Amanda Karhuse

In December 2021, NASSP released results from a nationally representative survey of principals that found job satisfaction is at an ultimate low with almost 4 out of 10 principals (38%) expecting to leave the profession in the next three years. The pandemic, political tensions, and limited guidance and resources were cited as major factors.

In a year when students staged walkouts to show their support for gun control and young adults ages 18–29 greatly increased their participation in the midterm elections (31 percent in 2018 versus 20 percent in 2014, according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement), it’s not surprising that student activism was on everyone’s minds in 2018. But student voice and engagement aren’t new concepts to principals or to NASSP.

In my first week at NASSP over 12 years ago, I was briefed on a new initiative to write a bill that would authorize and expand the federal Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy (SRCL) program.