A Principal on Capitol Hill
Pennsylvania Principal Melissa Patschke attended NAESP’s Federal Relations Conference and is sharing her experience in the Principals’ Office.
What a GOP Majority Might Mean for Education Policy
Before the midterm elections, Democrats led the House with a majority of seats—255, to be exact. When the new Congress convenes in January, the new Republican majority will lead with at least 239 seats (as of today, 11 races haven’t been called definitively). Republican candidates picked up 60 seats in the House by running on a nearly universal message of anti-incumbency and reform, particularly in regards to federal spending.
Meanwhile in the Senate, Republicans closed the narrow Democratic majority to 51-46 (with three races in a toss-up) without taking control.
Stay on Top of Midterm Elections
In just three weeks, Americans will head to the polls to vote. The entire U.S. House of Representatives, approximately one-third of the U.S. Senate, and roughly two-thirds of state governors are running in this important election.
Principals Convene on Capitol Hill to Support Principal Evaluation in Turnaround Efforts, Early Childhood Professional Development
Media Advisory
Kaylen Tucker
703-518-6257
ktucker@naesp.org
Alexandria, VA—July 12, 2010—Principals from across the nation will converge on Capitol Hill to advance a legislative proposal on professional development for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as a part of the National Association of Elementary School Principals’ (NAESP) National Leaders Conference.
Can Schools Take Another Funding Hit?
Last week, congressional Republicans released A Pledge to America, which is their policy agenda for running the country should one or both bodies of Congress switch to a Republican-led majority.
U.S. Economy Depends on a Better Education System
In a recent interview on NBC's "Today" show, President Barack Obama said the United States is falling behind other developed nations in math and science education and that is hurting U.S. economic competitiveness. Obama suggested that the U.S. schools need to get rid of the worst performing teachers and expand the school year (Read more).
Expanding the School Day
Education Week is reporting that "Language in the federal education spending bill for fiscal 2011 would raise funding for a key after-school program, but also open the door to using that money to expand the school day and year—a move that has some after-school advocates worried" (Read the full article).
Defining Effective Principals
In a new proposal that would apply to select federal grant applications, the U.S. Department of Education has again attempted to define “effective” and “highly effective” principals. The definitions, similar to those the department has previously offered, would require student achievement growth to be a measured “in significant part” along with other supplemental measures to evaluate a principal’s efficacy.
Federal Report - April 2010
Advocacy on Your Behalf
by Abigail C. Evans, NAESP Government Relations Specialist
Communicator, Vol. 33, No. 8, April 2010
In recent years, the term “school principal” has made the occasional appearance in the education policy vernacular, but not consistently, and not earnestly. That is until now.