NAESP recently teamed up with the Learning Policy Institute (LPI) to conduct a national principal study surveying 1,000 principals to learn more about their access to high-quality professional development opportunities. The report had some key findings, including that few principals had participated in authentic learning opportunities (e.g., applied learning experiences, mentors and coaches, and networking with colleagues) despite the literature affirming that these authentic, job-embedded learning opportunities are associated with positive student outcomes. In this edition of the NAESP Advocacy Podcast, Caitlin Scott, Research Director for LPI, and Stephanie Levin, Research Manager for LPI, join to discuss the report and its implications for the principal profession going forward. Guests:Caitlin Scott, Research Director, Learning Policy InstituteStephanie Levin, Research Manager, Learning Policy Institute

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Principals’ Professional Learning: Current Status and Future Needs

In this edition of the NAESP HQ podcast, NAESP Executive Director L. Earl Franks, Ed.D., CAE, and President of the Education Commission of the States Jeremy Anderson discuss the upcoming 2020 election, specifically changes in state education leadership.

The 2020 Election

In this episode of NAESP HQ, NAESP Executive Director L. Earl Franks, Ed.D., CAE, speaks with NAESP Associate Executive Director of Advocacy and Policy Danny Carlson about the impact of the CARES Act on K-12 schools, and how principals can use their voices to guide funding decisions.

CARES Act

In this episode, we talk with Damaries Blondonville and Dr. Melissa Ellis from Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) about their work with the Wallace Foundation’s Principal Pipeline Initiative. The conversation keys in on how PGCPS has developed and grown a high-impact principal pipeline that intentionally recruits, develops, and supports principals across the county. Recommended Reading: Sustaining a Principal Pipeline Principal Pipelines: A Feasible, Affordable, and Effective Way for Districts to Improve Schools 

Building Principal Pipelines

Principals play a critical role in supporting a seamless continuum of learning for children across pre-k through the third grade. To do this, they must support transitions from pre-k settings to elementary schools, as well as support developmentally appropriate teaching. In this episode, we speak with Laura Bornfreund and Abbie Lieberman from New America to discuss the importance of the principal in supporting early education and why so few school leaders are equipped to meet these challenges.

Early Education Leadership: How Principals Can Support Early Learning

American Institute for Research (AIR) researchers Dr. Matthew Clifford and Dr. Cortney Rowland join this episode to discuss what research shows works to effectively recruit and prepare principals and what professional development they need to be successful. Resources Referenced in this Episode: Principal Professional Development: New Opportunities for a Renewed State Focus – http://bit.ly/2JZKbqd Supporting Principals’ Learning: Key Features of Effective Programs – http://bit.ly/2Ym5LhB A Framework for Principal Talent Management – http://bit.ly/30Vnjil Principal Talent Management According to the Evidence: A Review of the Literature – http://bit.ly/2ycpe5C Principal Pipelines: A Feasible, Affordable, and Effective Way for Districts to Improve Schools – http://bit.ly/32Phvc0 Sustaining a Principal Pipeline – http://bit.ly/2K2MGb0

The Research Angle: Which Principal Policies Work?

A growing problem in school districts across the country, teacher shortages negatively impact school climate, culture, and student learning by undermining teacher quality and stability in the classroom. To address this, states have been working on multiple fronts to ensure schools are sufficiently staffed with the teachers they need. In another guest episode of NAESP HQ, NAESP Executive Director L. Earl Franks provides a brief overview of how NAESP and other national education groups are collaborating with states to reverse the trend on teacher shortages.

Reversing the Trend on Teacher Shortages

Guests: Mary Kingston Roche, director of public policy, Coalition for Community schools Gwendolyn Unoko, community school coordinator, Calvin M. Rodwell Elementary Middle School (Baltimore) Samuel Rather, principal, Calvin M. Rodwell Elementary Middle School (Baltimore) In this episode, we sit down with Mary, Gwendolyn, and Samuel to learn more about the community school model and how community schools encourages partnerships between the school and other community resources. We also discuss how principals who utilize the community school model boost academics, health and social services, youth and community development and community engagement, leading to improved student learning, stronger families and healthier communities. 

How Principals Can Leverage Community Schools to Boost Health and Social Services, and Academic Outcomes for Students

Arne Duncan served as U.S. secretary of education under President Barack Obama from 2009 until 2015. Prior to his appointment, Duncan served as the CEO of the Chicago Public Schools from June 2001 through December 2008, becoming the longest-serving big-city education superintendent in the country. In this episode, Mr. Duncan sits down with us to reflect on his tenure as secretary of education and to share with us his ideas of where we go from here.

Arne Duncan: Reflecting on America’s Schools

Linda Darling-Hammond, President and CEO of the Learning Policy Institute, is the Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Emeritus at Stanford University where she founded the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education and served as the faculty sponsor of the Stanford Teacher Education Program, which she helped to redesign. In 2006, Darling-Hammond was named one of the nation’s ten most influential people affecting educational policy.

Linda Darling Hammond: Why Principals Matter

Guest: Dr. Stephanie Hirsh, executive director of Learning Forward. Learning Forward has more than 10,000 members and 40 state and provincial affiliates focused on building the capacity of leaders to establish and sustain highly effective professional learning. In this episode, we discuss professional learning and explore these questions: What does effective professional learning look like? How has ESSA’s definition of professional learning impacted the field? What’s the number one motivator why educators become invested in professional learning? How can professional learning be a high-leverage policy in helping to retain and support teachers in the profession? What do millennial educators want in their professional learning? What are concrete steps principals can take to help preserve Title II funding?

Professional Learning: Why It Matters and How Principals Can Help Save #TitleII

Sarah Silverman is a Senior Vice President at Whiteboard Advisors, a strategic consulting and communications firm. For over a decade, she has advised state leaders on education, assisting with the development of state policies that transform teacher and leader preparation, evaluation, and training. Prior to joining Whiteboard Advisors, she led the National Governors Association Education Division’s work on early care and K-12 education systems. Her research and writing have focused on the impact of state and national policy on social justice activism, teacher beliefs, talent management, early care and education, and ethics of education. In this episode, we talk with Sarah about the major trends in Edtech innovation, what we can learn from “big data” in K-12 education, ESSA implementation, and how these issues impact principals.

K–12 Edtech Innovation: What Is It and Why Should Principals Care?

In this episode we speak with Thomas Toch, Director of FutureEd, about the critical role principals play in supporting effective teaching and the importance of teacher feedback. Toch is a former senior partner at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and director of the foundation’s Washington office. He is a former guest scholar at the Brookings Institution and has taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Toch helped launch Education Week, as a writer and co-managing editor.

The Role of Principals in Advancing Quality Teaching

Across the country, more than 8 million students are missing so many days of school that they are academically at risk. Chronic absence—missing 10 percent or more of school days due to absence for any reason, whether excused, unexcused, or as a result of suspensions—can translate into third-graders being unable to master reading, sixth-graders failing subjects and ninth-graders dropping out of high school. In this episode we speak with Hedy Chang, executive director of Attendance Works, about the causes of chronic absence, its impact on student success, and what policies and practices can fix it.

Chronic Absence: The Risks of Not Showing Up

A record 114 million Americans turned out for the midterm elections. What were the results and what does it mean for education in 2019? 

The 2018 Midterm Elections: What Happened and What Does it Mean for Education in 2019

The policies, legislation and laws impacting principals – from Congress, to state capitols, to local school boards.

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