UPDATED
Hundreds of elementary and middle school principals from across the country will descend on Long Beach, Calif., this week for the National Association of Elementary School Principals’ annual convention.
This year’s convention, under the theme “Best Practices for Better Schools,” includes more than 100 sessions on helping principals take on key issues in education today: closing the student achievement gap; improving school culture and climate; leading urban schools; Pre-K-3 school leadership; technology and instructional leadership; and more.
“The pressures of leading schools today demand that principals ‘be on’ 24-7,” said Gail Connelly, NAESP’s executive director. “Although principals devote significant time in leading, supporting, coaching and developing teachers, the fact is their own professional development is far too often a lesser priority.”
She continued: “NAESP’s Best Practices for Better Schools annual conference provides Pre-K-8 principals the much needed opportunity to boost their educational leadership craft by sharing among their peers what is working best for student and school success and learning from top education experts about what’s happening now and next in education.”
The convention begins today—although principals were already in town on Monday to take part in the traditional community service project in advance of the conference. (Nearly 1,400 people registered to attend.)
Principals are naturals at teamwork. Community Service Day - Garfield #naesp15 @PlayLSI pic.twitter.com/pqSYc9p8IF
-- NAESP (@NAESP) June 29, 2015
Through Thursday, principals will sample courses and hear from education experts on a range of topics, including leading equitable, high-achieving schools; empowering staff; improving discipline, safety, and learning; and implementing year-round common-core strategies.
There will also be a screening of “The Principals’ Perspective,” a “news” program that debuted at last year’s gathering in Nashville, Tenn., which breaks down current education policy reforms for elementary school principals, explores major issues facing the profession, and highlights achievements in the field.
You can keep abreast of the action on Twitter by following @naesp and the hashtag #naesp15.
This post has been updated to include the number of people who registered to attend the conference.