Welcome to the Principals' Office, NAESP’s blog that connects principals with their colleagues and other K-12 educators. Come in and join our community of principals—where the door is always open.
In addition to covering what’s new at NAESP, this year’s Principals’ Office blog has engaged in topics such as the federal budget, principal pay, diversity, mentoring, instructional leadership, and NCLB.
To coincide with the end of the school year, the Principals’ Office editors are taking a summer hiatus. But feel free to peruse the archives and make sure to check back in the fall for new posts and series.
According to a recent The Miami Herald, principal Larry Feldman recently decided to postpone his retirement and offer his services to the cash-strapped Miami-Dade School District for an annual salary of $1 plus benefits.(Now that's what you call commitment.) The district declined Feldman’s proposition because it would be too difficult to replace him, considering his budgeted $1 salary, should he decide to leave before the year was over. Still, some parents have launched an e-mail campaign, and are considering a petition in favor of the popular principal's offer. Stay tuned.
Washington Post education columnist Jay Mathews recently addressed the issue of how public schools can best serve talented and gifted children. He published a number of insightful reader comments from parents and educators that illuminate the concerns of helping these students reach their highest potentials. One reader suggested that parents should home school gifted children. What do you think? Can public schools accommodate gifted children?
The May/June 2009 issue of Principal will be dedicated to talented and gifted children, focusing on what schools are doing to support these students and, in the wake of No Child Left Behind, whether or not schools are meeting their needs. For information about how to submit an article about this or other topics, visit the Principal Web page.
The School Leadership Grant program helps local districts develop, enhance, or expand programs to recruit, train, and retain principals. The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII) is seeking peer reviewers for the School Leadership Grant program. No travel is required and reviewers will receive an honorarium. For more information, visit http://web.naesp.org/misc/SLP2008CfR.pdf. The deadline to apply to be a reviewer is May 4.
NAESP's executive director Gail Connelly announced the launch of the National Elementary Honor Society (NEHS) at the Opening General Session during NAESP's annual convention. Connelly was joined onstage for the announcement of this new program by Gerald Tirozzi, the executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). Connelly and Tirozzi presented the first NEHS charter to Shepardson Elementary School, where NAESP President Mary Kay Sommers is principal.
"Whole child development is imperative for our schools to be successful," said Connelly. "The National Elementary Honor Society is a great way for schools to focus on this development and to recognize our young students for their accomplishments in leadership and service. We are excited about providing schools with the opportunity to participate in such a prestigious program and to help develop our nation's future leaders."
NASSP administers the National Honor Society™ (NHS) and the National Junior Honor Society™ (NJHS) and the NEHS was created to help schools give students in grades 4-6 national recognition for their accomplishments.
"The National Honor Society and the National Junior Honor Society have done a tremendous job of giving outstanding students the recognition they deserve for excellence in some of the most important aspects of their lives," said Tirozzi. "We are confident that the National Elementary Honor Society will enrich the education and the educational experience of younger students as well."
Incidentally, a study commissioned by the Girl Scouts of the USA found that young people ranked "being a leader" behind other goals such as "fitting in," "making a lot of money" and "helping animals or the environment." The results were published in a recent issue of The Washington Post. What do you think? How important is it for students to see themselves as leaders? How do these findings measure up to the leadership potential among students at your school? What can schools do to increase leadership skills in their students?
Have you read the Speaking Out article from the newly
released May/June 
issue of Principal magazine? In it,
author Mike Connolly argues that principals should be more forthright and talk more openly with their colleagues about the tests of courage they’ve had to face. “It is not hubristic to recognize and celebrate courage in education; it is inspirational,” Connolly writes.
Why don’t many school leaders recognize and celebrate more often the courage demonstrated by their colleagues? Is courage truly an important quality principals should have? Let us know what you think. Do you agree or disagree with Connolly?
