MetroED receives statewide honors for communication
– Lisa Gonzales ACSA President
NAESP ’ s new federal advocacy leader hits the ground running
Danny Carlson , the National Association of Elementary School Principals ’ new assistant executive director of policy and advocacy , spent his first few weeks on the job meeting with congressional staff , engaging with other national education organizations , and developing an advocacy strategic plan that focuses on leveraging the principal ’ s perspective in the policymaking process .
“ I couldn ’ t be more excited about the opportunity to advocate on behalf of elementary and middle-level principals ,” Carlson said . “ With a host of emerging budgetary and policy issues relevant to principals , I look forward to ensuring that the principal ’ s voice is heard in these discussions .”
Carlson offered the following federal insights :
Budget business
On Feb . 8 , the Senate and the House approved a two-year budget deal that includes significant funding increases for defense and discretionary programs , providing federal budget stability through September 2019 . On Feb . 9 , President Trump signed the legislation into law .
How we got here : On Jan . 22 , Congress passed a short-term funding bill , known as a Continuing Resolution , to extend government funding through Feb . 8 , which gave congressional leaders additional time to reach an agreement on a long-term budget
The California School Public Relations Association , a statewide organization that promotes better public understanding , commitment , and support of public education , announced that Metropolitan Education District has received four Excellence in Communications Awards from the California School Public Relations Association .
An Award of Merit was won for the Silicon Valley Career Education brochure in the General Publications category . Awards of Excellence were awarded to Superintendent Alyssa Lynch ’ s Sept . 28 opinion piece in the Mercury News , “ K-12 Career Technical Education Again Under Threat ”; the MetroED Annual Report 2017 ; and SVCTE . org in the website category .
“ It is a pleasure to honor MetroED with these awards ,” said CalSPRA President Manuel Rubio . “ Effective communications connect our communities to our classrooms deal .
On Feb . 7 , a day before the CR was set to expire , Senate leadership announced they had agreed to a two-year funding package . Passage of the legislation , though , was not assured , as some fiscal conservatives raised concerns about the measure ’ s impact on the deficit , and some House Democrats opposed advancing the legislation without a commitment from Speaker Paul Ryan ( R-WI ) to hold a vote to extend the Deferred Action for
Carlson
and build support for quality learning environments . This is an opportunity to recognize the excellent communication work done every day .”
“ Producing high-quality , professional marketing materials at our district has a profound impact on the students we attract , the parents we meet , our staff morale , and the business partners we engage with ,” said MetroED ’ s Public Information Officer Jason Sholl . “ We are extremely grateful to CalSPRA for these recognitions and appreciate the support of our education community .”
CalSPRA ’ s Excellence in Communication Awards program recognizes superior achievement in meeting strategic goals through high-quality communications and public relations programs . Each entry is evaluated by communication professionals on the overall excellence of the entry . Awards were presented at CalSPRA ’ s Annual Conference and Awards Banquet in
Childhood Arrivals ( DACA ) protections for “ DREAMers .”
In the end , the bill passed the House 240 to 186 .
So , why does the budget deal matter to principals ? By significantly boosting discretionary funding above current levels – $ 63 billion more in 2018 and $ 68 billion more in 2019 – the budget deal paves the way for , but does not guarantee , robust investments in Title 2 , Part A , which is the only dedicated source of federal funding for professional learning and leadership support for teachers and principals .
States and districts rely on this funding to invest in principal preparation and professional development activities , such as principal residencies , job-embedded and cohort-based professional learning , and mentorship opportunities for aspiring principals . NAESP has focused its advocacy efforts on urging Congress to fully fund Title 2 , Part A at no less than $ 2.295 billion .
NAESP will be working with other national groups to oppose cuts to education programs in the fiscal year 2019 budget , as it did last year when the administration ’ s FY 2018 Budget called for the elimination of the Title 2 program .
Higher ed update
In December , the House Education and the Workforce Committee passed H . R . 4508 , to reauthorize the Higher Education Act . The legislation includes provisions that could negatively impact principals , including the elimination of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program .
The Senate is expected to write its own version of HEA reauthorization . NAESP ’ s advocacy efforts will focus on pushing for loan forgiveness for principals and provisions that support the recruitment and preparation of teachers and principals .
If you have advocacy ideas or feedback , please reach out to Carlson directly at dcarlson @ naesp . org . Also , feel free to follow him on Twitter , @ dannydcarlson , where he shares real-time updates about issues relevant to principals happening on Capitol Hill and at the U . S . Department of Education .
Information on NAESP can be found at www . naesp . org .
Report shows safety foundational to school climate , quality of life on campus
A new white paper from K12 Insight , “ Keep Your Students Safe ,” takes a look at the challenges of school safety and offers steps school leaders and their teams can take to create a safer , more empathetic school culture and climate .
