This holiday season, students from across the country are coming together to spread festive cheer through service! Get inspired by:
(more…)School of Thought Blog
American Heart Challenge Provides Accessible Service Opportunities to NHS Students
Since the beginning of the pandemic, National Honor Society (NHS) advisers have faced the challenge of finding service activities that don’t involve big crowds (like charity walks) or extended close contact (like in-person tutoring). When they heard about a volunteer opportunity that students could do through social media and a smart phone app, sponsored by the American Heart Association (AHA), NHS advisers in two school districts near Houston, TX, welcomed the chance to involve their chapters.
(more…)
Breathing New Life into One School’s NHS Chapter
2021 marked the centennial of National Honor Society (NHS), a program of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Since its founding in 1921, NHS has recognized and encouraged exceptional student leaders. One such chapter, established a few years after NHS was born, is now gaining new life. Sterling High School (SHS) in the rural community of Sterling, CO, had an active NHS chapter from 1925 through 2013. After eight years of dormancy, the school proudly reinstated its chapter this year.
(more…)
Taking Stock of Where We’ve Been—and Where We’re Going
With the holiday season and winter break fast approaching, you as school leaders have time to reflect on where your schools have been and where they’re going. This halfway point of the school year gives you a well-deserved breather where you can take stock of your accomplishments in serving your students, teachers, and communities and confront the challenges that remain.
(more…)
Four Strategies That Increase Student Opportunity in Advanced Courses
Advanced coursework and career and technical education (CTE) pathways provide high school students with the opportunity to learn and practice crucial college and career readiness skills while earning college credit and career certifications. According to The Education Trust, “Research shows that when students are given access to advanced coursework opportunities, they work harder and engage more in school, leading to fewer absences and suspensions and higher graduation rates.” Despite widespread understanding of the important opportunities provided by Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Dual Enrollment, and CTE, schools continue to struggle with addressing opportunity gaps by supporting all students in accessing and succeeding in these courses and programs.
(more…)
It Takes Everybody: Building Your School’s SEL Plan
When school buildings across South Carolina closed in March 2020 due to COVID-19, the impact went beyond academics. The class of 2020 was stripped of prom and the full celebration of graduation, and high school athletes competing in spring sports were stripped of their opportunities to shine athletically.
(more…)
Maryland NHS Member in the Spotlight at UNICEF Global Forum
When Stranger Things was such a popular TV show, I was obsessed with Millie Bobby Brown, the British actress and model. One day I was scrolling through Instagram, and I saw on her page that she had been selected as UNICEF’s youngest Goodwill Ambassador. That really caught my eye because she was 14 at the time—the exact same age as me.
(more…)
A School That Celebrates and Honors Students’ Cultures
When Ronn Nozoe, the CEO of NASSP, and Gregg Wieczorek, NASSP President, toured Betty H. Fairfax High School in Laveen, AZ, in mid-November, it was an apt location for a school visit during Native American Heritage Month. The school enrolls a number of Native students, many from the nearby Gila River Indian Community.
(more…)
10 NHS & NJHS Chapters Giving Back to Their Communities
This holiday, NHS and NJHS students across the country are finding innovative and unique ways to give back to their communities. Check out their great work and be inspired:
(more…)
Virtual LEAD Conference Engages Student Leaders and Advisers
Despite the challenges of putting together an engaging virtual conference for more than 2,400 student leaders and advisers, the LEAD Fall Conference earlier this month was a big success, with positive reviews from student and adult attendees alike.
(more…)
A Nurse in Every School: One School District’s Worthwhile Investment
At the onset of the pandemic, officials in the Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8 did something that turned out to be a great use of money: They hired a full-time registered nurse for all nine of our schools. Larger schools like mine—a middle school with 1,100 students—also have a certified nurse assistant.
(more…)
Wieczorek’s 50-State Tour Continues in the Midwest
NASSP President Gregg Wieczorek’s third leg of Leading Forward: The Listening and Learning Tour continued in late October with visits to four schools in three states: Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana. Below are brief highlights from the latest stops, one of which garnered a story in a student newspaper.
(more…)
Shadowing Visits: An Eye Opener for Elected Officials
The first time I ever visited my U.S. senator’s office on Capitol Hill, it really piqued my interest in advocacy on behalf of NASSP and principals throughout my state of Oklahoma. But I realized that while a visit to an office in Washington, D.C., is great, why not have elected officials and their staff come visit my school instead?
(more…)
An Aspiring Leaders Series Builds Expertise and Community
No matter if they serve in middle-level schools or high schools, in rural communities or bustling cities, principals everywhere can remember the time when they aspired to lead before being hired to do so.
(more…)
NHS Chapter in Edinburg, Texas, Receives Top Honor
Earlier this month, the Edinburg (TX) High School chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS) received one of the 2021 Governor’s Volunteer Awards: the Service-Learning Champion Award.
(more…)
A Rural Georgia High School Shares Its Success
By the time I heard that NASSP President Gregg Wieczorek was planning to visit schools in every state, he had already stopped in Georgia. I wish I had known sooner because I would have jumped at the opportunity to have Gregg visit Lumpkin County High School. Our school offers many innovative and exceptional opportunities for students. And I’m a big believer in sharing.
(more…)
Mask Mandate Brings an Unfortunate Level of Anger and Disrespect
In the 17 years I’ve been an administrator in the Derry, NH, school district, we’ve had plenty of controversies. We’ve had school board meetings where members of the public come and share their opinions and disagree. But I’ve never seen people at those meetings being disrespectful—until now.
(more…)
Expect the Unexpected as Schools Navigate the New Normal
At my school in Florida, we’re in our second year of being back in person. Things are very different this year—masks are not required for students and staff, we can hold more athletic events and school activities, and we don’t have to worry about students staying six feet apart; they can now work together in classrooms.
(more…)
Wieczorek Continues 50-State Tour with Swing through Northeast
NASSP President Gregg Wieczorek’s second leg of Leading Forward: The Listening and Learning Tour took him through six Northeast states the second week of October: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
(more…)
A Pen Pal Program Expands Students’ Horizons
I was a junior at Valley View High School in Moreno Valley, CA when COVID-19 hit. After classes moved online, I missed talking to my friends in person, and I was really bored. I was also curious about what life during the pandemic was like in different parts of the world. As a member of the National Honor Society, I still needed to do volunteer work. So, I came up with a way to help young people like myself feel less isolated by starting a pen pal program with students at a rural school in Kenya.
(more…)