NPC21 Set to Highlight Advocacy and Innovation in Education

The 2021 National Principals Conference (NPC) is just over a month away, and leading educators, policymakers, and influencers are headlining some of the featured sessions. It’s not too late to register and join hundreds of your colleagues from around the country for this one-of-a-kind virtual event.

Among dozens of valuable professional development workshops and presentations this year are several sessions with a specific focus on the important role school leaders can play as advocates for their students, staff, and communities:

• The State of American Education
  • An annual featured session at NPC, innovation and the willingness of educators to explore new options and change established systems to ensure student success will be a topical focus this year. Attendees will hear from a diverse panel of national, state, and local education leaders who will share their thoughts on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted schooling for years to come, including the future of assessments, accountability, and how we can accelerate learning for students in the upcoming school year. Panelists will explore how federal and state leaders can help schools create time and space for innovation, manage change in a time of uncertainty, and encourage the effective use of technology.
• Creating Supportive and Inclusive Environments for LGBTQ+ Students and Educators
  • The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and members of the new national LGBTQ+ School Leaders Network will discuss strategies for engaging LGBTQ+ students in school programs and activities, ensuring they have an empowered voice, and fostering a positive and welcoming culture for LGBTQ+ educators and staff.
• Youth Vaping and Tobacco Use: What Principals Need to Know for a Return to In-Person Schooling
  • With a hopeful return to in-person learning in the fall, principals will also need to focus on another familiar health challenge—the use of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, by students. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids will share the latest data and research around youth tobacco use, the efforts underway to address it, and how principals can get involved.

THIS MONTH’S TOP ADVOCACY ISSUES

President Biden Releases Budget Calling for over $100 billion Investment in Education

On May 28, President Joe Biden released his administration’s proposed FY 2022 budget. NASSP applauded this proposal, as it contains the robust funding that so many federal education programs need. Overall, the president’s FY 2022 budget proposal asks for $102.8 billion for the nation’s K–12 schools during the 2022–23 school year. This includes increases for several programs that are of critical importance to school leaders and the students they serve. This includes:

• The School Leader Recruitment and Support Program (SLRSP): The president’s proposal reinvigorates the SLRSP and recommends that it be funded at $30 million for FY 2022—a huge win for principals and assistant principals. The SLRSP, which NASSP worked to have Congress include in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), provides competitive grants to local education agencies (LEAs), state education agencies (SEAs), and other education entities to improve the recruitment, preparation, placement, support, and retention of effective principals or other school leaders in high-need schools.
• Title II: Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) provides formula grants to states to increase academic achievement by improving teacher and principal quality. This program also helps districts and schools invest in principal residencies, job-embedded and cohort-based professional learning, and mentorship opportunities for aspiring principals. The Biden administration’s FY 2022 proposal asks for $2.148 billion for Title II, which is a $5 million increase from the FY 2021 allocated level of $2.143 billion.

For a further breakdown of the budget and the impact it will have on the overall budget and appropriations process, visit NASSP’s School of Thought blog.

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