Bulletin Board: Strengthen

Celebrate National Assistant Principals Week

NAESP celebrates National Assistant Principals Week (AP Week) every April to recognize the significant role assistant principals (APs) play in the overall academic achievement of students nationwide. In collaboration with the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the American Federation of School Administrators, this year we will honor the impact assistant principals have on the success of schools across the country April 4–8.

Throughout AP Week, we will offer professional learning opportunities—webinars, a Twitter chat, tailored articles, and other resources—to help APs succeed in their ever-changing role. Plus, this is a chance for school principals to shout from the rooftops—or on social media—how APs have made a positive impact on them, their schools, their students, and their communities.

Resources for APs

APs Rising PLC: Networking is key to finding support and growing as school leaders. Just for APs, this PLC offers custom resources and professional learning opportunities.

APs Rising article series and e-newsletter: NAESP created this suite of resources to help improve AP practice, especially as the role continues to evolve.

AP webinar series: NAESP’s webinar series is tailored to APs, offering strategies and best practices to overcome challenges unique to the position and support APs in their leadership journeys.

National Aspiring Principals Academy: For those who want to transition from AP to principal, NAESP offers NAPA—a yearlong, cohort-based academy run in partnership with AASA, The School Superintendents Association. NAPA supports aspiring, assistant, and early-career principals in attaining the essential skills they need to advance their leadership.

Learn more about how to celebrate APs with downloadable AP Week graphics and check out the resources available to APs at naesp.org/APWeek.

Supporting Student Growth a Focus at NAESP Conference

NAESP has added more conference strands than ever to its professional learning lineup at the NAESP Pre-K–8 Principals Conference, giving you the opportunity to learn even more strategies and best practices to implement in your schools as soon as the conference ends. To best support student learning and well-being, NAESP is offering these conference strands:

• Equitable Outcomes, Diversity, Inclusion, and Cultural Responsiveness
• Evidence-Based Social-Emotional Learning and Wellness
• High-Quality Instruction and Interactions for Pre-K–Third Grade Leaders
• Best Strategies and Practices for Middle-Level Leaders

All eight conference strands—also including Family and Community Partnerships; Share Leadership, Build Capacity, and Promote a Culture of Continuous Improvement; Transform Learning Through Technology; and Career-Building and Professional Leadership Skills—have sessions geared toward pre-K–8 school leaders, offering a well-rounded learning experience no matter your career stage or school level.

NAESP is happy to return to in-person learning at the NAESP Pre-K–8 Principals Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, July 15–17. For the full conference agenda—complete with information on conference registration and the event’s three top keynote speakers, who will leave you inspired and motivated—visit naespconference.org.

Pop Quiz: Taking the Pulse

NAESP’s New Principal Navigator digital newsletter, especially tailored for principals in the early stages of their careers, takes the pulse on an important, often unique issue that school leaders are facing with a Pop Quiz in each issue.

A recent issue asked: What skills are you prioritizing on your way to becoming an effective principal? Here’s how they answered:

• Instructional leadership (31.3 percent)
• Building relationships (26.6 percent)
• Creating a positive school culture (21.9 percent)
• Connecting with students and families (4.7 percent)
• Time management (14.1 percent)
• Other (1.6 percent)

Want to take part in the next New Principal Navigator Pop Quiz? Look for the digital newsletter in your email inbox soon!