Apalachee students return to class weeks after deadly shooting

CNN, September 24, 2024

“The journey to recovery is long. We’re almost at the seven-year mark and I can tell you the recovery efforts are still underway…[everyone] goes through their own journey to recovery. Even though they experienced the same tragic event, everybody’s road in healing is very, very different.”

—Michelle Kefford, principal of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, and an NASSP Principal Recovery Network member

How to create professional development that’s meaningful this year

By Micah Ward, District Administration, October 4, 2024

“I’ve never met a teacher who did not want to learn, or I’ve never met a teacher who did not want to do their best. I have met teachers who are frustrated, disengaged and disenfranchised with the system, and I think a lot of teachers have historically felt like things are being done to them and their voices aren’t valued.”

—Monica Asher, principal of Olentangy Orange High School in Lewis Center, OH, and the 2022 Ohio Principal of the Year

Are Parents Giving Their Kids Too Many Mental Health Days?

By Arianna Prothero, Education Week, October 3, 2024

“In school, specifically middle school and high school, we want students to experience anxiety because it’s in a controlled environment. They’re supported, they have their parents, teachers, [and] support staff here. And, you know, anxieties are going to happen throughout their life. Change is going happen throughout their life.”

—Matthew Sloane, principal of Middleburgh Junior/Senior High School in Middleburgh, NY, and the 2024 New York Principal of the Year

“Parents are trying to navigate all of what they believe to be correct in the moment. And there’s a lot of things on the news and social media that shows the outcry of what mental health, and a lack of mental health awareness, can lead to. Depression and suicide rates, those things are certainly at the tops of everybody’s minds, especially [parents].”

—Matthew Strittmatter, principal of Elizabeth Davis Middle School in Chester, VA and the 2024 Virginia Principal of the Year

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