“What has 11 floors, a 900-car parking deck, costs some $147 million, and on top of all that, a gun range?” If the blog title and the opening sentence does not raise your curiousity, then what will? Located in Atlanta, this very new (opens this month) high school has all the ammentities. The title for …
August 2013 archive
Aug 21
State Board Members Continue School Tours
The statewide listening tours of the regions contiunues this week on August 22-23 with a visit to Region 7. This region comprises 19 school divisions in Southwest Virginia. In this region are two current members of the VASSP Board of Directors : Dr. Keith Perrigan, Immediate Past President, VASSP, principal of Patrick Henry High School …
Aug 15
Professional Development in August: Dog Days or Great Days?
In a recent NASSP blog by Stuart Singer, “Professional Development Should Be a Team Sport” (August 13), the usual concern about the pre-school staff development is aired but with a different approach. Realizing that by this time of the year, August staff development changes may be moot but planning for next year using this model may …
Aug 09
Principal’s Portal: A Tool To Help Improve Your Messages To Groups
The National Association of Secondary School Principals and the National Association of Elementary School Principals have teamed to provide building principals assistance for strategic communications: providing the exact message you want to send to a specific audience/group. This new endeavor, Principal’s Portal, provides administrators with a tool kit with links various other tools and extra strategies to assist principals with additional …
Aug 06
Tips for First-Year Principals
A recent article in Ed Leadership may serve as a good resource of leadership advice for new administrators. Among author Peggy Campbell-Rush’s topics are: Make Decisions from the Start Make Changes Slowly Learn Names! – from personal experience, this is crucial. Sweep the Naysayers Along Keep That Rant to Yourself Challenge People to Be Part …
Aug 06
New VASSP Board of Directors / Officers for 2013-2014
The VASSP Board of Directors held its summer retreat in Ashland on July 29 and 30. This meeting was held to plan for the upcoming year and to assist new board members with the development of their responsibilities as your representatives for VASSP. Your VASSP Board of Directors is composed of the following new leaders and new members …
Aug 05
A – F School Labels : Be Wary of Politics
While adminisrators are compiling reasons /rationales for being unwilling to accept the A-F school labels in the Commonwealth, it would be prudent also for politicians in the Old Dominion to avoid any political fallout due to bad judgement related to this system of labels. In addition to being a method for creating negative atmospheres in public schools, …
Aug 02
Governor’s K-12 Education Reform Summit
The governor will host his last K-12 Education Reform Summit on August 5th in Chantilly. This summit will “build upon (a) successful 2013 legislative agenda” for those who feel the GA session was a success. Many Virginia public school educators really do not share this sentiment which might explain the dearth of public school administrators/teachers on the agenda. No …
Aug 01
Emergency Operations Planning Guide
The VDOE released a memo for proncipals on July 30, 2013 which provides information with new plans for emergency assistance in public schools. The information is contained in the Guide for Developing High Quality School Plans and has been developed by the U.S. Department of Education. This guide is in synch with the Virginia Model School …