Concurrent Sessions

Every school leader has specific interests and specific professional development needs. The NASSP Convention is structured around the three core areas of Breaking Ranks II and Breaking Ranks in the Middle. Each session will focus on at least one of these concepts, which are central to improved student performance:

• Collaborative Leadership and Professional Learning Communities (CLPL)
• Personalizing the School Environment (PSE)
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (CIA)

Within these core areas, sessions will focus on the needs of new and experienced principals as well as assistant principals, middle level educators, and urban educators—making this a can't miss professional development experience.

Middle Level
Join together with other middle level leaders to gain knowledge and skills that will help you address the unique needs of young adolescents and the schools that serve them. Well-known educators from the middle level will present topics such as advisory, leadership, data-driven instruction, literacy, service learning, and more.

Assistant Principals
Explore the many facets of the role that an assistant principal plays in a school. Meet with colleagues and improve your skills in areas such as building a positive school climate, discipline, special education, data management, instructional leadership, and more. Designed for both aspiring principals and career assistant principals.

Urban
Discover new ways to meet the unique challenges of being a school leader in an urban setting. Network and learn with others who also work with the diversity, large populations, and poverty often found in a metropolitan area. Topics to be covered include leadership for school improvement, recruiting and mentoring teachers, closing the achievement gap, working with ELL students, and more.

Technology
Tune up your technology leadership with sessions that discuss Web 2.0 technologies in instruction, expanding learning opportunities in virtual environments, the application of learning management systems like Moodle, and other important trends.