript to Principal Leadership. This permission must accompany the manuscript and be properly credited.
Copyright
As publisher, NASSP protects its rights and those of its authors from copyright infringement. An author who requests permission to republish his or her submission generally receives it, with the understanding that the author will cite NASSP as the original publisher. Each author is responsible for the accuracy of references, quotations, tables, and photo releases and should inform NASSP if the article has been published elsewhere. In accepting a manuscript, we ask the author to sign a statement that:
- The submission is original
- NASSP has permission to edit, publish, and copyright the submission
- NASSP may republish the submission or any part of it in any future publication
- NASSP may grant the right to reprint the submission in whole or in part.
The Process
- Within a few days, you'll receive an e-mail acknowledging receipt of the manuscript.
- Within 8 to 10 weeks, you will receive a letter of decision. If a manuscript is accepted, it may be months before a publication date is assigned.
- If the article is accepted, you will receive an Intellectual Property Transfer to sign. (See previous section for a discussion of copyright.)
- Editors will be in occasional contact with you to discuss revisions.
- When the article is published, you will receive three complimentary author copies.
Questions
If you have questions, please contact:
Editor
Principal Leadership
1904 Association Drive
Reston, VA 20191-1537
Telephone 703-860-7315
plmag@nassp.org
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