Diane Ravitch, outspoken advocate for public schools and the opening keynote speaker at NAESP’s 2012 annual conference, says the principalship “is not a job for amateurs.” In a short interview published in the November/December issue of Principal magazine, Diane Ravitch, research professor of education at New York University and outspoken advocate for public schools, reiterated her support for the principalship. She said, “Being an elementary school principal is one of the most demanding tasks in our society; it is not a job for amateurs.” 

Ravitch is the opening keynote speaker at the NAESP 2012 Annual Conference and Expo—BEST PRACTICES FOR BETTER SCHOOLS™— in Seattle, Washington, on Thursday, March 22. Her latest book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education, is a treatise on the state of schools today and will be available for purchase and signing by Ravitch in Seattle at the on-site NPRC Bookstore after her presentation.