Several Georgia principals, including McAllister's Bivins Miller, recently joined nearly 200 elementary and middle-level educators and leaders from across the country in the nation’s capital for the National Association of Elementary School Principals’ (NAESP) National Leaders Conference.
The Georgia Association of Elementary School Principals advocated on behalf of principals, schools, and students to ensure that lawmakers support public education and do what’s right for American education.
Representatives from The Georgia Association of Elementary School Principals took the needs of Georgia schools directly to congressional leaders to discuss pressing issues, including boosting federal education funding, improving teacher/principal recruitment and preparation, strengthening school-based mental health services and a reduction in mandated assessments.
“The future of our country rests in the ability of public educators to do what is right for our students. Few understand the needs of our nation’s schools better than the educators that work in them every day” said Miller, NAESP State Representative. “When Congress is making important decisions about the future of American education, principal voices must be included. For effective and long-lasting change to happen our Congress members must support actual change at the national level.”
“Principals can provide key insights on the issues that affect our nation’s schools, such as school safety and social-emotional learning,” said NAESP’s executive director, Dr. L. Earl Franks, CAE. “By sharing their expertise with lawmakers, school leaders have the power to shape legislation impacting these critical issues.”
With support from staff representing NAESP and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, GAESP Representatives visited congressional offices and asked lawmakers to address several issues, including boosting federal education funding, improving teacher/principal recruitment and preparation, strengthening school-based mental health services and a reduction in mandated assessments.
The conference also featured presentations and discussions from policy experts in education. Speakers included former West Virginia Governor Bob Wise, Jeremy Anderson of the Education Commission of the States, Joshua Starr of PDK International, and John Bridgeland of the Aspen Institute. The conference also hosted a discussion on the education political landscape in 2019 from Alyson Klein and Andrew Ujifusa of Education Week, as well as a crossfire debate featuring Alliance for Excellent Education President Deborah Delisle and the American Enterprise Institute’s Director of Education Policy Studies Rick Hess.
Visit www.naesp.org for more information about NAESP.
