Guest post by Darrin M. Peppard
Steve, a veteran math teacher, asked, “Why do we do our learning walks in classrooms that don’t match with our own content area?” With a confused look, I responded, “Because you don’t really teach content, Steve, you teach kids, and kids need transferable skills more than they need content.” (more…)
Guest post by Clint Williams
Administrators are asked to wear a great many hats to represent a number of roles on any given day. Perhaps most important is the role of learning leader. While that role is often seen as the person who is ultimately responsible for ensuring student learning, it is also important to remember that principals and associate principals are responsible for staff learning as well. (more…)
ESSA Toolkit
As we get closer to the 115th Congress, there are many questions left unanswered surrounding the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). A new presidential administration means a shake-up at the Department of Education (ED), which could lead to many of the regulations passed concerning ESSA being changed or removed altogether. (more…)
The results are in! Over 62 videos were submitted from schools across the country for the 2016 National Principals Month video contest, and we have three winners! The contest called for students to make a short video giving “props” to their principal—telling us why they love their principal and what he or she means to the students, school, and community. Each of the winning schools will receive a $200 Best Buy gift card.
Guest post by Steve Carlson
A principal has many things to do—too many, in fact. This makes prioritizing crucial.
It can also mean that we also sometimes neglect things that just don’t have the urgency of a student crisis, a concerned parent, or a homecoming dance. But as I expand my personal learning network (PLN) I have increasingly come to realize that advocacy for education is something to which I needed to devote more energy. It’s important that we not only recognize the important work of principals but remember that advocacy—for our students and our schools—is part of that important work. (more…)
Guest post by Matthew Younghans
In the ever-changing world of Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR), significant value has been put on teacher evaluations. While once a narrative write-up process, our current systems are a far cry from the past. The power and control of such processes now lie within the domain of state regulation and at the collective bargaining table, which can even differ by district. I have found that creating a comfort zone regarding the process, inclusive of clear expectations, will help to defuse some of the normal teacher anxiety that can be present during these times. (more…)
ESSA Toolkit
Implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) continues to draw nearer. Now is the time for principals to sit down at the negotiating table to make sure their voices are heard. However, effectively advocating for one’s cause is not always easy. (more…)
Reports from around the nation of individuals suffering harassment seem to have grown emboldened since Donald Trump’s victory. In schools, students are bullied for their race, religious beliefs, and many more issues concerning individual identity and expression. (more…)
Guest post by Bill Coon, Ed.D.
You enter a social studies classroom and are immediately greeted by a student who welcomes you and introduces himself. The student explains the learning target, or the tangible learning goal he or she can understand and work towards, and then he explains the Habits of Scholarship, or character, target. He shares that today’s Habit of Scholarship is, “I can work collaboratively with my peers to draft a thesis statement for an essay about Peter the Great.” The student invites you to sit down and enjoy the class. After you sit down at a table with three other students, the students unpack the learning targets together and then break into small groups to begin their work for the day. As an observer, you begin to see multiple examples of collaboration in each group.
Guest post by Heberto Hinojosa, Jr.
As we look toward equity in all aspects of our schools, the small representation of low-income Latino students in advanced courses is of note. Over the last four years, I have had an opportunity to conduct a qualitative study to investigate parental influences and their perception of effective school practices that contribute to low-income, first- and second-generation Latino student success across Texas. Middle school students who were enrolled in at least one pre-AP class and earned honor roll the previous semester are those considered successful for the purposes of the study. (more…)
ESSA Toolkit
The implementation of ESSA has provided educators with a special opportunity to influence education policy. That is why it is important that school leaders make the most of this opportunity. To help ensure school leaders have all the information they need to effectively influence officials, NASSP recently introduced its ESSA Toolkit. (more…)
Guest post by Jay R. Dostal, EdD
I remember the conversation like it was yesterday. It was nine years ago, and I was just finishing up my first week as a brand-new assistant principal. I had been preparing myself to be an assistant principal for years and finally had landed the job I so desperately wanted. The excitement of the job was overwhelming, and I was overjoyed that I was going to be able to put my educational administration and supervision degree to work. (more…)
Guest post by Holly Ripley
As you well know, the role of the assistant principal has changed dramatically since the days when our primary responsibility was to serve as the resident disciplinarian. Addressing poor student behavior is of course still a necessary part of the job, but I work to minimize the time I spend on it so I can do the important work of coaching teachers and—sometimes directly, often indirectly—guiding students. If all students are in classes where they feel cared about, comfortable, and confident in learning, then we ultimately have very little misbehavior to deal with. (more…)
ESSA Toolkit
Making sense of new legislation like ESSA is always difficult. NASSP wants to make it easy for you! The new ESSA Toolkit provides a detailed breakdown of some of the law’s most important provisions for principals. It also makes it easy to find out what your state is doing by providing links to each State Department of Education’s web page. It will also provide many other beneficial pieces, including: (more…)
Guest post by Carey Dahncke
Christel House Academy is a charter school that educates impoverished students in the urban core of Indianapolis, IN. Our faculty works hard to educate the whole child and help students grow not only academically, but also as people. To support this focus, we developed a program called Character & Habits of Work, or CHoW, which is an ongoing and deliberate effort to foster and examine these important traits in students. (more…)
Guest post by Lesley Corner.Â
Literacy is the ability to read and write, but at Camden High School, we’ve expanded that definition to include speaking and listening. Students must have the capacity to apply these skills not only at school, but outside of the academic setting as well to communicate effectively and compete globally. Camden High School takes a cross-curricular approach to promote literacy both within and outside of our school through two courses in our Freshmen Transition Program that focus on literacy development, our community summer reading program, a schoolwide literacy learning network, and the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC). (more…)
National Principals Month
As we wrap up National Principals Month, NASSP wants to thank all those who participated in making it such a success. Although the official National Principals Month is over, rest assured that you will still have access to all of the great materials that were created or occurred during it. The website will continue to be active so you can still access the 29 state resolutions that were passed, the recording of the Capitol Hill event, a variety of webinars and many more important resources. While the celebrations are over, it is still extremely important for school leaders to have their voices heard, so please continue to utilize these resources to make your representatives listen! (more…)
As a principal, we know you’re a game changer. It is your hard work that ensures your students’ succeed academically and prepares them to leave your building to make a positive impact in your community.
As National Principals Month concludes, we at National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), and the American Federation of School Administrators (AFSA) want to say thank you for your leadership, diligence, and dedication to student achievement.
Guest post by Ted Huff
Within our educational system, and at the heart of all that we do, exists the proverbial “student desk.” In that seat rests the most powerful, engaging, and often untapped school resource. By taking and making time to include student perspective and voice within the academic, social, and behavioral facets of the school day, you will witness increased student engagement, greater student buy-in, and decreased behavior concerns.
With National Principals Month in full swing, NASSP would like to give special recognition to one of its members this week. On Monday, October 17, Principal Anita Berger hosted President Obama, Secretary of Education John King, former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, and former Secretary of State Colin Powell at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School in Washington, D.C. All were gathered to hear President Obama give a speech touting improved high school graduation rates.