According to the special report : School leaders who want to improve school climate and promote student success have to ensure that safety is chief among their concerns . “ Safety is one of the essential foundational elements of school climate , or the quality and character of school life ,” according to the National School Climate Center .
It ’ s especially important for school leaders to survey students about their feelings about school safety . “ The single most common school climate survey finding is that students typically report feeling much less safe in schools than parents and school personnel believed ,” said Jonathan Cohen , president and co-founder of the National School Climate Center .
Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance might offer insight as to why . Eight percent of high school students reported being in a physical fight at school in the past 12 months , 6 percent reported being threatened or injured with a weapon in the past 12 months , and 20 percent reported being bullied on school property . Such statistics make it easier to understand why 6 percent of high school students reported that they did not go to school on one or more days in the past 30 days because they felt unsafe .
School leaders also need to be aware of experiences students have when they are not at school , says Kelly Vaillancourt Strobach , director of government relations for the National Association of School Psychologists .
“ It ’ s really recognizing that for all kids who walk into that school building they have a history and they have a set of experiences that may or may not require some type of mental and behavioral or social and emotional support in order for them to learn and to thrive in the school building ,” she said .
Schools are now expected to develop formal policies and procedures meant to ensure the physical and emotional safety
and well-being of students and employees . It is imperative that schools work with their communities , including parents , students and staff , to create and institute data-driven safety policies and procedures . It also means that such efforts should be considered a perennial work in progress .
The “ 3Ps of Safer Schools ,” the report says , are :
• Policy – Create school safety and student discipline policies .
• Plan – Develop and implement a plan to communicate your policies .
• Process – Create a process to ensure the policy actually sticks .
On the Policy front , Cohen recommends that school leaders work with students as “ co-leaders ” from the outset . Both Cohen and Strobach agree that including students helps bring attention to blind spots that school leaders and others may miss when it comes to safety considerations . It also helps them earn buy-in from the people most immediately affected by their decisions .
Strobach emphasizes that your school safety policy should address both physi-
See SAFETY , page 7
MetroED receives statewide honors for communication
March . Visit www . calspra . org .
Metropolitan Education District provides career technical education and academic programs to more than 2,600 high school and adult students in Santa Clara County . Visit www . metroed . net .
Find resources to help your career at www . acsa . org .
April 2 , 2018 EDCAL 3
In mid-March , a delegation of ACSA leaders and staff headed to snowy Washington , D . C . for a lobbying trip . Joining me on this year ’ s trip were Patricia Brent- Sanco of Lynwood USD , along with ACSA ’ s Chief Operations Officer Scarlett Vanyi and Senior Director Adonai Mack . Also in our group was consultant Kevin Gordon of Capitol Advisors . Our days were long , often lasting more than 12 hours , with targeted discussions with legislators , their staff or department representatives .
Our voice in Washington , D . C . is a large one . Representing more than 17,000 California school leaders , ACSA is the largest school administrator umbrella organization in the nation , supporting more than 6.2 million students . Our talking points were tailored to the audience we were speaking to and their roles in legislative policy and decision making .
Our focus on this trip included a phasein of per-pupil funding on IDEA up to the 40 percent of Special Education mandates originally committed to ; the Higher Education Act Reauthorization ; and Support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals . We expressed our opposition to vouchers which divert much needed resources away from public school systems to private education , and discussed updating the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act to further protect students ’ personal information . We also advocated repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision that reduces the Social Security benefits for those of us who have earned Social Security and CalSTRS ; and for a multi-year , fully funded reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools Act .
However , the two most important topics discussed related to school safety and federal budget priorities . We advocated strongly and shared California stories on school safety and school climate , discussing the critical need to ensure students and staff feel physically and emotionally safe in our schools .
When meeting with elected leaders or staff , including Senator Dianne Feinstein and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi , we discussed the timeliness of our meetings on funding discussions , particularly since work around budgets was in the final phases and final drafts on an omnibus were being drafted as we went from meeting to meeting .
Brent-Sanco and I shared state and our own district stories about the use and value of Titles 2 and 4 funding for the students in our districts , around how we use the funds to support teachers and principals and student achievement , and what the impact is of eliminating these programs . While we were touching down on runways in California on our return , we heard the news that Congress passed an Omnibus Spending Bill for 2018 that provided a $ 2.6 billion increase for funding to the US Department of Education , funds that will be seen in each of our school districts .
Kudos to Mack , ACSA Senior Director of Federal Relations . We are well-represented , reinforcing that ACSA ’ s bold and authoritative leadership makes a difference .
– Lisa Gonzales ACSA President