February 2023

As state leaders continue to weigh the best use of federal funding to improve education in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a major new research report by the Learning Policy Institute (LPI) and The Wallace Foundation underscores the importance of federal, state and district policies that foster the availability and quality of principal preparation and professional development programs. The research finds that the preparation and professional development a school principal receives not only shapes their efficacy as a leader, but are also associated with positive outcomes for teachers and students. Read more.

Black History Month opens the door for us as a nation to take on difficult issues. Truthful and honest history can open the door to understanding and caring. Read more.

Rediscover the joys of sound with the Union Plus Hearing program. Union families enjoy exclusive savings on hearing aids, virtual screenings and more.

Researchers at UCLA and the University of California, Riverside released a nationally representative survey of 682 high school principals, making clear that political conflicts impacting schools are pervasive and growing, with more than two-thirds of principals surveyed reporting substantial political conflict over hot-button issues. Almost half (45%) of principals said the amount of community-level conflict during the 2021–2022 school year was “more” or “much more,” than prior to the pandemic. Only 3% said it was less. Read more.

AFSA joined other organizations with a message targeted to congressional leadership on the debt ceiling. It was published as a full-page ad in Politico this month.

The United States had 14.285 million union members in calendar 2022, 273,000 more than the year before, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in its annual survey. Read more.