New School Year, New Focus on Principal Voices

As we embark on a new school year, I’m thrilled to welcome you to an enhanced edition of Principal magazine. Our team has been hard at work, reimagining ways to make this publication an even more invaluable resource for you.

This year, you’ll notice a renewed focus on your stories. We’ll be shining a spotlight on the successes and best practices of our members and showcasing the innovative collaborations within our NAESP community. The narrative of your achievements will take center stage across our communication channels.

We’re also expanding our content to more fully address crucial topic areas such as student voice, middle-level education, the needs of English learners and Latino school leaders, and LGBTQ+ inclusion. Through partnerships with subject matter experts, we’re committed to bringing you accurate, relevant, and targeted resources.

Our ultimate goal? To provide you with customized content that truly fits your needs. Welcome to a new era of Principal magazine—your go-to source for inspiration, information, and connection in educational leadership.

Attendance Solutions

Our first topic this year is addressing chronic absenteeism, a problem for many pre-K–8 schools. Attendance is crucial for student success, especially in the early grades. Research shows that students who are chronically absent in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade are much less likely to read at grade level by the third grade. What’s more, absences in early grades hinder foundational skill development, setting students back academically.

Children living in poverty are two to three times as likely to be chronically absent, and students from communities of color and those with disabilities are also disproportionately represented among the chronically absent. Students who face adversity or lack the resources to make up for lost time suffer the most.

The feature stories in this issue provide actionable strategies related to leveraging family engagement and health-centered supports such as laundry facilities at school and school-based health care. And look for the new “What Works” series, which asks your peers across the nation to offer their expertise. This month, they spotlight promising attendance solutions involving mental health supports, middle-level students, incentives, and more (page 32). 

I hope that this issue sets you up for success as you lead your learning communities this year.

Kaylen Tucker, Ph.D. is Editor-in-Chief of Principal magazine.