Guest post by Emily Sturchio

In working with a number of assistant principals both as a high school teacher and as an associate for the NASSP professional learning team, I can tell you that APs are often the unsung heroes of a school. It is our nation’s APs who often do the lion’s share of the work to support students and keep our schools running each and every day. The work of APs often goes unnoticed—like Derek Fialkiewicz, who runs a Parent University on weekends to give families the tools to help their children learn, or Abbey Duggins, who helps struggling students through an after-school intervention program called SCORE.

Our APs wear many hats throughout each day. It may be the role of instructional leader like Chris Koch who works side by side with staff to plan lessons and design learning activities using his immersive “floor time” leadership approach. It may be that of a culture builder like Maureen Doyle Kemmett who leads her school’s One Book, One Community initiative to unite the school and promote literacy. Or it may be the role of activity planner like Scott Long who organizes student assemblies in order to give his teachers time to collaborate. Whatever the role—advocate, counselor, communicator, disciplinarian, coach, and more—walk into any school at any time, and you’ll likely find an AP somewhere in the building doing important, meaningful work on behalf of students, teachers, parents, district leaders, and the greater community.

National Assistant Principals Week is April 9–13. NASSP, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and the American Federation of School Administrators have designated this week to pay homage to our assistant principals and acknowledge their key role in the achievements of schools and students nationwide. Schools, including administrators, teachers, and students, around the country are holding events and finding other ways to specially honor their assistant principals and recognize the good work that they do every day.

What can you do to celebrate the work of assistant principals in your school and community? AP Week participants are encouraged to schedule special e-card deliveries, join the conversations on Twitter using #apweek18, post photos on Instagram, and more. Visit nassp.org/apweek for activity ideas and more information about this week’s celebration.

About the Author

Emily Sturchio is a professional learning associate at NASSP.

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