Welcome back! I hope you had a restful and relaxing summer break, and I know you’re excited to return to serving your school communities. Another year of tremendous learning and growth awaits you, your students, and your staff. We at NASSP are here to support you. Whether you lead a school in a big city or a small town, I encourage you to join our association and your state association, and become an active and engaged member. The very future of public education depends on it. And no, I’m not being dramatic.

NASSP CEO Ronn Nozoe says school leaders must advocate for public education. PHOTO BY ALLYSSA HYNES/NASSP

As a longtime public school educator, I am seriously concerned about how our tax dollars are increasingly being used to fund private education. Private school is rightly part of the educational landscape in this country. In fact, many NASSP members are principals and assistant principals at private schools. I applaud their work and their commitment to their school communities just as much I applaud leaders of our public schools.

I do, however, take issue with a voucher system on steroids. It’s wrong when money dedicated to our chronically underfunded public schools is siphoned away to fund more and more private schools each year. We should be fully funding education and the myriad options available to our children.

As a school leader, you must do everything in your power to make sure public schools have the necessary funding and resources to deliver a high-quality education for all kids. We need principals and assistant principals to get involved and start paying attention. NASSP members must fight to ensure money is restored to public schools, where it belongs.

The days of “this too shall pass” and “problems like these are above my pay grade” are over. I’m here to tell you it is absolutely in your pay grade now. It is our responsibility to advocate for public education and make sure the resources are there to support teaching and learning for every child. And it is NASSP’s responsibility to help you.

There is no more authentic and credible voice to elevate what is really going on in schools than your voice. Superintendents may come and go but building leaders often choose to stay. They stay because of the close relationships they’ve developed with students, families, teachers, and staff. They stay because they care.

Now is the time to let everyone else know just how much you care. How can you do that? By engaging in NASSP Advocacy actions to save and grow public education. By joining NASSP Leadership Networks to connect with and learn from your peers. By becoming an NASSP Ambassador to weigh in on the types of professional learning and resources school leaders like you need and deserve.

For people outside of education to realize just how important the job of a principal is, a principal needs to acknowledge and realize the importance of the job, too. They must also effectively communicate what they do and how they do it with those who never even set foot in public schools. As a school leader who champions student agency with NASSP’s student leadership programs, you already know the value of encouraging young people to make their voices heard. Your student leaders would say you should do the same thing for them this year—and for you.

Ronn K. Nozoe is the CEO of NASSP. Previously, he served as associate executive director and interim executive director of ASCD. A former deputy assistant secretary for policy and programs at the U.S. Department of Education, he also served as deputy state superintendent in his home state of Hawaii, where he began his career as a teacher, vice principal, and principal.

Reference

Meckler, L., & Boorstein, M. (2024, June 3). Billions in taxpayer dollars now go to religious schools via vouchers. The Washington Post. washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/06/03/tax-dollars-religious-schools