From monitoring students’ mental health to incorporating artificial intelligence into learning, principals are at the forefront of addressing some of the most pressing issues in K-12 education.
Principals from around the country met in an Oct. 20 webinar to discuss the fast-changing policies, trends, and technologies affecting the classroom. The event, in honor of National Principals Month, was hosted by the American Federation of School Administrators, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
The conversation focused on challenges the panelists’ schools have faced, and the federal funding they’ve used to address them.
Still, the future of the federal funds principals use for some of their work is in question.
President Donald Trump’s budget proposal, which needs to be approved by Congress, would slash federal education spending and eliminate billions of dollars in grants. For example, it would condense 18 programs that currently total $6.5 billion—including the $2.2 billion Title II grants that support teacher professional development—into a single funding stream worth $2 billion. The administration says that would let states have more flexibility in where and how they spend federal dollars.
Schools are using Title II for the mental health and well-being of students
Argyle Middle School in Silver Spring, Md., has seen disciplinary referrals about everything from tardiness to fighting. Principal James Ulrich said the school uses Title II federal funds to support and improve teachers’ capacity in managing classrooms and implementing restorative practices to address students’ misbehavior.
This model avoids exclusionary punishments like detention or expulsion if a student misbehaves. Instead, restorative justice aims to create a community in which students feel cared for and a sense of belonging, in order to change their behavior.
The school has made restorative practices part of its improvement plan and has hosted a professional development seminar to introduce the skills to new staff.
The more teachers are comfortable with these practices, the more they have been embedded into the school culture, said Ulrich.
“What we do with our staff makes the biggest difference in what happens overall for our students,” he said.
Avondale Elementary School in Columbus, Ohio, is also using Title II funding to train its staff in trauma-informed practices, said Principal April Knight. Trauma-informed care is a set of skills educators develop to help students who have experienced a traumatic event, which can range from a natural disaster to experiencing racism.
The school has also used those federal funds to hire social-emotional learning practitioners who support teachers, teaching them how to work with and care for students in need.
“With any cut to that [Title II] funding, there’s a significant loss that we would experience if we didn’t have that help available,” said Knight.
How schools can adapt to emerging technology
The school leaders in the discussion believe that cellphone use in schools isn’t a federal issue, but one that is best handled at the district level.
At least 31 states and the District of Columbia require school districts to ban or restrict students’ use of cellphones in schools, according to an Education Week tally.
Chase Christensen is the superintendent and principal of the Sheridan County school district #3 in Wyoming, which allows students and staff to keep their phones with the expectation that they don’t use them during class time and their notifications are off to avoid distractions. This has preserved trust between students and parents and school staff, said Christensen.
Like cellphone policies, AI is another hot topic in schools. Panelists agreed that the tool is here to stay, and it is already changing education.
“As the advent of technology has pushed us to be better educators and take our students to a whole new level over the course of the last 150 years, AI is here to do the same,” said Christensen.
While experts recommend school districts create AI policies with clear guidelines and rules, an EdWeek Research Center survey of educators found that 45% of respondents said their district or school doesn’t have one.
Ulrich said his school district doesn’t have a specific AI policy and instead applies its technology and digital use policy to the use of AI. “I thought [this] was very smart, just because we know that [AI is] everywhere,” he said.
The principal added that teachers should be changing their strategy and instruction to continue challenging students in the age of AI. For example, if existing assignments can be completed using AI, teachers should instead assign work that requires students to think more critically.
“I do think that [AI] needs to be used wisely,” said Ulrich. “AI is going to change education, not in terms of replacing teachers, but in terms of how we actually teach.”
