Principals' Office

Make a Difference in the Principalship

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.

Tomorrow’s Leaders

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?

The Courage of Educational Leaders

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?

We’re Back!

The Principals’ Office took a brief hiatus during this year’s annual convention and exposition in Nashville. We had a terrific time meeting and talking with principals from across the country and abroad. If you haven’t done so already, please check out NAESP’s Convention News Online (http://web.naesp.org/convNews/) to read some terrific articles on convention speakers and events, posts from guest blogger David Hanson (from North Dakota), and to browse through a photo gallery of convention attendees and speakers. 

NAESP's 88th Annual Convention and Exposition, April 2-6, 2009, will be the place for principals to start building everything from learning communities to neighborhood communities in New Orleans. You can find out more info about next year's convention at www.naesp.org.