MESPA Leaders Lobby Capitol Hill for ESEA Policies
7/26/2011 10:02 AMMESPA Leaders Lobby Capitol Hill Representatives
for ESEA Policies that will Improve Schools
(St.
Paul, MN – July 26, 2011) Dr.
Steven Geis, MESPA NAESP State Representative and principal of North Trail
Elementary in Farmington, recently joined elementary and middle-level educators
and leaders from across the country in the nation’s capital during the National
Association of Elementary School Principals’ National Leaders Conference to
advocate for new policies that will give principals, who are the primary
catalysts for shaping long-term school improvement, the tools they need to
function as effective school leaders.
Other MESPA leaders lobbying with Geis
were: P. Fred Storti, Executive Director; Kristine Stueve, MESPA President; Jon
Millerhagen, MESPA Past President; and Joey Page, MESPA Federal Relations
Coordinator.
The MESPA team took the critical needs of Minnesota schools
directly to lawmakers on Capitol Hill during meetings with legislators to
discuss five legislative recommendations for the upcoming reauthorization of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA): - Provide dedicated funding
for principal professional development in early childhood education;
- Provide
funding to develop and implement standards-based mentor training programs for
principals;
- Require professional development and mentoring as a part of any
school improvement plan;
- Support states and local
education agencies in developing fair, objective, and comprehensive principal
evaluation systems;
- Add a definition of “core competencies of effective school
leadership” to Title IX of ESEA to recognize what a principal should know and
be able to do.
MESPA called on Congress to provide new policies
that will strengthen schools and the principalship by providing funding for professional
development for principals, especially focusing on early education and
mentoring, providing funding to develop an effective principal evaluation
system, and recognizing the core competencies of school leadership.
For more
information about NAESP’s advocacy program, visit www.naesp.org/advocacy
Image Gallery:
MESPA Leaders in Washington D.C.
July 2011
  
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