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© 2011 National Association of Secondary School Principals - All rights to the intellectual property contained herein, including copyrights, trademarks, and service marks, are reserved by NASSP.
Secretary Duncan entered the Gaylord at National Harbor to thunderous applause and a standing ovation by hundreds of secondary school principals this evening. The secretary spoke about three priorities for the Obama administration during his second term – school safety and mental health, college and career readiness by transforming high schools, and principal preparation and professional development which of course received a round of applause from the audience.
The secretary also took a few moments to outline the impacts of the pending sequestration that will go into effect tomorrow, Friday, March 1st unless Congress acts before the deadline. With sequestration, indiscriminate, real world cuts will hit students, families, teachers, principals and schools all around the country with cuts to Title I, Impact Aid and special education.
Progress has been made in high schools around the country in retention and graduation rates. For the first time in 40 years, there has been a significant increase in the number of high school graduates. Secretary Duncan credited the hard work of principals and teachers for improving these rates while the requirements and standards for a graduation have increased.
Secretary Duncan admitted that not enough has been done on principal preparation, evaluation and professional development and vowed to make it a priority in the department’s second term agenda. He is committed to establishing a principal ambassadorship program similar to the one currently in place for teachers at the department to help shape policy. He indicated that he hopes to roll out this program by next fall.
The secretary laid out the department’s plan to support the redesign of high schools around the country to prepare all students for college, a career and productive citizenship. He cited a visit Harbor High School in New York as an example of a success in engaging students and providing them with a rigorous college-preparatory program utilizing hands-on, CTE and inquiry-based learning to give students a stake in their learning. Although he did not lay out details of how a new program might look to redesign high schools, it sounds like the secretary and department would favor the flexibility and opportunity for states and localities to create more schools like Harbor High to provide additional opportunities for students.
Lastly, Duncan spoke about school safety and mental health. The secretary highlighted that policymakers should be focused on comprehensive community driven solutions and praised the work of NASSP on fostering the national dialogue on mental health. If you haven’t already, join the conversation by committing your school to hosting an assembly on mental health issues http://www.nassp.org/Homepage-Docs/National-Dialogue-on-Mental-Health. He also mentioned the launch of a new website by the Department of Health and Human Services in the coming weeks to provide mental health resources to school leaders, educators, families and communities.
Duncan graciously took numerous questions from the crowd and stayed past his allotted time speaking with several principals. What a great way to end the first day of Ignite 2013!
Last month, President Obama issued his vision for reducing gun violence in our communities, titled Now Is the Time. One of the four pillars of the president’s plan is to ensure the safety and security of our schools. Recognizing the school leader’s essential role in reaching this goal, Secretary Duncan is hosting a conference call Monday (February 11) at 1:00 PM ET with NASSP members to offer more details and, time permitting, field questions from principals and assistant principals. Please register below, and the call-in information will be e-mailed to you. Lines are limited, so register early!
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee kicked off its most recent attempt to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) by holding a hearing in February to examine the state flexibility waivers that are available under the current iteration of the law, No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
Calling the ESEA waivers “Plan B,” US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan explained that the administration put forward a blueprint for ESEA reform in 2010 and only moved forward with the waivers after Congress was unable to reauthorize the law. He said that the guiding principle of ESEA flexibility is that it must first benefit students, and states must demonstrate a commitment and capacity to improve educational outcomes. Duncan also noted that the federal government does not serve as a national school board, but it does have a responsibility to set a high bar, especially for at-risk students. Duncan concluded by expressing a desire to partner with Congress to fix NCLB, which he called “fundamentally broken.”
The committee also heard from two chief state school officers whose states have received flexibility waivers: Kentucky Commissioner of Education Terry Holliday and New York Commissioner of Education John King. They discussed how the waivers have allowed them to enhance reforms already underway in their states, including a focus on student proficiency and achievement gaps, strengthening the accountability system, and improving teacher and principal evaluation. Nonetheless, both chiefs expressed their desire that state reforms developed under the waivers inform ESEA reauthorization and urged Congress to move forward. “Only reauthorization gives us long-term expectations for accountability and long-term capacity for implementation,” said Holliday.
Kati Haycock, President of The Education Trust, discussed the report her organization released the same day as the hearing, A Step Forward or a Step Back? State Accountability in the Waiver Era. She outlined four areas of concern in the waivers: 1) Although states were required to set ambitious goals for raising student performance and closing achievement gaps, these goals were not included in the school rating systems developed by many states; 2) Super subgroups that combine small subgroups of student populations are problematic in many states because they mask the true performance of some disadvantaged students; 3) Many states did not include multiple measures of student performance in their accountability systems, but instead chose to continue using only state assessments in math and English language arts; 4) Many states did not specify what districts need to do to turn around the lowest-performing schools.
Senate HELP Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) closed the hearing with a reminder that the “federal role is to ensure that our nation’s most vulnerable children are not forgotten.” He also reaffirmed his commitment to work towards a comprehensive, bipartisan ESEA reauthorization in the next year.
At an event surrounded by school children, victims of gun violence, local law enforcement officials, and education advocates on January 16, President Obama announced his plan to protect our children and our communities by reducing gun violence. Now is the Time offers proposals in four key areas: 1) closing background check loopholes to keep guns out of dangerous hands; 2) banning military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines; 3) making schools safer; and 4) improving mental health services. The initiatives mirror many of the recommendations that NASSP and the National Association of Elementary School Principals submitted to Vice President Biden and the Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Task Force earlier this month.
“No one internalizes more than principals what President Obama called our first task as a society: To keep our children safe,” said NASSP Executive Director JoAnn Bartoletti. ”Within schools, that safety relies not on guns, but on trusting relationships and a feeling of belonging.”
NASSP was pleased to see that the President took a comprehensive approach to school safety that focuses on security, bullying prevention, and mental health services. His proposal calls for $150 million for a new Comprehensive School Safety program, which will help school districts hire school resource officers, school psychologists, social workers, and counselors. Funding could also be used to purchase school-safety equipment, develop and update public safety plans, conduct threat assessments, and train “crisis intervention teams.” The Department of Justice will also develop a model for using school resource officers, including best practices on age-appropriate methods for working with students, which is strongly supported by NASSP.
By May 2013, the Departments of Education, Justice, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security will release a model, high-quality emergency management plans for schools, houses of worship, and institutions of higher education, along with best practices for training school staff and students to follow them. President Obama has also called on Congress to provide $30 million in one-time grants to help school districts develop and implement emergency management plans. He also urged Congress to require that states and school districts receiving federal school safety funding to have comprehensive, up-to-date, emergency plans in all of their schools. The President also proposed a $50 million initiative to help 8,000 schools train their school leaders and other staff to implement evidence-based strategies to improve school climate and will require the Department of Education to collect and disseminate best practices on school discipline policies.
