RESTON, VA—NASSP Executive Director and CEO JoAnn D. Bartoletti has announced her plans to retire, effective January 1, 2021, ending a nine-year tenure of significant advancement for the organization.

Upon taking the reins of NASSP in 2011, Bartoletti set the course for revolutionizing program and service offerings. She drew NASSP into progressive education circles with the creation of the NASSP Digital Principal of the Year award program and recalibrated the National Principal of the Year program to emphasize leadership over school level. That leadership is described in NASSP’s Building Ranks™ framework, which NASSP released under Bartoletti’s direction in 2018 to provide the education leadership with a common language and a common set of priorities. Building Ranks also aligns closely with the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders, created while Bartoletti chaired the National Policy Board for Educational Administration. She also directed the greatest revision of National Honor Society in its 100-year history, emphasizing student leadership and college access.

“Throughout my decades of work with principals and assistant principals on both the state and national level, I am constantly reminded of the selfless dedication with which they lead schools,” Bartoletti said. “There is no higher calling than school leadership. NASSP has been a part of my professional life for a very long time and I will treasure the friendships I have made with staff and colleagues. Now more than ever, the young people of our nation need strong, caring educators to lead our schools. I am proud to have been numbered among you.”

Bartoletti’s tenure also renewed crucial relationships with state-level principal associations that share common goals. Under her guidance, NASSP added features to expand state associations’ advocacy capacity and worked closely with them to advance a common policy agenda and most recently launched a community to network role-alike employees in state associations.

“JoAnn is an accomplished leader of national prominence who has excelled at multiple levels in education,” said Kevin Casey, executive director of the NASSP-affiliated School Administrators Association of New York State. “Her mentorship of state executive directors, from which many benefited, influenced the evolution of their associations consistent with NASSP purposes.”

Prior to assuming the leadership of NASSP in 2011, Bartoletti was the executive director of the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association for 20 years, during which time she updated the product, service, and professional development offerings for the organization’s 7,000-member administrators and raised the profile of New Jersey administrators in public policy circles. During her tenure, Bartoletti partnered with the state department of education on a nontraditional principal certification program that greatly expanded the pool of competent school leaders by enabling professionals with advanced degrees to pursue and acquire principal certification.

Bartoletti spent 15 years as assistant principal and principal at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School, which was ranked as one of the top 10 schools in New Jersey. She serves on the Board of Directors of the National Student Clearinghouse, the Learning First Alliance (which she chaired in 2017), and the National Policy Board for Education Administration.

The NASSP Board of Directors honored Bartoletti in July with the organization’s Award for Distinguished Service to Education. NASSP President-Elect Robert Motley will chair the search committee to identify a successor.


About NASSP

The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the leading organization of and voice for principals and other school leaders across the United States. NASSP seeks to transform education through school leadership, recognizing that the fulfillment of each student’s potential relies on great leaders in every school committed to the success of each student. Reflecting its long-standing commitment to student leadership development, NASSP administers the National Honor SocietyNational Junior Honor SocietyNational Elementary Honor Society, and National Student Council.