Guest post by Paula Callan
It’s the crisis response plan we as school administrators pray we never have to implement: The sudden loss of a student. But when tragedy strikes, it’s up to school administrators to provide leadership to the entire school community and implement protocols to support the immediate family, students, and staff most affected. (more…)
How Have You Used the ESSA Toolkit?
Have you used NASSP’s ESSA Toolkit to influence your state’s plan? If the answer is yes, please let us know! NASSP is looking for stories from individuals who have used the toolkit to help them navigate the ESSA implementation process. (more…)
Guest post by Jeff Simon
Many are concerned about the growing reports of school safety incidents. According to the Educator’s School Safety Network, U.S. schools experienced 745 bomb threats in the 2015–16 academic year. And since 2013, there have been 210 school shootings, as reported by the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund. This escalation of school threats and violence is generating fear and anxiety in students, parents, and educators and wasting precious learning time.
Your Chance to Speak with Congress!
Don’t miss your opportunity to meet with your congressional representatives at the 2017 NASSP Advocacy Conference, April 24-26. This conference brings together state leaders to advocate on behalf of the nation’s school principals and offers unique insight into the world of policy and politics. The program consists of panel discussions with representatives from other national education associations, congressional staff, and officials from ED; a briefing on the latest news in Congress and NASSP’s legislative agenda; and a day on Capitol Hill attending meetings with principals’ respective members of Congress and their staff. (more…)
Guest post by Ginni McDonald
Graduation is something every student should have the opportunity to experience. Aside from the indisputable benefits of a high school diploma, the preparations for graduation—the career action plans, the individualized academic plans, and the conferences—assist students in making choices that are right for them and their future. How do we connect with students to ensure they are on the road to graduation? There is no single answer to this question simply because each student is unique. (more…)
By now, you’ve likely seen NASSP’s calls to attend the 2017 Advocacy Conference on Capitol Hill and formed a few questions about it. Will I really be meeting with members of Congress? If so, do these people really care what I have to say? What can I expect—or will be expected of me—if I go?
Registration Is Filling Up Fast…
So don’t miss your chance to join us April 24–26, 2017 for the NASSP Advocacy Conference. This event brings together state leaders to advocate on behalf of the nation’s school principals and offers a unique insight into the world of policy and politics. The program consists of panel discussions with representatives from other national education associations, congressional staff, and officials from ED; a briefing on the latest news in Congress and NASSP’s legislative agenda; and a day on Capitol Hill attending meetings with principals’ members of Congress and their staff. (more…)
Lesher Middle School
Fort Collins, CO
Innovative leadership involves breaking apart old ideas so new ones can emerge, using research to knock the system out of equilibrium, and seeking resourceful solutions. To align the Breaking Rankscore area components of curriculum, instruction, and assessment, Lesher moved away from the historical practice of averaging a collection of points on a traditional 100-point scale to arrive at an A-F grade (predicated on the bell curve) to authentically assessing student learning progress on the Common Core State Standards/Colorado Academic Standards. This was done using the four International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program’s Criteria across eight subject areas. Lesher communicates levels of academic performance (0-8 rubrics) separate from work habit behaviors (novice, learner, practitioner, expert). Giving students continual feedback with multiple opportunities to improve their current performance level toward set criteria (concepts, content, skills) as well as emphasizing the most recent and frequent evidence encourages students to advance their performance over time
Cumberland High School
Cumberland, RI
Under Tenreiro’s leadership, Cumberland High School has seen increases in academic achievement, graduation rates, and the number of students gaining admission to some of the best colleges and universities in the country. Emphasizing essential skills for student success after graduation, Cumberland has doubled its Advanced Placement class offerings and expanded its STEM courses to include pre-engineering, robotics, and a biotechnology pathway. Tenreiro also invested in the school’s current standards-based system, which has led to more uniform expectations for students, clearer feedback to students, and a focus on reporting what has been learned-not just what students have done.