To address mental health issues, President Obama is calling for a new initiative Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education), which will include $15 million to train school staff to detect and respond to mental illness in children. The initiative would also include $40 million to help school districts work with law enforcement, mental health agencies, and other local organizations to assure students with mental health issues receive the services they need. In addition, $25 million would be proposed for innovative state-based strategies to support young people ages 16 to 25 with mental health or substance abuse issues.
Many of the President’s initiatives require approval by Congress, including federal funding that will be allocated during the annual appropriations process. Leaders of the House and Senate education committees have already announced their intention to hold hearings on the administration’s proposal, and NASSP will be sure to keep you advised of future developments on these issues.
In the wake of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, NASSP has been actively meeting with White House officials and members of Congress to share our recommendations on gun violence prevention and other school safety issues.
After Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) read the press statement issued by NASSP and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) opposing proposals to arm school officials, our executive directors and the leaders of the National Education Association and the National PTA met with him in January to discuss action items for the Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. While the conversation focused on gun control proposals and other school safety issues, we were also able to offer recommendations on the vital need for mental health services in schools. Our organizations submitted joint recommendations to the Congressman that called
for reinstating the assault weapons ban and strengthening background checks for all gun purchases; promoting access to mental health services; coordinating federal mental health, education, and justice programs; and providing school officials with the necessary skills and authority to strengthen partnerships with local social and health service providers. Click here to read the full letter.
NASSP and NAESP also submitted joint recommendations to Vice President Biden on how to prevent gun violence in schools and were asked to participate in a meeting today with senior officials from the White House, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Education. Because the principal’s responsibility is to foster a safe, orderly, warm, and inviting environment where students come to school ready and eager to learn, we urged policymakers to take preemptive measures to strengthen the ability of schools to provide coordinated services in mental health and school safety at all levels of government. We also encouraged coordination between education and health services agencies so that local communities could focus on schools as the “hub” for delivery of these services. Finally, we requested additional support for federal programs to prevent bullying and harassment in our nation’s schools, which we feel will have a dramatic impact in improving school safety and, correspondingly, student achievement for all students. Click here To read the full letter.
Many of our recommendations on bullying prevention and mental health services in schools were reflected in legislation introduced during the 112th Congress: the Safe Schools Improvement Act, the Mental Health in Schools Act, and the Increased Student Achievement through Increased Student Support Act. NASSP has long supported these bills and expects them to be reintroduced later this year. NASSP was also pleased that Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced legislation in December to strengthen and expand the COPS Secure Our Schools program, which provides schools resources to install tip lines, surveillance equipment, secured entrances, and other safety measures. She also introduced a bill that would allow Governors to use their states’ National Guard troops to support local law enforcement in efforts related to school safety. NASSP feels that only appropriately trained law enforcement personnel should serve as school resource officers, so we would encourage states to use this flexibility in a way that would allow more local police officers to receive this training and work in schools.
NASSP will continue to monitor these and other federal proposals aimed at gun violence prevention, bullying and harassment, and other school safety issues.
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Status of ESEA Reauthorization
Congress wrapped up 2012 with no movement on ESEA reauthorization and begins the 113th Congress with no indication of addressing reauthorization anytime soon. The urgency of the “fiscal cliff” crisis consumed nearly all of the lame duck session, and the 113th Congress will be tasked with addressing legislation to avert sequestration and to raise the federal debt ceiling. The reelection in November of President Barack Obama means that we can expect states’ waivers from No Child Left Behind to move into the implementation phase, thus dimming a sense of urgency from Congress to reauthorize ESEA. Further, the 113th Congress brings significant turnover of education committee members in the House, with 13 new members on the committee all of whom must be brought up to speed on the key issues related to K-12 education. However, with enough pressure from the Chairmen of the House and Senate education committees and from the President and Secretary Duncan, ESEA reauthorization in the 113th Congress is not entirely out of the question, but still a long shot. NASSP will continue to push for a comprehensive ESEA reauthorization that includes a focus on our key issue areas: school leadership, literacy, middle level and high schools, and education technology. See attached issue sheets for more information on these key areas.
ESEA Waivers
Currently, thirty four states plus D.C. have been approved for waivers, and two states’ requests are still outstanding: Iowa and Illinois. In addition, California was recently denied its request for waiver. Six states have yet to apply: Montana, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, and Wyoming. NASSP continues to monitor the waiver process as well as the content of waiver applications to ensure they align with our positions on relevant issues. We are particularly concerned about states’ targets for and weighting of graduation rates as part of their accountability systems. Some states’ waiver applications set graduation rate targets and weighting too low, while others set them so high that schools may be incentivized to “push out” students not ready for graduation in order to meet the high targets.
Additionally, the U.S. Department of Education in November released a document highlighting which states are using an extended-year graduation rate (e.g., a 5-year or 6-year rate). Most notably, it shows that several states are using an extended-year graduation rate without increasing their annual target. Under the Department’s initial implementation of the regulations, states were allowed to use extended year rates if they had increased annual targets for the extended year rate. The rationale behind this previous approach is that if a school has more time, more students should graduate. Unfortunately, several states maintain the same annual target even if they are using an extended year graduation rate.
NASSP has met with key Congressional staff on the House education committee to express our concerns, and will continue to monitor this issue as well as others contained in the approved waiver applications.
FY 2013 Budget/Appropriations
The federal government is currently operating under a 6-month continuing resolution (CR) which level-funds all programs from their Fiscal Year 2012 levels through March 27, 2013. At that point, Congress will need to agree on and pass a year-long CR to cover spending for the remainder of FY 2013. Agreement on spending levels now seems difficult, since the House and Senate appropriations committees in their allocations for education programs currently have a gap of $1.5 billion that the leadership in appropriations will have to reconcile. Complicating a year-long FY 2013 federal budget are the issues of sequestration (see below) and the federal debt ceiling that Congress must address prior to March. NASSP staff will continue to keep you updated on this messy and stressful situation!
Sequestration
Congress narrowly avoided sequestration by voting at the last minute (January 1) to delay the sequester for two months, or until March 1, 2013. As a result, though sequestration was temporarily averted, it is still a significant threat that could still occur. The Committee for Education Funding (CEF) now projects that the revised sequestration percentage for nondefense discretionary programs will be 5.9% instead of the 8.2% projected by Office of Management and Budget. This is due to the $24 billion reduction in the sequester total for FY 2013. Thus, the total sequester amount will be $85.33 billion, instead of $109.33 billion. The domestic sequester is half of that amount or $42.67 billion. After taking into account the sequester cuts from nonexempt mandatory programs, the CEF projection of the cut to non-defense discretionary spending is $27.44 billion, which would result in a 5.9% across-the board cut. For the Department of Education, that would result in a cut of approximately $2.95 billion.
