This week, principals from around the country gathered in the Washington, D.C.area to attend NAESP’s Federal Relations Conference. On the first day of the conference the principals attended sessions on the budget process, coalition building, and balancing grass-roots advocacy with the demands of the principalship. They were then briefed by Sally McConnell, NAESP’s Associate Executive Director for Government Relations, about taking their message to Capitol Hill. On the second day of the conference the principals did just that—they met and talked with federal legislators about the ESEA Reauthorization and the federal education budget. Keep abreast of NAESP's recommendations for the ESEA reauthorization as well as how legislative issues affect our schools by visiting the Federal Legislation Action Center.