“The need to offer school leaders quality research, resources and training to improve our schools has never been greater.”
The leaders of the nation’s schools—the principals, administrators and supervisors—create and foster environments in which teachers can teach and students can learn. Fulfilling that responsibility on the front lines every day is a daunting challenge. There are no simple guides or prescriptions for meeting that challenge effectively.
Being an effective school leader is complicated and what it takes is changing constantly. More than any other educator, administrators face every conceivable issue and problem confronting children and schools. And what worked yesterday may not work today or tomorrow.
A tremendous amount of research has been done on such topics as pedagogy, curriculum, childhood development and parental involvement. But there has been far less study of how to be a successful school leader. Because of the central role administrators play, that research deficiency must be overcome in order for our nation's school leaders, teachers and students to truly thrive.
That’s where the School Leadership Forum comes in. A project of the American Federation of School Administrators, the School Leadership Forum is a new entity that supports and conducts research to help school leaders do their jobs more effectively. The forum explores what it takes to be a successful school leader, how leaders can be more effective, how to deal with longstanding and emerging challenges and, most importantly—what resources, training and support makes school leaders perform at their best.
But research alone does little good if front-line leaders don’t benefit from it. Therefore, the School Leadership Forum disseminates research findings and information on best practices. And it supports leadership training to ensure administrators can learn from the latest studies. With a mission that combines two critical ingredients—research and training—the School Leadership Forum contributes to the professional lives of administrators. And in turn, the schools, teachers, communities and students they serve every day are the true beneficiaries of its work.
A rare opportunity to help school leaders by underwriting the research, resources and training they need to improve the learning environment in classrooms across America can be realized by becoming a partner in the School Leadership Forum.
As a corporate partner, foundation or nonprofit organization, you can showcase a commitment to public education while putting a spotlight on your brand or product. A partnership opens the door to market and network with school leaders from America's largest urban centers.
With more than 20,000 members, AFSA is the only education union on a national level that represents principals and other school leaders from San Juan to Chicago, from New York to California's Bay Area—we are professionals committed to securing a brighter future for today's students.
Our members include individuals who recommend or make purchasing decisions on instructional programs, administrative operations and other school-based programs.
When you join us as a partner, you have an open door to communicate and connect with these school leaders through AFSA's triennial convention, regional/local meetings, online webinars and other communication channels.
The School Leadership Forum is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization recognized by the IRS. All contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.
To find out more on how to partner with us, contact Nicholas Spina at nspina@AFSAadmin.org.
