As we move into a new year and celebrate myriad joyous winter holidays, we embrace a spirit of renewal and innovation on behalf of our children. Throughout the year, the American Federation of School Administrators (AFSA), your national union, celebrates and supports you through your local unions. We stand with you as you deal admirably with a dizzying array of issues, including student and educator mental well-being, learning loss, staff recruitment and retention, school climate and safety—and now, controversies surfacing from war in the Middle East.

A major part of our mission continues to be elevating your voice at the federal level, ensuring that school leaders have a seat at the table, as teachers have had for some time. Following up on our first meeting at the White House last year, we have continued building a solid relationship with the U.S. Department of Education (DOE).

In October, we co-hosted a Capitol Hill briefing with the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Association of Secondary School Principals on educational issues from our point of view. AFSA has reinforced our strong relationship with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who voiced his powerful support for public education at our AFSA town hall meeting in the fall, and we have met with members and staff in other congressional offices on key pieces of legislation impacting your schools and lives.

With the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, many of you found yourselves in the middle of controversy, as antisemitism and Islamophobia or other hate-based feelings surfaced at your schools and in your communities. Last month, AFSA members attended a small federal DOE listening session with Secretary Miguel Cardona and Deputy Secretary Cindy Marten on this critical topic, and shared the perspective of school leaders dealing with incidents at a school and district level.

Two weeks ago,I wrote about the need for districts to set clear policies on student walkouts, hate speech and harassment affecting students and staff. Just recently, we added a resource page to the AFSA website with toolkits and articles designed to give you insights on these issues. In the new year, AFSA will hold a webinar on how to build understanding in your schools and how to navigate this political controversy. In the coming weeks, we also will provide your local union leadership with a template to ask superintendents and school boards for defined policy positions on these issues to provide clarity in these difficult and tense situations.

Well before these emerging concerns, we have been supporting those of you who have been dealing with violence in your schools. If the need arises, we can connect your local with Dr. David Schonfeld—a developmental-behavior pediatrician and chair of the National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters—whom we have called upon before to assist in guiding school leaders, staff and senior district leadership. Through our membership in the Coalition to Support Grieving Students, we also will be able to work with you on providing assistance to students mourning a loss.

As AFSA rapidly grows, we increase our power to support your teaching and learning mission, career advancement goals, salary and benefit enhancements, and challenges that interrupt your progress. We are profoundly aware that good working conditions are necessary for good learning conditions.

This year, school leaders in Montgomery County, Maryland, joined AFSA, and we continue to work with other school leaders across the country who have expressed an interest in joining us.

Every time I visit new locals, I’m thrilled by the spirit I feel when school leaders get together with their peers and share ideas. Your contagious exuberance brings me back to my years as an assistant principal and principal. This has been a great year for AFSA and for unions in general, with much-publicized employee victories and a Gallup poll showing 67% of Americans approving of unions.

In 2024, let us continue to foster positive change, advocate for student success and champion a thriving educational community. Our collective commitment to the growth and well-being of our students will shape conscientious citizens and future leaders.

I celebrate your heroic leadership and resilience and I wish you joyous holidays and an inspired new year.

Be well, stay well.