If sequestration does occur, education funding would not be affected until the 2013-2014 school year, since education is forward-funded by the federal government and this school year’s funds would thus be exempt. However, a few programs would be cut right away (this school year), including the Head Start preschool program for low-income children, and the impact-aid program, which assists districts burdened with additional costs from a large federal presence, such as a military base.
NASSP Government Relations staff has met with Congressional offices this quarter specifically on the issue of sequestration to urge legislators to prevent sequestration and instead find a solution to deficit reduction that is balanced and responsible. We met with the following Congressional offices:House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD), and Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX). . CEF has also organized meetings with several other Congressional offices this past quarter as well to deliver our unified message about education funding.
NASSP encourages you to tell your legislators that sequestration is unacceptable by sending an action alert to your legislators through NASSP’s Principals’ Legislative Action Center at www.nassp.org/plac. As of January 3, 1,514 letters have been sent to legislators on this issue using NASSP’s action alert. We also encourage you to access a toolkit of resources on sequestration available at http://cef.org/cef-grassroots-campaign-2/. Here you can access sample Tweets, letters to the editor, and action alerts to urge your legislators to stop sequestration. Thank you in advance for your advocacy!
School Principal Recruitment and Training Act
NASSP continues to advocate for the School Principal Recruitment and Training Act, although the bill was not reintroduced during the 112th Congress. The bill would authorize a grant program to recruit, select, train, and support aspiring or current principals with track records of transforming student learning and outcomes and prepare these principals to lead high-need schools. Selected aspiring principals would be provided with a pre-service residency that lasts for at least one year as well as ongoing support and professional development for at least two years after they commence work as school leaders. Grant funds would also be used to provide mentoring and professional development to strengthen current principals’ capacity in the areas of instruction, supervision, evaluation, and development of teachers and highly effective school organizations. This past quarter, NASSP and NAESP staff worked together to revise a draft bill, and both organizations are working collaboratively with staff of Sen. Franken (D-MN) and Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA) to prepare a bill for introduction in the 113th Congress.
LEARN Act
Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) reintroduced the Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation (LEARN) Act (H.R. 2272/S. 929) in 2011. The bill would authorize $2.35 billion for comprehensive state and local literacy initiatives, building on the best components of the federal Early Reading First, Reading First, and Striving Readers programs. Districts would support school-wide literacy initiatives that include professional development for principals and teachers to incorporate literacy across the curriculum and targeted interventions for struggling students. NASSP is working with its coalition partner, Advocates for Literacy, to ensure the bill’s reintroduction in the 113th Congress.
The LEARN Act had 15 House cosponsors and 6 Senate cosponsors at the end of the 112th Congress.
Success in the Middle Act
Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) reintroduced the Success in the Middle Act (H.R. 1547/S. 833) in 2011. Under the bill, states are required to implement a middle school improvement plan that describes what students are required to know and do to successfully complete the middle grades and make the transition to succeed in an academically rigorous high school. School districts would receive grants to help them invest in proven intervention strategies, including professional development and coaching for school leaders, teachers, and other school personnel; and student supports such as personal academic plans, intensive reading and math interventions, and extended learning time. This past quarter, NASSP and NAESP staff worked together to revise a draft bill, and both organizations are working collaboratively to ensure the bill’s reintroduction in the 113th Congress.
The Success in the Middle Act had 17 House cosponsors and 8 Senate cosponsors at the end of the 112th Congress.
Graduation Promise Act
Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX) and Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) reintroduced the Graduation Promise Act (H.R. 778/S. 1177) in 2011. The bill would support the development of statewide systems of differentiated high school improvement that focuses research and evidence-based intervention on the lowest performing high schools, and improves the capacity of the high schools to decrease dropout rates and increase student achievement. The bill would also provide competitive grants to states to identify statewide obstacles hindering students from graduating, and provide incentives for states to increase graduation rates. NASSP plans to work with other key organizations this upcoming quarter to ensure the bill’s reintroduction in the 113th Congress.
The Graduation Promise Act had 34 House cosponsors and 1 Senate cosponsor at the end of the 112th Congress.
NASSP on Capitol Hill
Principal Evaluation
NASSP and NAESP conducted a number of join meetings with congressional staff to discuss our recommendations on principal evaluation. Offices being visited this quarter included Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), House Education and the Workforce Ranking Member George Miller (D-CA), Senate HELP Committee Chair Tom Harkin (D-IA), Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), and Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Michael Enzi (R-WY).
Coalition for Teaching Quality
NASSP staff and other members of the Coalition for Teaching Quality met with congressional staff to discuss implementation of reporting language on teachers in training who are currently labeled “highly qualified” even though they have not yet completed their preparation programs. Offices being visited this quarter included House Education and the Workforce Ranking Member George Miller (D-CA) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT).
Educator Preparation Reform Act
NASSP, NAESP, the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education and other organizations met with staff for Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) to discuss the Educator Preparation Reform Act. The primary focus of the legislation is on teacher and principal preparation and amends the Higher Education Act (HEA). It also improves Title II of the HEA—the Teacher Quality Partnership Grants Program—by expanding the residency programs to include principals and providing partnerships flexibility in meeting the instructional needs of local school districts.
Advocates for Literacy
NASSP and other members of Advocates for Literacy met with staff for Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to discuss the LEARN Act and the Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy program.
NCTET Briefing
Over 100 congressional staff and education advocates were able to witness firsthand how technology can be integrated into physics, literacy, and social studies lessons at an October event sponsored by the National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training (NCTET). NASSP Director of Government Relations Amanda Karhuse serves on the NCTET board of directors.
To kick off the “pop-up” classrooms event, the principal of Kenmore Middle School in Arlington, VA, and NASSP member John Word and a physics teacher from Red Lion (PA) High School discussed how technology has changed their instructional practices. “The role of the school leader is to empower teachers to explore new technologies and new ways of teaching,” said Word. He also noted that technology has made his job as an administrator more manageable because he’s “mobile” and always able to access student and teacher data. Both panelists consider themselves lucky to work in school districts that have made technology a top priority, but they agreed there’s always a need for additional funding for professional development for school leaders and teachers. There’s also a concern that few schools are prepared for the new online Common Core assessments that will begin in 2014.
