The U.S. Department of Education reports that over 450 applications were submitted to secure a slot for the 2013-2014 Principal Ambassador Fellowship Program. The Principal Ambassador Program, known as PAF, was established this year after the success of the Teacher Ambassador Fellowship.  U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan noted that after Department staff spent a day shadowing principals across the Washington, DC area during National Princpals Month last October, one of the participants highlighted the lack of principals’ voices in dialogues surrounding education policy.

The PAF program is meant to recognize the important impact that a principal has on instructional leadership, the school environment, and talent management. NAESP and the National Association of Secondary School Principals worked to help establish the program to elevate the principal’s voice within the Department, and help increase its efforts to build the capacity of principals.

The Department will review all of the applications through internal review teams to confirm the applicants who have met the eligibility requirements, and then begin the selection process to choose three principals who will serve as the 2013-2014 PAFs. The Department expects to finish the selection process by October 2013. For more information, please visit the Principal Ambassador Fellowship Program.