This week is National Assistant Principals Week, and we’re celebrating the leaders who make things happen every day behind the scenes for our schools—assistant principals! Assistant principals are often the glue that holds schools together. This is a special week to thank them for everything they do to keep our schools safe and running smoothly, and to ensure the success of each and every student.

The U.S. Congress is also getting in on the celebration as well. On April 14, Sens. David Perdue (R-GA) and Thomas Carper (D-DE) introduced a resolution to commemorate the week. “Assistant principals play a key role in our education system, and their efforts deserve to be recognized,” said Sen. Perdue.

“As the son of two school teachers, I know firsthand how hard our educators and administrators work to help our children succeed. This week, I join students, teachers, and parents across the nation in applauding our assistant principals for countless contributions to the education field.”

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There’s still time to send your AP an e-card like the one above!

The NASSP advocacy team always keeps assistant principals in mind while developing our agenda and pursuing support for policies at the federal level. We have been active in advocating for greater resources to go toward professional development for all principals, and we recently had success in getting state level funds for school leader professional development adopted in the newly reauthorized Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Another priority has been advocating for more funding for the new School Leader Recruitment and Support program, a successor to the School Leadership program. Check out the Principal’s Policy section of the blog for more information on our work and how to get involved!

The advocacy team also worked closely with NASSP Congressional Champion Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA) on the Recruiting and Retaining Effective School Leaders Act, a bill that would create a loan forgiveness program for school leaders similar to the program that exists for teachers. This would aid assistant principals who are pursuing graduate studies to help them meet the requirements for certification.

In honor of National Assistant Principals Week, you can send a message today through the Principal’s Legislative Action Center asking your congressional representative to co-sponsor this bill with Rep. Davis.

And don’t forget to keep the conversation going on Twitter using #APweek. Use this hashtag to tell us all about your assistant principal and what makes them so great! Also be sure to follow the NASSP advocacy team for the latest advocacy news: @akarhuse, @dnchodak, and @sophiepapavizas.

About the Author

David Chodak is the Associate Director of Advocacy at NASSP. Follow him on Twitter @dnchodak.

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