After the panel discussion, audience members rotated through four mobile classrooms. First was a history lesson on the 1860 election with two teachers from New Milford (NJ) High School where 2012 NASSP Digital Principal Eric Sheninger leads a schoolwide technology integration initiative. Attendees also participated in a hands-on physics experiment to measure the temperature of baking soda and vinegar and tracked the data on laptops. Classroom trends were also graphed on the teacher’s whiteboard, so students could understand in real time where they had performed the experiment correctly or not. Teachers from the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia demonstrated adaptive curriculum and assessments, including an online essay writing program and interventions for high school students who are reading below grade-level. The final session with educators from Loudoun County (VA) Public Schools showed how gaming technologies can be used to teach special education students about teamwork and to express their feelings and stay in their personal space.
From the audience’s reaction, it was clear that their own education experience was really different than what was presented by these tech-savvy educators. NCTET hopes to plan similar events in the future and encourage Congress to invest in education technology programs so students in every school can have access to a rich learning experience.
NASSP and the US Department of Education
National Principals Month
During the week of October 8-12, officials from the U.S. Department of Education visited nearly 40 local schools, many of which are led by NASSP and NAESP members, to learn more about the daily life of a principal as part of National Principals’ Month. “Great school leaders are key to students receiving a high-quality education and teachers feeling supported and empowered in their work,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “Outstanding principals build school cultures focused on learning and high expectations, where all students can reach their full potential. Every great school has a great leader.”
In addition to the visits to these schools, dozens of Education Department staff members visited schools in other parts of the country as part of an organized effort in which federal education officials shadowed school leaders. As a key component of National Principals’ Month, these shadowing visits offered Department staff a glimpse into the daily work of school leaders, while also providing principals with the opportunity to discuss how federal policy, programs, and resources impact their schools.
To complete the week-long partnership effort, on Friday, Oct. 12, principals and Department staff members who participated in the job shadowing engagements joined U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan for a debrief discussion to reflect on their experiences and lessons learned.
Find the complete list of participating schools here: http://nasspblogs.org/principalspolicy/2012/10/us-department-of-ed-officials-to-visit-nearly-40-schools-to-learn-from-principals/.
Meetings with Assistant Secretary Deb Delisle
NASSP Executive Director JoAnn Bartoletti and NASSP government relations staff joined other association representatives from the Council of Chief State School Officers, the American Association of School Administrators, and the National Association of Elementary School Principals to meet with Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education Deb Delisle in October and December as part of a series of regular bi-monthly meetings. NASSP is pleased that Assistant Secretary Delisle has established these regular meetings as a means to share information and recommendations, and we hope that they will prove fruitful in terms of the specific recommendations NASSP has for the Department of Education as cited in our position statements and elsewhere
News from the White House and the US Department of Education
Principals to Play a More Prominent Role in Obama’s 2nd Term
In a speech before the Council of Chief State School Officers in November, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced that principal preparation and evaluation will be two focus areas for the administration’s education reform agenda in the next Congress. The announcement corroborated what NASSP leaders had been told in private meetings with US Department of Education (ED) officials—there was an admission that teachers had dominated the “human capital agenda” and a promise that school leaders would play a more prominent role if President Obama won a second term. Duncan also supported the creation of a principal ambassador position at ED when the idea was suggested by one of the principals who had participated in the October principal shadowing visits.
Although no details have been released concerning the administration’s policy recommendations on school leadership, ED officials are expected to release a blueprint on the RESPECT proposal to transform the education profession. The $5 billion proposal was first announced during the January 2012 State of the Union address, and multiple drafts were circulated for public comment during the following months. NASSP also held a number of focus group sessions at our national conference in Tampa and with principals and assistant principals who were in Washington, DC, as part of our recognition programs. The overwhelming response was positive towards the administration’s recommendations for preparing, training, and rewarding teachers, but the education profession as a whole cannot be “transformed” without also focusing on school leaders was a recurring comment made by NASSP members.
NASSP and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) submitted joint recommendations on the RESPECT proposal to the Department in August 2012. In our letter, we called for principal preparation programs to select high-quality candidates who have demonstrated success as classroom teachers, demonstrate abilities related to effective school leadership competencies, and show prior success in leading adults. Aspiring principals should receive training during a year-long pre-service residency and induction for up to three years alongside a principal mentor. We also urged the inclusion of principal evaluation systems that would assess principal performance on the six domains of leadership responsibility within a principal’s sphere of influence and also take into consideration the context of the learning community and the level of authority afforded the individual principal. Our organizations also encouraged districts to provide opportunities for principals and assistant principals to engage in ongoing, sustained, job-embedded leadership development. We remain hopeful that our recommendations will be incorporated into the final version of the blueprint.
NASSP and NAESP have held a number of meetings with key staff on Capitol Hill to discuss our joint recommendations on principal evaluation that were released in September 2012. We are also working together to update the School Principal Recruitment and Training Act, which is expected to be reintroduced by Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) and Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA) early next year. The flagship bill on school leadership will focus on principal preparation, mentoring, professional development, and evaluation, and our hope is that it will serve as the basis for any language affecting school leaders in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Department of Education Awards 17 Promise Neighborhood Grants
On December 21, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced 17 winners of the 2012 Promise Neighborhoods $60 million grant. Promise Neighborhoods, according to the Department of Education, “is a community-focused program that funds local-led efforts to improve educational opportunities and provide comprehensive health, safety, and support services in high-poverty neighborhoods.”
These awards were split between 10 planning grants totaling more than $4.7 million and 7 implementation grants totaling nearly $30 million. The rest of 2012 funds will go toward second-year funding for the 5 implementation grantees awarded in 2011. According to the Department, “Planning grantees will each receive one-year awards of up to $500,000 to create targeted plans for combating poverty in the local community. Implementation grantees will receive awards up to $6 million to fund the first year of a 5-year grant to execute community-led plans that improve and provide better social services and educational programs.”
A complete list of 2012 grant winners can be found here: http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/secretary-duncan-announces-seventeen-2012-promise-neighborhoods-winners-school-s.
Additional information on the Promise Neighborhoods program and 2012 winners is also available here: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/promiseneighborhoods/index.html.
Statement from U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on the Newtown, Connecticut, School Shootings
“School shootings are always incomprehensible and horrific tragedies. But words fail to describe today’s heartbreaking and savage attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School. As the father of two children in elementary school, I can barely imagine the anguish and losses suffered today by the Newtown community.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to every parent, child, teacher, staff member, and administrator at Sandy Hook and the surrounding community. And our thanks go out to every teacher, staff member, and first responder who cared for, comforted, and protected children from harm, often at risk to themselves. We will do everything in our power to assist and support the healing and recovery of Newtown.”
