Resources for Principal Leadership
MESPA has teamed up with Educational Research Service (ERS) to bring you the Research Gateway (above): an education search engine provided to benefit MESPA members. This Gateway, which updates weekly, acts like a spam filter with a quality guarantee—ready to get you up to speed quickly. Experienced ERS researchers have combed the Web and electronic libraries and databases to find the top 10 articles or reports on the topics most important to school leaders. Many of the articles are absolutely FREE, and ERS members will receive significant discounts on others! New topics are emerging often, so keep coming back!

The Research Gateway is on target—others miss the mark. MESPA knows school leaders have too little time and too much information. By offering the Research Gateway, we provide only the most trusted and targeted information on the hot topics you need. We save you hours of needless searching and sorting through the thousands, even millions of hits you get from Google or other search engines. Experience the Research Gateway today.


MESPA Minnesota Bullying Prevention Initiative
Bullying is a serious issue that affects students’ health, the school climate, academic achievement, and school liability. According to the 2007 Minnesota Student Survey, 29 percent of students reported they had been bullied once a week or more often, and 55 percent of sixth grade students reported having been teased or excluded by others in the past month. In the 2006-2007 school year, there were 857 incidents of bullying resulting in out-of-school suspension or expulsion. Through a partnership with the Hazelden Foundation, MESPA offers Olweus®, the premier bullying prevention resource.  



NAESP Standards for What Principals Should Know and Be Able To Do
The National Association of Elementary School Principals' (NAESP) guide, Leading Learning Communities: Standards for What Principals Should Know and Be Able To Do, presents the voices of elementary and middle level principals stating that everything a principal does in school must be focused on ensuring the learning of adults and students. The guide identifies six standards that together characterize instructional leadership in schools.



INVESTMN public relations materials
Public relations is a crucial component leading to the success of school leaders and their school communities. INVESTMN is a communication partnership intended to teach Minnesotans about the accomplishments, risks, and challenges of public education. These public relations materials were developed for MESPA by Ark Associates. Glean what you can from the articles. Copy and distribute them in your educational communities as you see fit. Please use your influence to educate our communities about the needs and state of public education.


ResearchWorks: The University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development publishes ResearchWorks monthly during the academic year.  ResearchWorks reports on discoveries with practical implications for public policy and successful schools. For a complete archive of College of Education and Human Development publications, including past ResearchWorks and the triennial magazine, Connect, click here.


K12@U (at www.k12.umn.edu) makes it easy to find exciting opportunities for the K-12 community at University of Minnesota locations across the state.  Educators can find quality professional development based on the latest research, or unique classroom resources. Families can plan the perfect summer of camps and campus visits, or the innovative after-school activity that will spark a child's interest in learning. It is designed to offer easy access to more than 180 activities, courses, and programs at the University that are available to the K-12 community—a one-stop shop for students, parents, educators, and others interested in the U’s support for preK-12 education across Minnesota. Visitors will find a site that allows them to designate their specific interests as a starting point to search the database of an enormous smorgasbord of offerings:  everything from creative programs to help teachers expand their skills and find new resources, to University music, science, art and just plain fun classes and camps for children.


Minnesota Learning Commons: online education resources
Minnesota’s three public education systems have joined to create the Minnesota Learning Commons, a site that will make it easier for parents, teachers and students to access online courses, programs and digital resources. The partnership involves the University of Minnesota, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, and the Minnesota Department of Education. When fully realized, the Minnesota Learning Commons will provide access to high-quality educational materials, online courses and programs, services and technology tools for Minnesota’s students, educators and parents.  Bookmark this Web site since new information will be posted regularly.





Get Acrobat Reader  MESPA_Research_Gateway_.pdf  
What is the Research Gateway? Share this informational flier with your principal colleagues.



IN THIS SECTION

Did You Know?
View the updated Did You Know? video.  "While globalization and 'flat world' factors have downsides just like other societal shifts, the video focuses on the positive benefits and on doing what we can to help children learn and grow so that they may become successful digital, global citizens."


Center for Comprehensive School Reform
Visit the Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement Web site for monthly electronic newsletters on school reform and improvement. The center is funded by the  U.S. Department of Education, under the mission to "help schools organize, plan, implement, and sustain improvement."



Mission: The Minnesota Elementary School Principals' Association is dedicated to promoting and improving education for children and youth, strengthening the role as educational leader for elementary and middle level principals, and collaborating with partners in education to assist in achieving these goals.

Leading schools toward excellence through the MESPA vision to be the premiere resource for preparing today's principals for tomorrow and a strong leading voice for public education.

Minnesota Elementary School Principals' Association
1667 North Snelling Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108
651.999.7310     MN toll free 800.642.6807    
Fax: 651.999.7311     E-mail: mespa@mespa.net