Category: National Association of Secondary School Principals

A Question For School Leaders…Are you preparing students for…?

On By Patrick LarkinIn Future Ready, National Association of Secondary School Principals, Technology IntegrationLeave a comment
Image via http://farm8.static.flickr.com/ 


I still remember how excited I was back in May 2011 when the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) published their position statement on Social Media and Mobile Technologies.  As we approach the four-year anniversary of this document, my feelings have changed to disappointment due to the limited progress I perceive in this area.  Ignoring and/or banning the use of social media and mobile technologies in schools is still far too prevalent and it is bad for kids.

 Here is the key phrase in this position statement for me:

“Education should prepare students to be active, constructive participants in a global society.”

The best way for this to happen is also clearly articulated in the position statement:

“Encourage and model the appropriate and responsible use of mobile and social technologies to maximize students’ opportunities to create and share content.”

Along the same line, the recent interview below that Joe Mazza did with Richard Culatta, Director of the United States Office of Education Technology Culatta talks about what we need in our schools to create schools that are “Future Ready.”  

“It’s not OK for district and school leaders to say I’m not that tech savvy. Even joking about that is not funny anymore…The strategy for using technology to transform learning cannot be delegated…”


So I ask my colleagues the following question: What are you doing to model the use of technological tools in your role? 


Here’s a place to start 

 If you aren’t sure where to start, NASSP has shown great leadership over the past four years with its Digital Principal Award that selects three school leaders annually “who exhibit bold, creative leadership in their drive to harness the potential of new technologies to further learning goals.”

 Check out the work of this year’s winners John Bernia, James Richardson, and Bill Ziegler to get a look at what best practice looks like.  In addition, look back at past winners (2014) Daisy Dyer Duerr, Jason Markey, Derek McCoy, (2013) Dwight Carter, Ryan Imbriale, Carrie Jackson, (2012) Eric Sheninger, Mike King, and me.  All of these school leaders are just a few keystrokes away and they are willing to answer questions that you may have to help you and/or your school community move forward on this challenging and exciting path!

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#CPChats Are Back On Thursday Nights During October #CE14

On By Patrick LarkinIn Connected Educator Month, NAESP, NASSP, National Association of Secondary School PrincipalsLeave a comment
Screen Shot 2014-09-27 at 9.00.37 AM   


We are excited that for the second straight year Connected Principals will be working in conjunction with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) during the month of October to help promote Connected Educator Month and National Principals Month. With this in mind, we will be participating in a series of weekly Twitter Chats beginning this coming Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. So please mark your calendar now for the following dates:

  • Thursday, October 2 
  • Thursday, October 9
  • Thursday, October 16
  • Thursday, October 23
  • Thursday, October 30

The topic for this week’s chat will be – How Principals Can Best Support Technology Integration In Their Schools. 

Our moderators this week will be Jason Markey and Rosie Vojtek. 

Jason is the Principal of Easy Leyden High School in Franklin Park, Illinois and a winner of the 2014 Digital Principal’s Award from NASSP.

Rosie is the Principal of Ivy Drive Elementary School in Bristol, CT and the President ISTE’s SIGADMIN group.

Please spread the word so that we can bring more people into the conversation and help educators grow their networks during Connected Educator Month. While Connected Principals is excited to facilitate these chats, we welcome all educational stakeholders to join in! Together we are smarter!Stay tuned for details regarding the remainder of our October Chats! If you would like to help moderate a chat during the month please connect with me on Twitter. For more resources to support your school and colleagues in participating in Connected Educator Month be sure to check out the Connected Educators website.

October Principal Leadership Article On Technology Integration

On By Patrick LarkinIn Burlington Public Schools, Connected Learning, NASSP, National Association of Secondary School Principals, Personal Learning NetworksLeave a comment
Photo via NASSP.org

The October issue of Principal Leadership arrived in the mail this week and it featured a Question and Answer article with the 2012 NASSP Digital Principal Award Winners.  Thanks to NASSP for allowing an opportunity to share some of the wonderful things happening in Burlington.  My two biggest takeaways from this are:

  1. I am extremely fortunate to work in a place that supports the integration of technology into our schools.
  2. Building a personal learning network (PLN) has been and continues to be the most amazing learning experience. I owe endless gratitude to my PLN for making supporting my learning and helping me have experiences I never dreamed possible.
By the way, while bullet number-one above may depend on where you work, bullet number-two is available to anyone who wants to take advantage of the amazing resources that are available to all learners. 
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