From the Editor: Safe, Healthy, and Well

By Kaylen Tucker
Principal, November/December 2018. Volume 98, Number 2.

While the principal’s role has shifted from manager to instructional leader in the past decade, it’s actually students’ social-emotional growth that has emerged as a top concern for today’s school leaders. According to NAESP’s “The Pre-K–8 School Leader in 2018: A 10-Year Study,” addressing the increase of students with emotional problems is top of mind for elementary and middle-level principals. The report lists student behavior, student mental health issues, absenteeism, lack of effective adult supervision at home, and student poverty as issues that are of higher concern than they were during the last survey in 2008.

In response to this new reality, this issue of Principal magazine presents resources that link learning, safety, and wellness strategies to provide students with much-needed multitiered systems of support. The articles address school safety and crisis response, how afterschool and summer programs help families affected by opioid addiction, online bullying and violence prevention, and strategies to strengthen physical education.

Leading Lessons on Social and Emotional Learning

This magazine issue also takes a deep dive into social-emotional learning (SEL) with a feature article profiling the SEL curriculum used by Chesterfield County (Virginia) Public Schools. Pair this case study with the accompanying Leading Lessons guide on social-emotional learning, which is brought to you in partnership with The Wallace Foundation. The guide is designed to facilitate planning and discussion to effectively select and integrate SEL programs. It reviews SEL research from The Wallace Foundation, lists the 25 leading SEL and character development programs, and provides strategies and reflection questions to be used with a leadership team.

Hats Off to 62 Outstanding Principals

NAESP congratulates the 62 elementary and middle-level principals that it has named 2018 National Distinguished Principals. The principals were honored Oct. 12 at an awards banquet in Washington, D.C. A special salute to the award-winning principals starts on page 45.

— Kaylen Tucker, Ph.D.
@kaylentucker

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