Rhode Island Association of School Principals

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May '09 Reporter Now Available

The May '09 edition of The Reporter is now available for viewing and printing.

The Spotlight falls on the New BEP and

2009 Principals-of-the-Year at the

May 28^th General Membership Meeting

 

The Rhode Island Basic Education Plan (BEP), which had not been reviewed in twenty years, was completely revised and updated this spring.  The new document is shorter, far less detailed and much less prescriptive than its predecessor. However, like the original, the new BEP is certain to guide educational thinking and decision-making at every level for years to come, which makes it an extremely important document.

The May 28^th RIASP General Membership Meeting will feature a presentation about the new BEP from RIDE Deputy Commissioner David Abbott.  Following his presentation, there will time for questions from the audience.  Given the fact that there will be four public hearings on this topic between May 11^th and May 19^th, David could have been forgiven had he declined as unnecessary our invitation for a separate principals’ program.  Obviously, we are very grateful to David for taking the time from his busy schedule, and we applaud his continuing support for school leaders.

Principals who planned to attend one of the BEP hearings (May 11^th at Middletown HS, the 12^th at Davies C & T, the 14^th at South Kingstown HS or the 19^th at the Met School) are still encouraged to do so.  Although the RIASP program on the 28^th will provide the opportunity to ask questions out of the glare of the public eye, the hearings earlier in the month will be a valuable source of information.

Immediately following the presentation by Mr. Abbott, RIASP will conduct its annual awards program where will honor our outstanding principals for 2008-09.  (See pages 4-8 of this newsletter for more information about each winner.)  The awards program is a highlight of any school year, and members are encouraged to stay to recognize this year’s winners.  You are also encouraged to stay for dinner following the awards program.

The May 28^th program will be held at the Radisson Hotel in Warwick starting with registration at 3:30 p.m. 

RIASP Summer Conference to Spotlight

Interventions that Close Achievement Gaps

As we apply the finishing touches to the 2009 RIASP Summer Conference planning, the excitement is growing about this year’s program and our principal speakers.  The topic, “Interventions that Close Achievement Gaps,” promises to provide information that will be helpful to every school leader battling to improve student achievement.  Best of all, the featured speakers may the best we have ever gathered for a single conference.

The Honorable Robert H. Pasternack, Ph.D., the former Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services at the United States Department of Education, will kick things off with a keynote address on Monday.  Dr. Pasternack, a former teacher, Superintendent, and State Department of Education official, will speak on the topic of “The L in RtI:  What Instructional Leaders need to Know about Response to Intervention (RtI).”  Later that morning, Dr. Pasternack, who is currently Senior Vice President for special education at Voyager Expanded Learning, will conduct a breakout session on the topic of “Disproportionality in Special Education: what is it and what to do about it.”  Bob is an outstanding speaker and an acknowledged expert on his topic.  His presentations promise to be both informative and entertaining

We have lined up another prominent figure to deliver the Tuesday morning keynote.  Joe Murphy is an Associate Dean and Professor of Education at Vanderbilt University, Peabody College of Education, a highly regarded expert on the topic of educational leadership and the founding Chair of the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC).  He is also one of the co-creators of the Vanderbilt Assessment of Leadership in Education, commonly knows as “VAL-ED.”  In his keynote, Joe will provide us with some current research on achievement gaps and insight into what school leaders can do to help close those gaps.  Later in a breakout session, Dr. Murphy will explore the topic of teacher leadership, its power to improve a school and the ways principals can bring it to life in their schools.  Joe is an excellent speaker whose keen sense of humor turns even dry academic research into an engaging and enjoyable session.

Jay Engeln, our third keynote speaker, earned a number of accolades during his 28-year career in public education, including national Secondary School Principal-of-the-Year in 2000.  Following a stint with the NASSP Speakers Bureau, Jay is now a part of the IDEA Partnership Advisory Team and the RtI Network Advisory Council.  Jay will tap into his area of expertise in a keynote address designed for a K-12 audience on the broad topic of RtI; later at a breakout session for designed for middle and high school leaders, Jay will address the challenges of implementing RtI at the secondary level.

In addition to our three keynote speakers, we will also feature presenters from a number of local schools who have successfully used interventions of various types to close of achievement gaps.  In response to requests from elementary principals, elementary mathematics interventions will be the focus of multiple sessions.  Those and other breakouts will offer useful ideas that you can bring back to your school in the fall.

It all adds up to a great two-day program that you are sure to find enlightening and enjoyable.  Mark the dates – August 3^rd and 4^th – on the calendar, and plan to join us.