NASSP and The Education Plan® are proud to congratulate the recipients of the 2023 National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) Outstanding Achievement Award (OAA)!
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500 NJHS Students Earn Outstanding Achievement Awards
Building Leadership Capacity at Ignite 2023
Leading a school with a set of collaborative systems and structures is essential to empowering teachers and student leaders in your building. As a school leader, you’ll want to attend Ignite 2023—NASSP’s National School Leader Conference—July 12–15, in Denver, CO. The conference will offer dozens of sessions that will help you focus on building leadership capacity. To get you fired up, we spotlight three sessions here.
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Leveraging Connections to Increase Student Motivation
In the wake of the pandemic, both student motivation and engagement in the classroom continue to concern school leaders.
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Reflecting on the Principalship This Mother’s Day
I recently came across another principal’s tweet: “Relationships during the day, and paperwork at night.” As a veteran school leader, the notion of principals being the first to arrive at school and the last to leave, while working well into the evening has caused me much angst.
(more…)Texas Student Wins NSLW Sticker Design Contest
Morgan Go, a junior at Stony Point High School in Round Rock, TX, is the winner of the first-ever sticker design contest for National Student Leadership Week (NSLW) held in April. Go is the secretary of her school’s NHS chapter and will serve as vice president next school year. Here, she talks about the contest and her interest in graphic design.
(more…)The Secret to Sustained Student Council Success
The student council at Grassfield High School in Chesapeake, VA, has been recognized as a National Council of Excellence 15 times, ever since the school first opened. The award recognizes student councils for implementing a strong leadership program that meets council goals; functioning in an ethical and responsible way; and engaging others in leadership, spirit, civic, and service activities. Grassfield Student Council Association adviser Alicia White and SCA president Ethan Clarke share why the school’s student council has been able to maintain such consistent success.
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A Longtime National Council of Excellence Brings a Big School Together
Grassfield High School in Chesapeake, VA, is a large school. We have more than 2,200 students (who come from 10 different middle schools) and 215 staff spread out over multiple quads on a campus the covers more than 100 acres. One group that is key to pulling our entire school community together is our 30-person student council. That’s a lot of school for our student council to cover, but members do a wonderful job of reaching out to all of our student communities.
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A Fundraising Project That Changes Lives
When it comes time for students in the NHS chapter here at Thunder Ridge High School in Idaho Falls, ID, to graduate, just about every one of them would say that a highlight was this year’s project where we raised money to build a house for a Ukrainian family displaced by the war. I started teaching in 1989, so I’ve been around for a while, and I know this is the coolest thing I’ve ever done.
(more…)On Being a Middle Level Student Council Adviser
A basic goal of middle level student councils should be to empower young student leaders to become the driving force in shaping the activities and culture of a developmentally responsive student organization. Reaching that goal means that student councils, like any academic curriculum, must introduce and foster essential skills necessary for students to be successful. For many students, their council experience during the middle grade years will be their first foray into student leadership. Having a qualified adviser who can deliver the proper guidance and instruction over the course of their student council experience will lay the foundation for their leadership journey.
(more…)Inside the Backpacks of NHS Scholarship Winners: Discovering the Essentials of Tomorrow’s Leaders
NASSP recently recognized 25 outstanding National Honor Society members with scholarships for their dedication to the four pillars of NHS: Scholarship, Service, Leadership, and Character. As they embark on a bright future, we explore what essentials they carry with them every day, from textbooks to tech gadgets, and everything in between. Discover the unique personalities and passions of these remarkable scholars through a peek in their backpacks.
(more…)Trailblazing Leadership Week Celebrates Student and School Leaders
NASSP sits at the intersection of student and school leadership. Any progress in our schools must start with those who are a part of them, and the combined effect of these groups working together is greater than each working alone. This power was on full display during NASSP’s Trailblazing Leadership Week, April 22-25, which brought together the State Principals and Assistant Principals of the Year, the National Honor Society Scholarship finalists, and their advisers to recognize their accomplishments and connect with one another in Washington, D.C.
(more…)Award Recognizes International School’s Student Council
The student council at Boston International School (BIS) in Jiangsu, China, is among the 337 winners of this year’s National Council of Excellence. The award recognizes student councils for implementing a strong leadership program that meets council goals; functioning in an ethical and responsible way; and engaging others in leadership, spirit, civic, and service activities. In this post, Brian Rotunno, academic principal of BIS, discusses the council’s success.
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MoneySKILL: A Solution for Personal Finance Education
Personal financial literacy is critical to succeed in today’s world, but study after study shows that many Americans need a deeper understanding of core financial concepts. For instance, among U.S. adults surveyed in the FINRA Foundation National Financial Capability Study published in 2022, 47% lacked a “rainy day” fund for emergencies, 59% of those with credit cards reported paying their balance in full each month, and 19% reported spending more than their income.
(more…)NASSP Talks Advocacy in Twitter Chat
Last week, the Michigan Elementary and Middle School Principals Association (MEMSPA) hosted a Twitter Chat delving into how K–12 principals can advocate for policy changes to improve their schools. See below for highlights from NASSP Director of External Affairs Jen Silva, and use the hashtag #MEMSPAChat to read the chat in full and check out NASSP’s Twitter for more insights.
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To Ban or Not to Ban AI Writing in Schools?
AI writing and how to manage it in the classroom was top of mind for the education professionals who traveled to Indianapolis for the International Center for Academic Integrity’s (ICAI) annual conference March 9–12.
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Empowering Teens with SEL Skills May Help Them Resist Drugs and Vaping
Teens love to push boundaries and test limits. And while this may be frustrating to parents and educators, it is a crucial aspect of their learning and development. Through trial and error, they can better understand themselves and their world.
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We Are All Advocates
Beth Houf
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
(more…)NHS Students Reach Out to Help Native Neighbors
Many of us take for granted that on cold nights we can get warm inside from our central heating. That privilege is not shared by thousands of our Navajo and Hopi Nation neighbors here in Arizona. Many of them—the most recent figures say as many as one-third—lack adequate access to reliable heating.
(more…)An Assistant Principal Reflects on His Role
In honor of AP Week, we spoke with Lamark Holley, an assistant principal of Southampton Middle School in Bel Air, MD, about his longtime career in education and the difference he makes in his school community.
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The Use of Restorative Practices: A Work in Progress
In honor of AP Week, School of Thought asked me to reflect on work that I’m most proud of as a school leader. I have chosen to share about implementing restorative practices, which many of my colleagues are also working hard to get right in schools across the country.
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