Virtual Tour Series Offers Connected Leadership
School leaders are navigating new challenges in the principalship that require innovation, perseverance, and collaboration—which means the need for human connection is more critical than ever. NASSP’s Virtual Tour Series is hosted each month by acting principals who give viewers a real-time look at their schools, day-to-day operations, and leadership practices through Facebook Live. Each virtual tour is preceded by a blog post authored by the host principal, who provides exclusive insights into the challenges they face. Then, the discussion continues in a “Pau Hana” following each event. Register for upcoming tours at www.nassp.org/virtual-tours and take a look at archived tours at www.nassp.org/tour-archive.

NASSP Releases Briefs on Reopening Guidance
COVID-19 has presented challenges for schools and communities, with no one-size-fits-all approach for districts and leaders to follow. The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), with funding provided by The Wallace Foundation, has issued reopening guidance for districts that are navigating the shifting public health and education landscape. NASSP has issued a series of three briefs—“Leveraging Principals in System-Level Strategies for Recovery,” “Leveraging Principals in Ensuring Well-Being and Connection,” and “Leveraging Principals in Ensuring Academic Guidance” (to be released later this month)—to instruct school leaders on how to navigate and strategize ways to effectively implement the CCSSO guidance documents while drawing connections to Building Ranks to help principals operationalize their practice. Read the briefs today at www.nassp.org/restart-and-recovery-lp to learn how to support school communities as buildings reopen.

NASSP Partners on New COVID-19 Data Dashboard
National education organizations, researchers, and technology experts are partnering to create the first nationwide database that systematically maps schools’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic across the United States. NASSP joins The School Superintendents Association (AASA), the National Association of Elementary School Principals, Brown University Professor of Economics Emily Oster, and Qualtrics on the creation of the dashboard. This resource will aim to help district and school leaders understand where COVID-19 cases are surging, how the spread of cases is impacting schools, what it means for opening and staying open, and how they can pivot and respond quickly. Principals can help participate or learn more about the collaboration at https://explaincovid.org/schooltracking.


For more news, visit NASSP’s School of Thought blog at blog.nassp.org.