Learn How to Advocate Effectively!
Would you like a chance to speak with representatives of the federal government about what is important to you and your school? Then join us April 24–26 for the 2017 NASSP Advocacy Conference. The conference brings state leaders together to advocate on behalf of the nation’s school principals. Having these state leaders converge on Congress and speak in a unified voice delivers a powerful message to legislators that great school leaders are vital to the success of each student. Registration for the event is now open!
This Month’s Top Advocacy Issues
Inauguration of President Trump and Confirmation Hearings for Betsy DeVos
January 20 marks the official inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States of America. Also this month, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) will begin confirmation hearings for Betsy DeVos, Trump’s nominee for secretary of education. Democrats on the HELP committee have expressed concern over DeVos’ support of school choice and charter policies in the past, fearing that they could harm public education. After the hearings conclude, a possible confirmation vote could come as soon as January 20.
Twitter Talk
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RT @NASSP: Use our #ESSA Toolkit to encourage your state to use the Title II funds to better support principals: http://bit.ly/2eA04mj. |
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Principals on average work 60 hours a week. Check out this @educationweek daily timeline to see how this plays out: https://t.co/wQmHoR7cw7 |
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.@NASSP Great to have @JohnKingatED hear from principals on what they need to make their schools and students successful #PrincipalsatED |
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#ICYMI—how can states make a case for elevating #edleadership under #ESSA? Find out in new @RANDCorporation report: https://t.co/wb1u2Ozrzn |
For more advocacy tweets, join us on social media by following NASSP and the advocacy staff on Twitter:
- NASSP @nassp
- Amanda Karhuse @akarhuse
- David Chodak @dnchodak
- Zachary Scott @zachscott33
#PrincipalsatED Event
Last month, Secretary of Education John King hosted a group of principals at the Department of Education (ED) for a special “Principals at ED” event. This event allowed principals the opportunity to collaborate on finding solutions for school leaders’ problems. It concluded with a meeting with Secretary King himself, where he was able to hear how the federal government can help today’s principals.
Take Action
Title II of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) grants new funding opportunities to support preparing, training, and recruiting high-quality teachers, principals, or other school leaders. However, these new opportunities have no chance to succeed if they’re not properly funded. NASSP has created a new action alert so members can ask the federal government to properly appropriate Title II funds at the levels authorized under ESSA.
In this Month’s Principal Leadership
This month’s issue of Principal Leadership features an in-depth breakdown of the NASSP ESSA Toolkit for Principals. The toolkit provides members with detailed fact sheets on the law, a communication kit to assist with advocacy, and model legislation templates to help states adhere to the law.
All FGN members are invited to write a guest article for Principal Leadership or blog post for School of Thought—just email Manager of Advocacy Zachary Scott with your idea. You can also subscribe to the blog to receive an email whenever a new post is published.