Education Week - April 3, 2013 - 13

EDUCATION WEEK

three years ago to 21,000 today,
according to Bob Farrace, a spokesman for the organization.
Among principals, the younger
generation is not as interested in
being part of an association, or
“wants something different from
an association,” such as opportunities to network and connect
with colleagues, said JoAnn G.
Bartoletti, the executive director
of the nassp since 2011.
“They don’t seem as inclined to
attend meetings or conferences,
... and they’re acquiring information online and don’t need the
same kind of information” as
older principals, she said.
Facing similar concerns, the
National Association of Elementary School Principals and the
American Association of School
Administrators merged some of
their operations and moved to a
shared workspace two years ago.

Stronger Voices
The associations are taking on
the challenge in different ways.
The nassp, for instance, is in a
strategic-planning process, said
Ms. Bartoletti, who came to the

“

Much of the
challenge for
[associations] is
trying to pivot so
that they’re seen
as proponents of
improvement
rather than
champions of the
status quo.”
FREDERICK M. HESS
American Enterprise Institute

secondary principals’ group after
leading the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association. It is trying to figure out how
to be most useful to its newer
members and to ensure principals’ voices are heard as policies
involving principals and school
leadership are increasingly in the
national spotlight.
The nsba is aiming to build partnerships and insert its voice more
forcefully into the advocacy conversation. The arrival of Executive Director Thomas J. Gentzel in December, after the retirement of Anne L.
Bryant, the organization’s longtime
top executive, coincided with the
nsba board’s release of the “New
nsba,” a strategic plan that aims to
“promote local school governance in
new and more visible ways.”
For instance, the nsba and the
aasa supported a bill put forward
by two Republican members of
Congress last month that would
limit the role of the U.S. Department of Education in creating
new policies.
The nsba hopes to create a stronger national voice for local officials.
“We don’t view ourselves as a special-interest group that’s lobbying
for members. Our goal here is to con-

nect our local elected policymakers
with state and federal policymakers,” said Mr. Gentzel, who headed
the Pennsylvania School Boards
Association.
“We want to be leaning forward
in our advocacy work,” Mr. Gentzel
said. “We do think there’s an important role for state and federal government—it’s important that there
be a coherent policy structure. But
we’re very concerned about the diminishing role for local officials.”

Staying the Course
Mr. Minnich, who led the state
chiefs’ work on the common core
as the organization’s senior membership director, said the ccsso
will remain focused on supporting the implementation of the
common standards during his
tenure.
Likewise, Richard Laine, who
came to the nga’s education department last winter after leading the Wallace Foundation’s
education leadership program,
said the governors’ group is also
staying its course and homing
in on the implementation of the
standards.
Eric Hargis, who came to the
National pta from the Epilepsy
Foundation, said his organization
has been addressing internal organizational and financial matters over the past two years. The
pta moved its central office from
Chicago to the Washington area
in 2011 in an effort to get closer
to the national policy conversation, he said.
Coverage of leadership, expanded
learning time, and arts learning
is supported in part by a grant
from The Wallace Foundation,
at www.wallacefoundation.org.

APRIL 3, 2013

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State Focus
Meanwhile, nasbe, which represents state school boards, is
searching for an executive director to lead the organization
in a new direction, said Patrick
Guida, the president of its board.
Its former director, Mr. Kohlmoos, had worked in the U.S. Department of Education and had
extensive experience in Washington, which Mr. Guida said helped
nasbe interpret and respond to
federal decisions.
But the organization is hoping to forge stronger connections with state boards and help
states address federal policies,
Mr. Guida said. Many states are
juggling complex policy initiatives like the implementation of
the common standards or fulfilling proposals set out in waivers
of key parts of the No Child Left
Behind Act, he said.
Chris Minnich, who became the
executive director of the ccsso in
January, said such support for
states is increasingly valuable.
“[Policy changes] have been very
federally driven, ... but the shift
in the last three years is into
states,” he said, citing Race to
the Top applications and waivers.

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Education Week - April 3, 2013

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