A 110-year-old professional association of school principals will now invite elementary school leaders to join its member ranks, marking a major shift in the K–12 leadership landscape. The National Association of Secondary School Principals, long known as NASSP, is rebranding as the National Principals Association to reflect its expanded focus across all grade levels.
This expansion is significant for the NPA, which to date has been the go-to member organization for middle and high school principals, according to school leaders interviewed by Education Week.
With its outreach to elementary principals, NPA will compete with the National Association of Elementary School Principals (or NAESP) for members, an organization it previously collaborated with to host conferences and advocacy events.
“Our membership has been around 17,000 school leaders. If there are [approximately] 100,000 public schools in the country, we are a significant, but not overwhelming share of the market,” said Ronn Nozoe, the chief operating officer for NPA, in an interview with Education Week ahead of the announcement. “We’re excited about reaching folks who are not currently affiliated because every single school leader deserves this kind of support.”
The NPA offers professional development, resources, and conferences on school leadership, along with opportunities for members to advocate with state and federal-level policymakers for more funding for teacher training, mental health support for students and educators, and special education, among other priorities.
The association also administers the National Principal of the Year awards, which recognize school leaders for improving student outcomes and school communities.
Over the last decade, the NPA has moved beyond its traditional member base to launch the National Student Council, a national platform that connects student leaders from across the country and helps them amplify student voices in decisions that affect schools. In response to the growing gun-related violence in schools, a subset of principals within the NPA formed the Principal Recovery Network in 2022 to support and connect school leaders in the aftermath of tragic events.
Bringing elementary school leaders into the fold will require changes to its leadership tiers to reflect its new membership, which starts with reconstituting its governing board by adding elementary school leaders.
Nozoe recently spoke with Education Week about the NPA’s new direction, and how its programming will change.
The interview was edited for length and clarity.
When did you decide to expand the membership to elementary school principals?
Last October, our members asked us to consider adding elementary principals. They liked what we’ve been doing and like the way that we’ve been elevating and supporting principals. Our board contemplated it, and then we said, before we all decide, let’s go to our members and have our members vote. And our members voted overwhelmingly [to support the move].
We believe in the impact of a K-12 approach to everything, especially now with the way that lines are being blurred in education. It used to be elementary, middle, and high school, which are still important levels, right? There are distinct areas of responsibility. But looking at the whole continuum from pre-K through 12 gives us an opportunity to elevate the work of principals and assistant principals at all grade levels.
What’s the value proposition to elementary principals? Why should they join?
With the renaming and rebranding of our association, we’re not just adding elementary on. On the board, we will have equitable representation across every level. It also means reorganizing our staff to make sure that we’re serving members at each grade level.
We are building content-specific support for early learning and upper elementary. Our program support is built on the guidance and advice of our members, focus groups, interviews, surveys. So, we are reaching out to elementary leaders to find out their priorities. Our staff will take that input and create the best learning experience for these groups of people.
For example, elementary is about whole child development and the importance of developmentally appropriate education. There’s quite a difference between what they need in early learning versus upper elementary. The needs in upper elementary are shifting because kids are growing up faster with early access to devices. And I think literacy, of course, at the elementary level is an important focus area.
What are some of the issues that school leaders face across grade levels?
Teacher pipelines are always an issue. Student mental health and wellbeing is an issue. Educator burnout and capacity [are] challenges.
Discipline continues to be an issue. At the elementary level, it’s about making sure that kids know how to self-regulate and that they can participate in a group learning activity without disrupting others.
Attendance continues to be a challenge across the board, and each of the levels has [its] own nuance. Attendance at the secondary level is different because kids can get to school on their own, whereas attendance at the elementary level, either the kids are riding the school bus or their parents are dropping them off. Little kids are not in charge of their own transit. In terms of working with families, the interventions are different.
How does this change your relationship with NAESP?
It makes sense for us to continue to partner with them on advocacy, because all our voices are important. In terms of our other programming, it’s all up in the air. We are happy to collaborate where it makes sense, but we also respect each to go our own ways for organizational purposes.
We want to earn people’s respect through the experiences and opportunities we create for them. So, you know, challenge accepted.
What’s a big challenge for principals in the next school year?
It’s going to be around how to use artificial intelligence in a way that is ethical and at the same time helps kids and educators to remove more repetitive or mundane tasks from their day. That’s a big one facing the sector.
The other major issue is how to engage students through voice, choice, and agency. The old model was the sage on the stage. It’s changed quite a bit, but there’s still vestiges of it. How do we now elevate the classroom experience so that kids are way more active and in charge of their own learning journeys? They [should] have more agency in choosing pathways and pursuing areas that they’re very interested in. We need to tap into students’ areas of strength.
We already see it across the country with principals starting up advisory student councils. They’re not just tapping traditional leaders in the student council or the Honor Society or in athletics. They are leveraging student voices amongst all of their students so that all kids have a better connection to their school.
What’s your one piece of advice to new principals?
Lean on the network. Create one, join one, contribute to one, whether your network is just a couple of your buddies in the neighboring areas, or whether it’s your state association. There’s so much to learn from a fellow practitioner, and people don’t realize that they have a lot to share, too.
You may not be Principal of the Year, but you’re doing some good stuff at your school. What you’re doing might be the answer to the one thing that another leader is missing in their school.
