Have you noticed how fast the K-12 educational landscape is changing? There are new laws, new research, and new approaches (derived from the new laws and research). And then there are the new tools to support those new approaches. It can all be a lot to stay on top of. The good news is that professional associations can help you to keep up. In our last post, we looked at five interesting professional associations for teachers. This time around, we look at five options for administrators.
Associations for Administrators
- Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)
AACE offers international conferences, publications, a premiere digital library of 100,000+ documents, a career center, and other professional growth resources focused on the use of information technology in education. The AACE’s blog posts are more scholarly than conversational in tone, but they’re well worth the effort. To see what we mean, take a look at this review of Innovating Pedagogy, Open University’s annual forecast of educational technology and teaching techniques.
- International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA)
ITEEA counts administrators among its more than 35,000 members in the United States. If you’re interested in the STEM movement, this association is for you. Its STEM Connections e-newsletter is free to the public and is a handy information resource. Members receive the association’s three journals (Technology and Engineering Teacher, Children’s Technology and Engineering, and the Journal of Technology Education), as well as a variety of other publications. ITEEA’s Foundation for Technology and Engineering Educators gives awards and scholarships to support the advancement of technology and engineering education. Plus, you can gain recognition through an honors and awards program that recognizes K-12 programs from states, provinces, and countries that are affiliated with the association.
- International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)
ISTE not only advocates for education technology policies; it also has an award to recognize individuals who do the same at the local, state, regional, and/or international levels. The society provides a robust suite of professional learning resources, including webinars, online courses, consulting services, books, and peer-reviewed journals and publications. Even better, the organization has made some of its webinars, ebooks, podcasts, and other resources available to nonmembers in the website’s Free Resources section. Also check out the organization’s standards for administrators, teachers, students, coaches, and computer science educators.
- The American Association of School Administrators (AASA)
The members of this professional organization include superintendents, senior-level school administrators, and aspiring school-system leaders. This is one of the organizations to join if you want to help shape policy through governance activities and advocacy initiatives.
For professional development, members can access virtual seminars, a National Superintendent Certification Program, an Urban Superintendents Academy, and other programs. Additionally, AASA’s Executive Consultant Program provides consulting services and workshops by nationally recognized experts, and its POWERful Coaching for Powerful Results workshop helps educators improve their coaching skills with colleagues and staff.
- National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) / National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP)
We grouped these two associations together because their services and memberships overlap somewhat.
The NASSP serves middle and high school administrators as well as district personnel. Nonmembers interested in school improvement strategies have free access to Principal Leadership magazine articles, as well as the Leading Success professional learning modules. Other professional development tools include live and on-demand webinars (free to members and available to nonmembers for just $29.95 as of this writing). Also, through its partnership with the McKinsey Academy, the association offers members the McKinsey Management Program for School Leaders, which combines management training and leadership development principles.
The NAESP serves middle and elementary school administrators. Nonmembers have limited access to the articles of its Principal magazine, but you can listen to insightful interviews with leading educators on NAESP Radio. Unlike NASSP, the on-demand webinars and live webinars developed by NAESP are free to nonmembers. Another resource open to nonmembers is the National Panel of New Principals, in which new (first or second year) elementary and middle-level principals participate in surveys and provide each other with support. Like NASSP, the NAESP helps members with legal matters, such as professional liability coverage and advocacy.
We hope you found something new and useful in our top association lists. To stay informed about organizations and other education-related topics, sign up for our blog.