Guest post by Heberto Hinojosa, Jr.
In Texas and many other states across the country, school districts are abandoning or limiting the use of traditional exclusionary discipline practices such as detention, in-school suspension, and suspension to tackle student behavior issues that affect the learning process. Instead, many campuses are turning to restorative discipline to help teachers and administrators prevent and respond to behavior problems. (more…)
Support Public Education by Opposing Betsy DeVos
On February 7, the Senate is planning to vote on the confirmation of Betsy DeVos as the next secretary of education. Educators and students deserve a secretary who can commit to supporting every student in all public schools, and a leader who will work tirelessly to promote a public education system that provides each child with the ability to learn and prosper. DeVos’ past work and her performance at her recent confirmation hearing has demonstrated neither a depth of experience nor a knowledge base in education, indicating that she is not the candidate that students and educators need. (more…)
To discover new ways to make our schools ever better places to learn, we have to understand the school experience—but as the students see it, not as we believe it to be.
Guest post by Tom Dodd
Three years ago, our teachers began changing the way they assess student progress at Lesher Middle School in Fort Collins, CO. Standard/criterion/competency-based grading and reporting, as it’s commonly known, allows teachers to authentically evaluate student learning progress based on state academic standards, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), or in our case, the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program (IBMYP) Aims and Objectives to better communicate levels of academic performance and work habits. (more…)
NASSP has signed The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’ letter below in opposition to Betsy DeVos becoming the secretary of education. Click here to view the official letter and the supporting organizations.
Guest post by John Carder
By now, most educators have heard the term “makerspace.” The idea of a makerspace originated outside of the school setting as a place for community members to design and create manufactured work that wouldn’t be possible to create without the space. School makerspaces give students a place to work individually and collaboratively through hands-on creative projects that encourage them to design, experiment, repurpose, and innovate. (more…)
Contact Your Members of Congress!
Funding for FY 2017 expires on April 28, and Congress has already begun discussions to determine what the next steps are for the federal budget. As states continue to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), it is important that Congress understands how necessary federal funds are for proper implementation of the law. (more…)
NASSP has decided to oppose the confirmation of Betsy DeVos as secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. While NASSP has never before taken a position on a nominee, DeVos’ lack of support for public education and inability to understand a variety of education policies has proved too worrisome to ignore. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is planning to vote on DeVos’ confirmation on January 31. Click here to view the official letter sent to the HELP Committee.
Guest post by Justin Cameron
Resolutions. Most of us make them. Personal resolutions and professional resolutions are too often prey to self-fulfilling prophecy resulting from a mindset that the resolution will be broken. Carol Dweck and Angela Duckworth, architects of growth mindset and grit, can help shift that thinking. Their extensive work is worth exploring.
Guest post by Andrea Elzy
Andrea “Drea” Elzy recently led a National Honor Society virtual college application essay writing workshop on the topic of scholarship applications. Here, she offers valuable tips that can be shared with students.
The college admission process can be a rigorous one—and requires reflection on what schools to apply to, why to apply to those particular universities, and how students might potentially finance their education.
Scholarships can be a great resource and an often untapped way to help ease the burden of educational expenses. There is no shortage of funding through scholarships—and, in many cases, students may find that there are scholarships available for not only academics and extracurricular involvement, but also scholarships available for personal attributes, qualities, etc.
Here are five tips (more…)
Guest post by Clint Williams
Skyridge Middle School’s Associated Student Body (ASB) program is an active organization that makes our school a great place to be. Our student leaders organize school celebrations and spirit weeks, plan assemblies and recognition luncheons, mentor our sixth-grade students, and much more. They are the face of our school and our best ambassadors. But there is one big problem with ASB: It is so popular that we have to turn away a large number of students each year who want to become leaders, because space is limited. I realize this is a great problem to have, but it is a challenge, nonetheless. What can we do to provide students more ways to get involved and lead? (more…)
