Contribute to Principal Leadership

You’re an expert in education. Please share your knowledge and experience with your school leader colleagues in Principal Leadership magazine.

We publish a wide range of articles on school leadership; curriculum and instruction; social and emotional learning; trauma-informed education; self-care for students and educators; the high school to college transition; social justice; diversity, equity, and inclusion; supportive discipline; and strengthening the school leader pipeline, among other topics and trends in middle level and high school education.


Principal Leadership is your magazine—help make it an even more valuable resource by writing an article or encouraging a colleague with a great program or unique perspective to do so.

Submission Guidelines

Content

Manuscripts should explore topics of professional interest to principals, assistant principals, or aspiring principals. Manuscripts are evaluated by NASSP staff members and are judged on their relevance, interest to school leaders, timeliness, originality, readability, and credibility. The editor reserves the right to edit manuscripts for clarity, length, and style. Principal Leadership seeks articles that:

  • Describe best practices and exemplary programs objectively and include evidence of success as well as a discussion of challenges.
  • Address replicability and provide details about planning and process.
  • Include research as appropriate and necessary.
  • Explain how school leaders can act on the information.
  • Include tips, advice, resources, and examples for sidebars.
  • Offer opinions on some topic of professional interest to school leaders.

Requirements

Manuscripts should be no more than 2,000 words, including references. Successful manuscripts are written in a tone and style appropriate to a magazine; are well-organized; clearly establish the article’s purpose; use specific examples—it is best to show, not tell; summarize relevant research succinctly; and adhere to the rules of grammar. Please refer to the most recent edition of the AP Stylebook for all style matters.

How to Submit

Please send your manuscript to [email protected] and include:

  • The manuscript prepared in MS Word.
  • Your intention to submit the manuscript to Principal Leadership and whether the manuscript has been submitted elsewhere.
  • Contact information for each author: affiliation and title, mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address.
  • A two-sentence author identification for publication. The first sentence should include a current title, affiliation, and e-mail address; the second sentence should highlight key accomplishments or reinforce your authority in discussing the topic.

Important Considerations

Photographs

If you’d like to send photos to accompany your article, please attach JPEG files to an e-mail and send them to [email protected]. (Photos should be at least 300 dpi.) Include a photo credit and a brief caption that identifies the school and the context. NASSP does not identify individual students and does not require release forms. If no photos are available, NASSP will select file or stock art to enhance the article.

Permissions

If you use an extended quotation (including charts, graphs, and tables) from another publication, you must obtain written permission from that publisher before submitting the manuscript to Principal Leadership. This permission must accompany the manuscript and be properly credited.

Copyright

As publisher, NASSP protects its rights and those of its authors from copyright infringement. An author who requests permission to republish their submission generally receives it, with the understanding that the author will cite NASSP as the original publisher. Each author is responsible for the accuracy of references, quotations, tables, and photo releases and should inform NASSP if the article has been published elsewhere. In accepting a manuscript, we ask the author to sign a statement that:

  • The submission is original.
  • NASSP has permission to edit, publish, and copyright the submission.
  • NASSP may republish the submission or any part of it in any future publication.
  • NASSP may grant the right to reprint the submission in whole or in part.

Please submit manuscripts by emailing [email protected]. If you have questions, please contact:

Editor
Principal Leadership
1904 Association Drive
Reston, VA 20191-1537
[email protected]