At the start of National Principals Month, the National Association of Secondary School Principals announced ACSA member John Briquelet as one of three finalists for the 2023 NASSP National Principal of the Year award.

Briquelet joins David Arencibia of Texas and Donna Hayward of Connecticut as finalists for the award, which recognizes outstanding secondary school principals’ exemplary contributions to their schools, staff, students and the profession.

Briquelet is currently the founding chancellor of Oxford Preparatory Academy’s new middle school. He is beginning his 34th year as a public educator and his 16th as a secondary principal, and he has served with distinction as the leader of three other campuses, including Whitney High School, U.S. News and World Report’s #1 high school in California and #14 in the nation. While serving the Wildcats, he provided students and staff with impactful anti-bias training and opened access to advanced coursework to all students, thereby creating a more equitable and inclusive school culture that is a model for others across California. Ultimately, he has brought about profoundly positive, systemic change on every campus he has served, improving students’ academic performance, increasing graduation and college admission rates, and reducing suspensions and expulsions. He continues to find great joy in his mission to ensure that every student reaches their potential.

The search for the National Principal of the Year begins every spring as each state principal’s association selects its State Principals of the Year. From this pool of state award winners, a panel of judges selects three finalists.

“Dr. Arencibia, Mr. Briquelet and Ms. Hayward are three exemplary principals who lead their school communities with a laser focus on equity and excellence,” said NASSP CEO Ronn Nozoe, who video called each principal to inform them they were finalists. “From creative strategies to manage behavior to intensive learning supports, these school leaders have built strong cultures that prioritize academic excellence and student well-being. I’m excited to honor them and their colleagues around the country for rising to the challenge of the times in meeting the needs of our students and educators.”

The 2023 NASSP National Principal of the Year will be announced Nov. 10 at a gala in Arlington, Va.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond has announced that he secured an additional $1.4 million in private funding for teachers in California high schools to help deliver financial literacy courses.

California-based nonprofit Next Gen Personal Finance is partnering with the state to provide teacher stipends and professional development for financial literacy. This public–private partnership will train high school teachers, enabling them to offer personal finance electives at their high schools, and a district-matching grant program for personal finance specialists.

Research shows that students who have access to high-quality financial education have better financial outcomes as adults, resulting in less debt, and a higher quality of life. According to a NGPF report, while 70 percent of high school students nationwide have access to a personal finance elective or a guaranteed course, only 26 percent in California do.

Grant funds will be used to deliver professional development workshops to increase teacher confidence to teach the course. Teachers can sign up for these professional development workshops via the NGPF Certification Courses.

Funds will also be used to catalyze access in the five largest public school districts in the state — Los Angeles, San Diego, Fresno, Long Beach and San Francisco. Next Gen Personal Finance is offering a matching grant program to help each district hire a personal finance specialist, who will provide curriculum support and professional development to support educators within the district.

In addition to the NGPF curriculum, other high-quality resources are listed on the CDE’s Grades K–12 Financial Literacy Resources web page.

Customer service is vital for building trust, increasing parent satisfaction and retaining students in K-12 schools, according to a new report from K12 Insight.

“Our nation’s public schools have a lot to lose and it is absolutely critical that districts improve customer service to increase family, student and staff satisfaction,” said Krista Coleman, chief customer officer at K12 Insight. “Every interaction is an opportunity to build trust with stakeholders, and we strongly encourage school districts to read this report because its findings can help to inform a district’s customer service strategies to improve engagement and satisfaction.”

K12 Insight’s National Report on Parent-School Trust and Engagement analyzed survey responses from nearly 450 parents and guardians across the United States who enroll their children in K-12 public schools. The report found a direct correlation between family satisfaction and district-provided customer service: As satisfaction increases, so does trust; and as trust increases, so does the likelihood and frequency of positive recommendations.

The report found that during the 2021-22 school year, 87 percent of parents reached out to their school district more than once — with 44 percent reaching out at least six times.

Although parents are reaching out to school districts, they aren’t always satisfied with the responses from staff. In fact, just over 60 percent of survey participants said there was room for improvement in the helpfulness, timeliness, and courteousness of their customer service experience with the school district. Consequently, the responses from staff that weren’t timely or courteous negatively impacted their level of trust in the district.

Those survey participants who reported being “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with the customer service interactions with school personnel were more likely to say they had higher levels of trust in the district. They were also more likely to award the district a higher Net Promoter Score — meaning they would recommend the district to a family member or friend.

Download the report at https://go.k12insight.com/cx-report-Q3-2022.html.

Apply for classified credentialing funds by December 9

The sum of $68,942,400 remains from the $125 million one-time Proposition 98 General Fund to expand the Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing Program.
Grant awards of up to $4,800 per participant per year over the life of the grant, through June 30, 2026, may be made to funded applicants. Eligible applicants are Local Education Agencies — school districts, county offices of education, or charter schools interested in securing grant funding to recruit and support classified staff who already hold an associate or higher degree to complete a bachelor’s degree and earn a California teaching credential. The Request for Application for this grant opportunity is now available, and proposals must be received at the commission by 5 p.m. Dec. 9, 2022.
Visit the CTC’s grants webpage for more information.