Department of Education Awards 16 Race to the Top-District Grants
The U.S. Department of Education announced on December 11 that 16 applicants have won the 2012 Race to the Top-District competition, and will share almost $400 million in funds. The awardees’ plans will address the personalization of student learning, improved student achievement and educator effectiveness, closing achievement gaps, and preparing all students to succeed in college and their careers.
According to the Department of Education, “The 2012 Race to the Top-District grantees will receive four-year awards that range from $10 million to $40 million, depending on the number of students served through the plan. The winning applicants were the top scorers among the 372 applications the Department received in November, which were evaluated and scored by independent peer reviewers. Grantees represent a diverse set of districts, including applicants from both states that received a Race to the Top state grant as well as those that have not received Race to the Top state funding. Among the winners is a rural-area consortium representing 24 rural districts, which comprise 44 percent of the total number of districts that will benefit from the 2012 competition.”
To view a list of the grantees, go here: http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/education-department-announces-16-winners-race-top-district-competition. For more information about the Race to the Top-District program, including a list of winners, requested award amounts and additional materials, visit the Department’s website: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-district/index.html.
NASSP Federal Grassroots Network
As a reminder, Federal Grassroots Network members no longer participate in quarterly calls (only state coordinators do), but continue to receive email updates twice per week summarizing the latest news and events in federal policy and funding. If you or your colleagues are not yet members of the Federal Grassroots Network and would like to become one, please email Amanda Karhuse at karhusea@nassp.org. For an overview of what membership in the Network involves, please go here: http://www.nassp.org/Legislative-Advocacy/NASSP-Federal-Grassroots-Network.
NASSP State Coordinators
NASSP welcomes several new coordinators to their roles: Lisa DeLong (HI), Stacy Johnson (MS), Gary O’Brien (NJ) and Robert Mars (NV).
The NASSP State Coordinators held its quarterly call on November 13 and a make-up call on November 14. The five “hot topics” the Network reported on in their states and that NASSP Government Relations staff created action items on, in order of importance to members, were: teacher evaluation, state education funding, implementation of common core state standards, a tie between principal evaluation and federal education funding, and finally, No Child Left Behind waivers. Fact sheets have been developed on each of these topics.
The quarterly call dates for the remainder of 2012-2013 are the following (members will choose one date/time per quarter):
As has become customary of Congress, a last-minute deal was made this week just in time to avoid the looming fiscal cliff that not only would have proved disastrous to our economy with a potential recession, but also to education funding from potential across-the-board cuts as a result of sequestration that was due to occur on January 2. However, education and other programs that were in jeopardy are not off the hook-or cliff-yet, since Congress has only agreed to delay sequestration by two months-to March 1-instead of voiding it.
In a deal crafted at the 11th hour mainly by Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and approved by the Senate early Tuesday morning and subsequently by the House Tuesday night, Democrats and Republicans agreed to a measure for taxes to go up on household income over $450,000 and $400,000 for individuals but to make permanent tax cuts for income below that level. Congress also agreed to delay sequestration-the across-the-board cuts to all federal discretionary programs, including an 8.2% cut to education-by two months, to March 1, in order to buy time to develop a broader budget agreement. (As a reminder, sequestration is the drastic, across-the-board cuts to education that were scheduled to occur on January 2, 2013. These across-the-board cuts were agreed to as part of the August 2011 Budget Control Act. Congress put this measure of sequestration in place in case a 12-member Congressional committee was unable to approve a plan to reduce another $1.2 trillion from the federal deficit; this committee failed, triggering sequestration. Sequestration would impose the largest education funding cuts ever, chopping funding for programs in the Department of Education by roughly $4 billion, or 8.2%, which would have a devastating impact on state and district budgets.)
The deal also included some “wins” for education programs, such as the extensions of the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which helps families afford college; the Qualified Zone Academy Bond program (more on that here); and a tax credit that helps teachers purchase supplies for their classrooms.
Concerning to education advocates is the knowledge that before March 1, Congress will need to draft new legislation to address sequestration. If sequestration does occur, education funding would not be affected until the 2013-2014 school year, since education is forward-funded by the federal government and this school year’s funds would thus be exempt. However, a few programs would be cut right away (this school year), including the Head Start preschool program for low-income children, and the impact-aid program, which assists districts burdened with additional costs from a large federal presence, such as a military base.
Complicating the federal budget even more in early 2013 is that the federal government is currently funded not through a Fiscal Year 2013 appropriations bill but through a continuing resolution, or a temporary budget that expires in late March. Congress must enact a year-long budget for Fiscal Year 2013 before the continuing resolution expires in order to keep the federal government running. Finally, by February we will hit the federal debt ceiling again, necessitating Congress to pass legislation to be able to borrow more money in order to keep federal agencies and programs intact. Needless to say, Congress has quite a lot on its plate to tackle in the next few months that just have to do with the federal budget.
Because sequestration is still a threat until March 1, NASSP encourages its members to keep the pressure on your legislators and urge them to avoid sequestration. Take one minute to email your legislators using NASSP’s Principal’s Legislative Action Center.
Twenty-five states have voluntarily agreed to enact new policies on teacher and principal licensure and certification, according to the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) which released a report on transforming educator preparation on December 19. Although the report focuses on those state policy levers chiefs can activate through state education agencies, the recommendations “will require the leadership and collaboration of all stakeholders involved in P-20 education.”
In an attempt to not be overly prescriptive about how changes should be made to teacher and principal preparation programs, the report defines “learner-ready teachers” and “school-ready principals” and identifies 10 state actions that can help shape policies on licensure, program approval, and the use of student outcomes and other beginning teacher and leader performance data in the evaluation of preparation programs.
According to the report, few principal preparation programs make a concerted effort to recruit educators who exhibit the potential to become effective school leaders, and the reality is that many people who enroll in these programs do not aspire to serve as principals or assistant principals upon graduation. States are encouraged to revise their salary incentives “to ensure that we are using our resources to prepare the best principals possible to create learning environments for students to achieve and grow and teachers to implement effective instructional practices.” School districts should also actively partner with preparation programs in creating a more “selective and probing” process in recommending who should be prepared to be school leaders in the future.
NASSP agrees that principal preparation programs should recruit high-quality candidates to enter their programs and ensure that graduates are committed to serving as school leaders. We feel that candidates should have demonstrated success as a classroom teacher and show prior success in leading adults, have an advanced, and demonstrate a passion and commitment to leadership.
