NAESP Radio- The National Association of Elementary School Principals

New brain research has identified the skills that must be developed at the earliest ages to provide children with a foundation for learning success. In this segment our guest discusses how principals can help teachers develop these skills in their students. Deborah Leong is the co-developer with Elena Bodrova of the Tools of the Mind PK and K program. She is Professor Emerita of Developmental Psychology at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She has written numerous books and articles on the development of make-believe play, play and executive function development, and early childhood assessment.

In this segment our guest says that before we can close the achievement gap, we need to rethink our understanding of it. Only after we truly comprehend the factors causing the gap are we prepared to think strategically about what role educators can realistically play in closing it. Freeman Hrabowski has served as President of UMBC (The University of Maryland, Baltimore County) since 1992. His research and publications focus on science and math education, with special emphasis on minority participation and performance. He was named by President Obama to chair the newly created President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans.

In the wake of the tragic shootings at Newtown, conducting school safety reviews can be challenging. Pressure to respond quickly and decisively can lead imprudent, costly, ineffective and unnecessary measures. We have assembled an "A -team" of leading school safety experts to help principals make smart decisions, avoid routine mistakes and determine what's over the top and what's not when making school security decisions. Michael Dorn has worked in the field of school safety for 33 years, has published 26 books on school safety. Dr. Melissa Reeves is a school psychologist and chair of our PREPaRE School Crisis Prevention and Intervention Workgroup. Gregory Thomas is former director of security of New York City Schools. Dr. Gary Mathews is Superintendent of the Newton County Schools in Covington, Georgia. Dr. Nancy Flatt Meador is the Principal of Madison Middle School.

It's now generally established that school leadership is second only to classroom instruction in improving student outcomes. In this segment we look at five key factors that ensure school principal success, how to manage them well and why these key points can make such a profound difference. Jody Spiro is The Wallace Foundation's director of education leadership. She began working at the foundation as senior program officer in 2002 where she has worked on issues of education leadership throughout the country.She is the author of the Leading Change Handbook and Leading Change Step-by-Step: Tactics, Tools, and Tales. .

Much has been added to the curriculum since the first schools were established. In order to keep track of the additions, Jaime Volmer developed a decade-by-decade list of all the academic, social, and health responsibilities that have been heaped upon our schools. Listen and get a better understanding of why educating our children has become so challenging. Jamie Vollmer is president of Vollmer, Inc., a public education advocacy firm working to increase student success by raising public support for America's schools. Jamie is the author of Schools Cannot Do It Alone: Building Public Support for America's Public Schools. He is the 2010 recipient of the Learning and Liberty award presented by the National School Public Relations Association.

Our guest says that character development programs reduce bullying in schools. She offers a practical and proven eight step plan for developing character in students. Bobbi DePorter is president of Quantum Learning Network (QLN), a leading education company dedicated to engaged effective learning that has impacted the lives of over 10 million students. Author of 18 books, Bobbi is a thought leader on effective learning and youth development.

What does it take to create a dynamic and engaging classroom that causes children to want to participate and take responsibility for their own learning? Our guest says the key is to teach like your hair is on fire. Listen in as this award winning teacher explains what makes his classroom so arresting to students. Rafe Esquith has taught at Hobart Elementary School in Los Angeles for twenty-four years. He is the only teacher to have been awarded the president's National Medal of the Arts. His many other honors and awards include the American Teacher Award, Parents magazine As You Grow Award, Oprah Winfrey's Use Your Life Award TM, and People magazine's Heroes Among Us Award.

Our guest points out that educators at the grassroots are rebelling against the current use of standardized test scores. In the absence of a national retreat on standardized testing, how can principals lead the way to moving beyond educating by the numbers?

The national emphasis on improving student performance has placed significant attention of evaluating teacher efficacy. However, our guest suggests that some rethinking is required to get our teacher evaluation process on target and he discusses a promising model.

NAESP's President, Ron Monso,n was invited to the White House to meet with President Obama on the American Jobs Act. In this segment Monson shares with us what we need to know about how this bill will impact us.

Diane Ravitch travels the nation speaking to educators and says that the depth of discouragement in the field is at an all time high and can not be overstated. Why are so many principals demoralized? More importantly how can those who feel this way recover their passion to make a difference?

School culture is critical argues Anthony Muhammad. Anthony believes that without a healthy school culture, no amount of structural change will produce positive results. In this segment we talk about the how principals can transform a toxic school culture.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan talk with NAESP's executive director Gail Connelly on the role of principals in education reform. Duncan shares his thoughts on principal evaluations, managing with limited resources and amending No Child Left Behind.

With the push for accountability in high gear and budget cuts crippling, limiting or eliminating many school arts programs, how do we engender creativity in our students? Our guests provide some guidance for schools that have a commitment to creativity and those that don't.

Leading change is perhaps one of the most challenging things that 21th century principals have to do. Our guest is the best selling author of "How to Change When Change is Hard." In this segment he applies his research to school principals struggling with being an agent of change.