“We’re in a rural part of [the state]. It’s a gun-heavy area. There were several meetings with our school board prior [to the walkout] because they were concerned what might happen with it…I had parents threatening on both sides, “If you don’t let my kids walk out, we’ll sue you,” “If you let the kids […]
Fit to Lead: December 2023
DiversityEquityinclusionLGBTQ+Rural School Leaders NetworkSchool Safety
NASSP Statement of Values
Preamble The principal is the school’s leader and promotes equity and excellence in education for each student. This leadership is vital to every aspect of education–academics, the arts, athletics, cocurricular activities, and general administration. As the Association that represents these leaders, NASSP presents this statement of values for our staff, our members, and the broader […]
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Addressing Disproportionate Discipline
Decades of research show that students of color are more likely to receive exclusionary discipline practices—such as office discipline referrals or suspensions—than their white counterparts, according to the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. The Children’s Defense Fund revealed that suspension rates for black students were two to three times higher than those […]
Building CultureEquity
Legal Matters: January 2020
The bubbly drinks have been consumed. The confetti has fallen. At the dawn of this new decade, it’s time to turn our attention to more serious matters—specifically, legal literacy. Along with your personal New Year’s resolutions, consider cultivating a legally literate faculty and staff. Unlike resolutions to hit the gym or to read more, this […]
Cyberbullying: January 2020
Hey Google, tell me about my teacher. What educators’ “digital footprints” tell students, parents, colleagues, and community members about them can influence how they are perceived—and, ultimately, this information might shape how students interact with teachers in the classroom. Students are curious about teachers’ personal lives, so they may search for them on social media […]
March 2016 Viewpoint
A sobering reality has become the “new normal”: Members of a once revered profession now often hesitate as they attempt to fulfill their basic duties. Teachers at large are not only facing criticism from state and federal governments, but also from parents, the media, and society. There were about 90,000 fewer teachers in training in […]
Syllabus: April 2024
The Enduring Classroom: Teaching Then and Now In his latest book, The Enduring Classroom: Teaching Then and Now (The University of Chicago Press), Larry Cuban provides a historical journey through education. The professor emeritus at the Stanford Graduate School of Education writes of the changes in education over many years, and how they may not […]
Legal Matters: April 2024
Over the years, courts have grappled with the legal dimensions of social media, including delineating the bounds of school district authority to regulate or institute consequences for student or employee postings on social media (e.g., Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., 2021). Currently, the U.S. Supreme Court is deliberating a case involving a different but […]
Legal Matters: March 2024
Public schools, as state actors, are bound by the prohibitions of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated…” When school administrators suspect employees are using or possessing drugs, a typical […]
Legal Matters: February 2024
The concept of a charter school began in the 1970s when an educator suggested that groups of teachers be permitted to experiment with new approaches in public schools. In the 1980s, the idea was further discussed by Albert Shanker, the former president of the American Federation of Teachers. Minnesota passed the nation’s first charter school […]