NASSP and HRC Promote LGBTQ Student Inclusion

NASSP and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) have partnered to highlight principals’ important role in striving for educational equity, with a focus on safety and inclusion for LGBTQ students. HRC’s “2018 LGBTQ Youth Report” found that only 26 percent of LGBTQ students feel safe in their classrooms, and only 5 percent feel their teachers and school staff are supportive of LGBTQ people. HRC’s heartfelt video (https://youtu.be/Ut5k6EyeTNQ) spotlights just some of these experiences faced by LGBTQ students. This is a condition NASSP has been working toward changing, as evidenced by its position statement on transgender students, which states that principals, as school leaders, “must provide an affirming school environment where each student is treated fairly, respectfully, and with an understanding of each student’s culture and context.” Together, NASSP and HRC hope to achieve this standard, starting with a series of activities NASSP members can participate in, including a collaborative webinar, an event on Capitol Hill, and concurrent sessions at the 2019 National Principals Conference, as well as HRC’s Time to Thrive Conference.

Support Your Team’s Growth at the 2019 National Principals Conference

With the dates announced for the 2019 National Principals Conference, now is the time to begin planning with your team members. The conference will be held in Boston, July 18–20. NASSP will host K–12 principals, assistant principals, and other administrators to collaborate on building a safe, equitable, and innovative school culture. Join your peers to reimagine the future of education—and save $50 when you bring two or more team members.

Visit www.principalsconference.org/team for the latest details and to register.

Study Reports High Regard for Teachers, Low Aspirations for the Profession

Phi Delta Kappa released its 50th Annual Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools, and it reveals a frightening new contradiction: For the first time, a majority of Americans report that they hold teachers in high regard, yet at the same time would not want their own children to pursue teaching as a profession. The reasons are obvious: low pay, long hours, no prestige, etc.

“Principals see firsthand the effects of our nation’s choice to drain the educator talent pool by underpaying and undervaluing teachers rather than to replenish the pool. This reality is completely unsustainable,” NASSP Executive Director JoAnn Bartoletti told Education Week. “We cannot be comfortable with the stunning contradiction that a majority of Americans both recognize the importance of the teaching profession and want their own kids nowhere near it. The recent series of teacher strikes and the public support for more should wake us up to the need to invest more purposefully and creatively in the professionals who do nothing less than build our collective future.”

Visit www.pdkpoll.org to read the complete report.

For more news, visit NASSP’s School of Thought blog at blog.nassp.org.