The report includes recommendations on induction and mentoring for new teachers, but it provides no similar guidance for principal preparation programs. NASSP recommends that aspiring principals should receive training during a year-long pre-service residency that includes coaching from an effective principal and hands-on instructional leadership experience. New school leaders should receive the benefits of induction for up to three years.
CCSSO attempts to address concerns of portability of teacher and principal licenses across states by encouraging common requirements in preparation programs and performance standards. They also encourage states to shift away from the duality of licensure as either traditional or alternative and create one standard for pathways into the profession.
The report states that preparation and entry into the profession “compose the first phase of a continuum of development for teachers and principals and are the foundation on which a teacher or principal builds his or her career.” Ongoing professional learning, collaboration with colleagues, and feedback on the performance of teachers and principals will be the focus of future reports issued by CCSSO.
Read the full report here.
The following is a guest blog post by Greg Taranto, 2013 NASSP/MetLife Pennsylvania Middle Level Principal of the Year and principal of Canonsburg Middle School in North Fayette, PA. This post originally appeared as an op-ed
on October 17, 2012 in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/letters/testing-alone-wont-help-our-children-succeed-657838/.
The article cites the Schools to Watch Program, for which NASSP served as part of the original group to design the program, which is now a grantee of the Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation competitive
grant. NASSP is also a member of the Program’s sponsoring coalition, the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform (http://www.middlegradesforum.org/). If you are interested in applying to the Schools to Watch program, you can find more information here: http://www.middlegradesforum.org/index.php/school-to-watch/become-a-schools-to-watch-state.
I found Brian O’Neill’s Oct. 14 column, “Standardized Tests Are, Alas, All We Have to Measure School Success,” a breath of fresh air as he was thorough in his description of our test-crazy society. Testing is not the end-all, be-all of evaluating a
school’s success. High test scores do not necessarily correlate with a successful school.
What if a school sacrifices all subject areas to get high reading and math scores? Is doing test prep for the PSSA in lieu of the arts, physical education, social studies and health worth a few higher percentage points? I would opt for a few lower points on the PSSA and have my students receive a “whole” education. The testing craze has narrowed our curricular focus and has been detrimental to our schools. There are other means to assess schools and provide valuable feedback on what is working and what needs work.
The Pennsylvania Middle Level Education’s Schools to Watch program as part of the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grade Reform is an excellent example. The process involves a 37-point evaluation where educators (not testing profiteers or politicians) actually go into the school to evaluate the entire school environment. While they look at testing data, it is only a piece of the puzzle. The evaluation team talks with all stakeholders (students, parents, teachers and administrators), observes teachers teaching, identifies the number of educational and co-curricular opportunities afforded to students.
Why do we not take a more holistic approach to measure school progress and rely solely on tests? Simply put, money. The testing industry has been one of the most profitable business endeavors and, since No Child Left Behind, it is even more alive than ever. Let’s start putting children ahead of making a buck!
GREG TARANTO
Principal, Canonsburg Middle School, North Fayette
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Status of ESEA Reauthorization
Congress left for August recess with no movement on ESEA reauthorization, and are now on recess until November 13, or after the elections. As a result, there’s no chance ESEA will be completed during the lame duck period (before the 113th Congress assumes their posts in January 2013). While waivers and Race to the Top seem like the law of the land for principals and assistant principals in some states, the presidential and congressional elections will have a HUGE impact on whether they remain in place beyond 2014. For example, Governor Romney’s education advisors have already noted that if Romney wins the election, his administration would review the waivers to determine their efficacy, and would consider revising or eliminating the required criteria President Obama put in place and that states must sign on to (such as modified teacher and principal evaluations, among others) in order to receive waivers.
NASSP will continue to push for a comprehensive ESEA reauthorization that includes a focus on our key issue areas: school leadership, literacy, middle level and high schools, and education technology.
ESEA Waivers
On September 6, seven more states (Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota, and West Virginia) plus Puerto Rico and the Bureau of Indian Education applied in Round 3 for a waiver. Thirty four states plus D.C. have now been approved for waivers, and three states’ requests are still outstanding: California, Iowa, and Illinois. Six states have yet to apply: Montana, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, and Wyoming.
NASSP continues to monitor the waiver process as well as the content of waiver applications to ensure they align with our positions on relevant issues. We are particularly concerned about states’ targets for and weighting of graduation rates as part of their accountability systems. Some states’ waiver applications set graduation rate targets and weighting too low, while others set them so high that schools may be incentivized to “push out” students not ready for graduation in order to meet the high targets. NASSP has met with key Congressional staff on the House education committee to express our concerns, and will continue to monitor this issue as well as others contained in the approved waiver applications.
NASSP on Capitol Hill
During this quarter, NASSP staff participated in a number of meetings with Congressional staff to discuss our recommendations for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), including key bills to improve school leadership and provide additional resources for middle and high schools. Offices being visited during this time period include: House Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Ranking Member George Miller (D-CA), Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA), and Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD).
FY 2013 Budget/Appropriations
Congress began Fiscal Year 2013 on October 1 with a 6-month continuing resolution (CR) which level-funds all programs from their Fiscal Year 2012 levels through March 27, 2013. At that point, Congress will need to agree on and pass a year-long CR to cover spending for the remainder of FY 2013. Agreement on spending levels now seems difficult, since the House and Senate appropriations committees in their allocations for education programs currently have a gap of $1.5 billion that the leadership in appropriations will have to reconcile. New members of Congress after the November elections could also change these spending levels in a way we cannot predict right now, so stay tuned for more updates on FY 2013 appropriations after the elections!
Sequestration
(As a reminder, sequestration is the drastic, across-the-board cuts to education that are scheduled to occur on January 2, 2013. These across-the-board cuts will occur-unless Congress acts to stop it-as stipulated in the August 2011 Budget Control Act. Congress put this measure of sequestration in place in case a 12-member Congressional committee was unable to approve a plan to reduce another $1.2 trillion from the federal deficit; this committee failed, triggering sequestration.
Sequestration would impose the largest education funding cuts ever, chopping funding for programs in the Department of Education by roughly $4 billion, or 8.4%, which would have a devastating impact on state and district budgets.)
NASSP Government Relations staff has met with Congressional offices this quarter specifically on the issue of sequestration to urge legislators to prevent sequestration and instead find a solution to deficit reduction that is balanced and responsible. We met with the following Congressional offices: Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Sen. Inouye (D-HI) and Ranking Member Sen. Cochran (R-MS), and House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rep. Dicks (D-WA). NASSP’s coalition partner, the Committee for Education Funding, has organized meetings with several other Congressional offices this past quarter as well to deliver our unified message about education funding.
