6 EDCAL April 24, 2017
National principal honor nominations due ASAP
The National Association of Elementary
School Principals, in partnership with
ACSA’s Elementary Education Council,
is seeking the best and brightest school
leaders. The deadline is May 10 to submit
nominations for California 2017 National
Distinguished Principal.
The NDP program was established in
1984 to recognize Pre-K-8 level principals
who set high standards for instruction,
student achievement, character and climate
for the students, families and staffs in their
learning communities. The program was
based on three fundamental ideas:
• Children’s attitudes toward learning
and their perceptions of themselves as life-
long learners are established in the begin-
ning school years.
• The scope and quality of children’s edu-
cational experiences are determined primar-
ily by the school principal, who establishes,
through the important work of teachers and
the support of caring parents, the character
of a particular school’s program.
• The dedication and enthusiasm of
the outstanding principals who guide chil-
dren’s early education experiences should be
acknowledged to both show appreciation
for their work and allow them to serve as
models for others in the field.
Nominees must be active principals, have
served in the principalship for at least five
years, and remain active in the role through
the 2016-17 school year. Nominees must
display a strong commitment to the prin-
cipalship through active participation in
professional associations and must assume
an active role in the community. NDPs are
leaders who truly make a difference.
The application is quite comprehensive,
must be completed by the nominee, and
must include letters of reference and sup-
port from the nominee’s superintendent, a
fellow principal, a teacher on the nominee’s
staff and a parent/community member.
Nomination packets have already begun
to be reviewed this month by California’s
past NDPs, with a selection announced
in May. The 2017 National Distinguished
Principal will be invited to attend honor
ceremonies in Washington, D.C. in the fall.
For an application packet, contact
ACSA’s Christina Cruz at [email protected]
or call (916) 329-7045 or (800) 608-ACSA.
Each year, NDPs represent Pre-
K to eighth grade public schools from
all across the country, as well as prin-
cipals in U.S. private schools and those
from the U.S. Departments of Defense
Office of Educational Activity and the U.S.
Department of State Office of Overseas
Schools. Public school elementary and
middle-level principals are nominated by
peers in their state, and final selections are
made by committees appointed by each of
NAESP’s state affiliate offices. Honorees
from private schools and overseas schools
are selected by special committees.
Deadlines approaching to present at Women’s Leadership Forum
The presentation deadline is coming up
for ACSA, NASS and AASA members
looking to hold workshops at the 2017
Women in School Leadership Forum, to
be held Sept. 27-29 at the Island Hotel,
Newport Beach. ACSA invites all eligible
leaders to submit a proposal to present at
this prestigious event.
ACSA, in partnership with AASA,
works jointly to create this annual women’s
leadership event to support the advance-
ment of female education leaders.
The forum focuses on professional
growth and development. This year’s focus
areas for workshops include Leading Equity
and Excellence, Balancing Work and a
Healthy Lifestyle, Personalized Learning
in 21st Century, Coaching/Mentoring,
Instructional Leadership, Connecting with
the Community and Professional Learning.
Workshops should be targeted
towards Aspiring Leaders, New Leaders,
Experienced Leaders, Site-level Leaders,
Central Office Leaders or Classified
Leaders.
Sept. 27 includes a welcome reception
with presentations scheduled for the follow-
ing two days on September 28-29. Please
remember that sales presentations will not
be accepted under any circumstances, as this
is an event focused solely on personal and
professional growth.
Registration is required for presenters
and co-presenters and a reduced rate will be
offered those selected to present.
This year’s event features keynote speak-
er Monique W. Morris, president, CEO and
co-founder of the National Black Women’s
Justice Institute. The NBWJI is an organi-
zation focused on the reduction of racial and
gender disparities affecting Black women,
girls and their families. The organization
works with a number of universities and
organizations, including the White House
Council on Women and Girls, Alameda
COE and the Georgetown Law Center on
Poverty and Inequality, working on behalf
of Black women and girls who are impacted
by the criminal justice system both directly
and indirectly because of their race and
gender.
The Women in School Leadership
Forum is designed to empower and enlight-
en and is sure to be a powerful experience
for all participants.
All proposals are due no later than May
16. The review period for proposals extends
through May with acceptance notifications
sent the week of May 30. Go to https://goo.
gl/l5c2dO for more.
Smarter Balanced digital playlists from CDE
The California Department of Education
has announced the availability of a Digital
Library Playlist. These playlists, a recent
resource addition to the Smarter Balanced
Digital Library, provide users a streamlined
process for identifying Digital Library for-
mative assessment resources and instruc-
tional supports that are connected by topic
and are organized to develop a progression
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of learning. Playlists are created collab-
oratively by educators for educators to help
target a range of needs. Three types of play-
lists are currently available: Instructional
playlists; Digital Library Connections; and
Professional Learning playlists.
More than 25 playlists are now available
at https://goo.gl/GDUphg, and more are
coming soon.