February 4, 2019
EDCAL 3
a publication of acsa’s member services and
member assistance and legal support team | volume 41
ACSA committee supports those new to school leadership
By Margarita Cuizon-Armelino
In 2015 the Bureau of Labor Statistics
projected a 6 percent growth in jobs for
school principals in the period from 2016-
24. Meanwhile data from the National
Center for Education statistics identify that
roughly 20 percent of principals leave their
school at the end of their first year. The
natural question to ask is why?
It could be because they are underpre-
pared for the job. If these statistics hold
true, we have been and will likely be watch-
ing assistant principals move into princi-
palships sooner rather than later, creating
a situation that begs for a greater need to
support assistant and vice principals so that
they can transition into a principalship
successfully and thrive.
With this in mind, the ACSA Co-Ad-
ministration Committee is focused on
providing our members the support they
need to succeed.
“We are a unique group with specific
concerns,” said Committee Chair and El
Roble Intermediate School Assistant Prin-
cipal Clarissa McNally. “It is imperative to
have a support system in place and provide
meaningful professional development to
our group. As co-administrators, we play an
intricate role in school systems and, as such,
it is important for ACSA to give our group
a voice and determine ways to help and
support our positions.”
That intricate role includes everything
from interacting with parents to evaluating
staff, enforcing student discipline proce-
dures and supporting district-wide and
school assessments, just to name a few.
“APs also help to monitor student
achievement and school safety, implement
instructional leadership, maintain atten-
dance, handle IEPs, 504s, and intervention
programs and provide student achievement
data to staff, faculty and the principal,” said
Jer Soriano, assistant principal at Alisal
USD and ACSA Region 10’s Co-Adminis-
tration Committee Representative.
The ACSA Co-Administration Com-
mittee’s published purpose includes:
• Educating and empowering co-ad-
ministrators and aspiring administrators
(vice-principals, assistant principals, deans,
coordinators, etc.) in their role as instruc-
tional leaders within their schools and
communities.
• Promoting networking and increasing
communication among administrators and
aspiring administrators.
• Providing access to professional devel-
opment and mentoring experiences.
• Increasing awareness and the impor-
tance of the co-administrator’s role.
To provide much needed support to
co-administrators across the state, the
committee works with ACSA Educational
Services staff to design professional devel-
opment opportunities such as the “A Day in
the Life of A Co-Administrator,” workshop
which addresses the specific needs of site
level co-administrators.
“Assistant and vice principals who at-
tend this workshop are exposed to practical
sound techniques and strategies that are
aligned with the Education Code and give
them the necessary tools to prevent tough
situations from escalating,” said ACSA staff
member and former school administrator
Sherman Garnett. “Rather than spending
time putting out fires all day, they learn
strategies to focus on becoming effective
educational leaders.”
In addition to the workshops offered to
co-administrators, the committee members
are also focused on sharpening their skills
through presentations about MTSS, vaping
and Social Emotional Learning.
They are also currently conducting a
book study on Michele Borba’s “UnSelfie”
Implementing and sustaining high
impact learning environments
The engagement and motivation of
students to become life-long learners is the
ultimate goal of education. Without the
right space student engagement is severe-
ly limited. There are no “gray” areas – the
classroom either serves as a supportive and
nurturing place to learn or it doesn’t. While
this may seem intuitive, this bottom-line
concept isn’t always easy for administrators
and district-level decision makers to fully
embrace. After all, the classroom of old was
largely comprised of a chalkboard, podium,
teacher’s desk, bookshelves, and individual
student desks. “Low impact” in nature,
these environments did little to stoke
engagement, collaboration, and academic
success. They simply served as a passive
backdrop for teaching.
Impactful learning environment
elements
High-impact learning environments
center on the reality that the 21st Century
worker will need high agility and adaptabil-
ity in order to succeed. They have to be able
to assimilate new technologies, adopt new
skill sets, and validate information that they
are receiving. Sure you can look up bits and
pieces of information online, but effectively
sourcing, analyzing, and validating that data
– then using it to collaborate with others –
is an extremely important soft skill that not
all students are acquiring at the K-12 level.
that explains what parents and educators
must do to combat the growing empathy
crisis among children today – including
a nine-step empathy-building program
with tips to guide kids from birth through
college, and beyond.
Opportunities to engage provide valu-
able networking to co-administrators.
“I can’t speak enough about the impor-
tance of being able to work side by side
with others involved in ACSA, whether
they are vice principals or not, to obtain
knowledge and information useful to be-
come a better administrator,” Soriano said.
The group also serves as the voice for
their profession, providing input and con-
cerns about new or draft laws that impact
their job-alike to legislative advocates.
“We have provided pertinent informa-
tion to ACSA advocates who help fight
for or protect our rights as administrators
at the Capitol. ACSA has provided our
group with a voice in the field and has also
created a network of colleagues who can
help support us,” McNally said.
The idea is twofold: co-administrators
can attend ACSA workshops, designed
specifically to meet their needs, as well as
learn from committee members who bring
back what they learn from all these resourc-
es identified above and share them with
their peers both locally and at the region
and charter levels.
Lastly, the group’s reach even goes be-
yond the co-administrator job title.
“The committee’s activities have opened
the doors to involvement in other ACSA
events such as the Legislative Policy Com-
mittee, the Strategic Planning Committee
and Leadership Assembly,” said ACSA
Staff Liaison and Educational Services
Executive Tracy Robinson. “Ideas and input
from committee members are shared not
only with committee members but with
organizations throughout the state.”
To learn more about ACSA’s Co-Ad-
ministration Committee events and
activities, contact ACSA’s Robinson at
[email protected], or Rhonda Morgan at
[email protected].
Celebrating
ACSA
Some of the newer members of ACSA
were proud to fly the association colors
at a recent conference put on by the
California League of Middle Schools.
And while the physical classroom setting
doesn’t necessarily correct this problem, it
See IMPACT, page 4
“I see ACSA membership for our district’s administrative
leaders as critical to our long term success. It is part of their
individual professional growth plans. I don’t think we could
move the needle for our students and communities without
it. That is why I advocated to make sure the district covers
their membership in ACSA.”
Brett W. McFadden
Superintendent
Nevada Joint Union High School District