NASSP encourages you to tell your legislators that sequestration is unacceptable by sending an action alert to your legislators through NASSP’s Principals’ Legislative Action Center at www.nassp.org/plac. As of October 22, 537 people have responded to this action alert, and as a result 1,368 letters have been sent to legislators on this issue. We also encourage you to access a toolkit of resources on sequestration available at http://cef.org/cef-grassroots-campaign-2/. Here you can access sample Tweets, letters to the editor, and action alerts to urge your legislators to stop sequestration. Thank you in advance for your advocacy!
School Principal Recruitment and Training Act
NASSP continues to advocate for the School Principal Recruitment and Training Act, although the bill was not reintroduced during the 112th Congress. The bill would authorize a grant program to recruit, select, train, and support aspiring or current principals with track records of transforming student learning and outcomes and prepare these principals to lead high-need schools. Selected aspiring principals would be provided with a pre-service residency that lasts for at least one year as well as ongoing support and professional development for at least two years after they commence work as school leaders. Grant funds would also be used to provide mentoring and professional development to strengthen current principals’ capacity in the areas of instruction, supervision, evaluation, and development of teachers and highly effective school organizations. NASSP is currently working with staff of Sen. Franken (D-MN) and Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA) to prepare a bill for introduction in the 113th Congress.
LEARN Act
Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) reintroduced the Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation (LEARN) Act (H.R. 2272/S. 929) in 2011. The bill would authorize $2.35 billion for comprehensive state and local literacy initiatives, building on the best components of the federal Early Reading First, Reading First, and Striving Readers programs. Districts would support schoolwide literacy initiatives that include professional development for principals and teachers to incorporate literacy across the curriculum and targeted interventions for struggling students.
The LEARN Act currently has 15 House cosponsors and 6 Senate cosponsors.
Success in the Middle Act
Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) reintroduced the Success in the Middle Act (H.R. 1547/S. 833) in 2011. Under the bill, states are required to implement a middle school improvement plan that describes what students are required to know and do to successfully complete the middle grades and make the transition to succeed in an academically rigorous high school. School districts would receive grants to help them invest in proven intervention strategies, including professional development and coaching for school leaders, teachers, and other school personnel; and student supports such as personal academic plans, intensive reading and math interventions, and extended learning time.
The Success in the Middle Act currently has 18 House cosponsors and 7 Senate cosponsors.
Graduation Promise Act
Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX) and Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) reintroduced the Graduation Promise Act (H.R. 778/S. 1177). The bill would support the development of statewide systems of differentiated high school improvement that focuses research and evidence-based intervention on the lowest performing high schools, and improves the capacity of the high schools to decrease dropout rates and increase student achievement. The bill would also provide competitive grants to states to identify statewide obstacles hindering students from graduating, and provide incentives for states to increase graduation rates.
The Graduation Promise Act currently has 34 House cosponsors and 1 Senate cosponsor.
National Principals Month Resolution
On September 12, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) introduced a resolution officially recognizing October 2012 as National Principals Month, along with 12 cosponsors, and the resolution was passed by the Senate with unanimous consent. On the House side, Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA) introduced the same resolution but due to current House rules, no resolutions can be passed in the House. NASSP is proud of the recognition Congress has given for principals through these resolutions, as well as the recognition that several states have given through similar proclamations that were passed in large part to the excellent advocacy conducted by the corresponding state associations. To see a map indicating the states with these proclamations as well as other resources for National Principals Month, go to www.principalsmonth.org.
Other Bills
Educator Preparation Reform Act
On September 20, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA) introduced the Educator Preparation Reform Act (S. 3582/H.R. 6447) to improve the quality of teaching and school leadership in high-need schools by reforming and strengthening accountability of educator preparation programs and supporting partnerships to meet the needs of educators and educational leaders. NASSP President Denise Greene-Wilkinson spoke at a press briefing the day of the bill’s release and said: “We are pleased that The Educator Reform Act recognizes the unique leadership skills necessary for effective principals while also making it clear that ongoing professional development opportunities is necessary for all school leaders.”
The primary focus of the legislation is on teacher and principal preparation and amends the Higher Education Act (HEA). It also improves Title II of the HEA—the Teacher Quality Partnership Grants Program—by expanding the residency programs to include principals and providing partnerships flexibility in meeting the instructional needs of local school districts.
The bill additionally proposes to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act’s (ESEA) Title II teacher quality state formula grant program to better coordinate these initiatives with educator preparation programs and professional development. NASSP has strongly spoken out about ESEA policies that have inadvertently overlooked principal professional development, as currently only 3% of ESEA Title II funds are spent on principal activities.
Broadening Opportunities through Education Act
On September 19, Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD) introduced a bill (H.R. 6434) to provide resources and support for schools in states that elect to raise the dropout age to 18. Rep. Edwards’ staff approached NASSP for assistance in drafting legislation after reading our position statement on raising the compulsory school attendance age. Under the bill, states that have enacted laws to raise the compulsory attendance age could apply for a competitive grant to improve programs in their middle level and high schools. Funding would be used to establish or expand CTE programs, implement an early warning indicator system to help high schools and their feeder middle schools assist struggling students, create grade and school transition programs, personalize the school experience, provide extended learning opportunities, and increase counseling and other nonacademic supports for students.
Although Congress is unlikely to act on any education bills before the November elections, the Broadening Opportunities Through Education Act will likely be considered in future discussions of Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization.
NASSP on Capitol Hill
NASSP at the US Department of Education
NASSP Executive Director JoAnn Bartoletti, NAESP Executive Director Gail Connelly, and government relations staff from both associations attended two meetings in July with senior officials at the US Department of Education. The first meeting was held with the new Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, Deb Delisle, to introduce the associations and our key policy issues. The second meeting was held with Chief of Staff Joanne Weiss to discuss how the Department of Education can better support school leaders.
In August, JoAnn Bartoletti and government relations staff attended a teacher leading convening at the US Department of Education to discuss the administration’s RESPECT proposal to transform the education profession.
Principal Evaluation
On September 13, NASSP and NAESP cohosted a briefing featuring the components and recommendations of our new report on principal evaluation titled “Rethinking Principal Evaluation: A New Paradigm Informed by Research and Practice.” Presenters at the briefing included: NAESP Executive Director Gail Connelly; Matthew Clifford, American Institutes for Research; Steven Ross, Center for Research and Reform in Education, Johns Hopkins University; Principals Janice Koslowski, principal of Potomac Falls High School, VA, and Jon Millerhagen, principal of Washburn Elementary School, MN; and NASSP Executive Director JoAnn Bartoletti. The executive summary and full report is available at http://www.nassp.org/Content/158/EVALUATION_REPORT_FINAL.PDF.
