Announcing the 2018 National Principal of the Year
Akil Ross, principal of Chapin High School in Chapin, SC, has been named the 2018 NASSP National Principal of the Year (POY). He was selected among an exceptional group of school leaders from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Department of State Office of Overseas Schools, and the Department of Defense Education Activity. As an instructional leader, Ross models best practices and consistently challenges faculty members to grow professionally, as he understands the important link between professional growth and student performance. In his school, he aims to foster an environment where students can be challenged while pursuing their own interests, epitomized by Chapin’s mantra: “We are a thousand passions with one heartbeat.” To learn more about Ross and the POY program, visit www.nassp.org/poy.
A New Strategic Intent for NASSP
As NASSP launched into its next century, the board of directors began to consider what it would take for the organization to continue to thrive, what its stakeholders need, and why current and future stakeholders should want a relationship with NASSP. As a result, the board adopted a new strategic intent: to develop value-based relationships with key stakeholder segments across the education space, with the long-term goal of being a collaborative platform for building great schools and nurturing great leaders. This is an exciting time for NASSP, and we are grateful to have you accompany us on our journey in promoting school leaders as a driving force in transforming education for a new day.
New AMEX Principals Path to Leadership Program Report
The year one report for the American Express Principals Path to Leadership (PPL) program offers a compendium of effective practices as learned from the five principal preparation programs awarded a grant through PPL. In partnership with NASSP, American Express selected these five programs to support and track through a three-year period starting in October 2015. The five programs collectively received approximately $2.5 million to help increase their capacity. The first-year report summarizes the components of these programs and highlights each grantee’s work, effective practices, and successes to date. Read the report at www.nassp.org/principalspath and use it to reflect on your own professional development.