Coalition for Teacher Quality
NASSP visited with key Congressional staff this quarter as members of the Coalition for Teacher Quality. (With nearly 90 members representing civil rights organizations, disability groups, parents, educators, and grassroots community activists, the coalition is deeply committed to the development of well-prepared, experienced, and effective teachers for all communities, and to ensuring that every student has a fully prepared and effective teacher in the classroom.) NASSP and coalition members met with the following offices: Senate appropriations subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Chairman Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Ranking Member Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), and with House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Rep. George Miller (D-CA). In these meetings, we shared our goal to include, as part of the FY 2013 appropriations bill, reporting requirements about the location of teachers in training who are currently labeled as “highly qualified” and the number and types of students they teach (whether they are English Language Learners or students with disabilities, for example) in order to inform the issue of highly qualified as a standard for the next ESEA reauthorization. NASSP is pleased to report that as a direct result of our lobbying efforts, the provision in federal law that allows teachers in training to be deemed “highly qualified” has been extended for only one year, and the reporting requirements we sought have been put in place to be reported by the Secretary of Education by December 31, 2013.
State Principals of the Year
The 2013 State Principals of the Year spent an entire day on Capitol Hill on September 20 meeting with their Congressional offices to have a significant collective impact on the federal conversation around secondary schools and school leadership. The MetLife/NASSP National Principals of the Year and finalists also spoke with House and Senate education committee Congressional staff in a roundtable discussion to share their stories and feedback on current federal education policies.
News from the White House and the US Department of Education
Department of Education Awards $290 Million for the 2012 Teacher Incentive Fund
On September 27, the U.S. Department of Education awarded 35 grants to modify pay structures, reward excellent teachers and principals and offer greater professional opportunities to teachers in high poverty schools. Grantees include districts, partnering districts, states, and nonprofits that together serve nearly 1,000 schools in 150 urban, suburban, and rural school districts in 18 states and D.C.
According to a U.S. Department of Education press release, “All applicants submitted proposals, developed in part by teachers, that provide opportunities for teacher leadership and advancement, put in place district-wide evaluations based on multiple measures that include student growth, and improve decision-making through better evaluations.”
For more information on the TIF program and the 2012 grantees, go to http://www2.ed.gov/programs/teacherincentive/awards.html.
Nearly 900 Groups Submit Intent to Apply for the $400 Million Race to the Top District-Level Competition
As of August 31, the U.S. Department of Education announced that 893 potential applicants have submitted their intent to apply for the 2012 Race to the Top-District program, which will distribute almost $400 million to support local reforms to personalize learning, close achievement gaps and prepare each student for college and their careers.
This district-level competition asks applicants to demonstrate how they can personalize education for all students. The list of those who have indicated their intent to apply can be found here: www.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-district. Potential applicants that did not submit intentions to apply may still apply for funding. According to the Department’s press release on August 31, “The Department plans to support high-quality proposals from applicants across a variety of districts, including rural and non-rural districts as well as those already participating in a Race to the Top state grant and districts not participating. These 4-year awards will range from $5 million to $40 million, depending on the population of students served through the plan. The Department is expecting to make 15-25 awards.”
More information can be found at: www.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-district. Applications are due Oct. 30, with awards being announced no later than Dec. 31, 2012.
U.S. Secretary of Education Warns of Impact of Sequester on Education Funding in Congressional Hearing
On July 25, U.S. Secretary of Education was one among a handful of witnesses to testify to members of the Congressional Senate appropriations subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education about the significant impact that sequestration would have on education funding if it occurs on January 2, 2013. (See pg. 4 for a summary of sequestration). As stated in a July 25 Department of Education press release: “Duncan urged Congress to work with President Obama, who has submitted a plan that includes $4 trillion in deficit reductions and calls for targeted cuts in spending.
‘We have tightened our belts in a responsible way,’ Duncan said. ‘Most importantly, the President’s plan is a long-term fix. It will put an end to the see-saw budgeting that leaves state and local officials wondering if they can count on the federal government to be a partner with them on education and other vital programs.’ For Title I, special education and other large K-12 programs, the cuts would take effect in the fall of 2013. Duncan pointed out that in a recent poll 80 percent of school administrators said they would be unable to replace the lost federal funds with state and local money.
Duncan also highlighted the potential impact on Head Start, child care, health research and other programs that support children and their families.”
To read an accompanying report from subcommittee Chairman Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) on the impact of sequestration on education, go here: http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/ht-labor.cfm?method=hearings.view&id=3e179839-d43a-4002-8c16-bf0050f4f4a5.
NASSP Federal Grassroots Network
The Federal Grassroots Network held its quarterly call on August 21 and a make-up call on August 22. The five “hot topics” the Network reported on in their states and that NASSP Government Relations staff created action items on, in order of importance to members, were: state education funding, teacher evaluation, implementation of common core state standards, principal evaluation, and No Child Left Behind waivers. At this point, Federal Grassroots Network members will no longer participate in quarterly calls (only state coordinators will), but will continue to receive email updates twice per week summarizing the latest news and events in federal policy and funding. If you or your colleagues are not yet members of the Federal Grassroots Network and would like to become one, please email Mary Kingston at kingstonm@nassp.org. For an overview of what membership in the Network involves, please go here: http://www.nassp.org/Legislative-Advocacy/NASSP-Federal-Grassroots-Network.
NASSP State Coordinators
NASSP welcomes several new coordinators to their roles: Jon Collins (AR), Jane Griffin (LA), Lon Jorgenson (MN), Peter Kruszynski (NY), Randy Schlueter (NE), and Vicki Puckett (WA).
As noted above, the quarterly calls that previously included all members of the Federal Grassroots Network will now only include state coordinators. The quarterly call dates for the remainder of 2012-2013 are the following (members will choose one date/time per quarter):
• November 2012: Tues Nov 13, 10 am EST; Wed Nov 14 2012, 3:30 pm EST
• February 2013: Tues Feb 12, 10 am EST; Wed Feb 13 2013, 3:30 pm EST
• May 2013: Tues May 14, 10 am EST; Wed May 15 2013, 3:30 pm EST
NASSP Advocacy in the States
NASSP Director of Government Relations Amanda Karhuse and Manager of Government Relations Mary Kingston were in Rhode Island on August 1 to speak to the Rhode Island Association of School Principals and deliver a federal policy and grassroots advocacy briefing.
Mary Kingston was in Las Vegas, NV September 30 and October 1 to speak to representatives of Region VII state associations and deliver a federal policy and grassroots advocacy briefing as well as training on how to use Twitter for advocacy purposes.
