For Immediate Release                                                                      Contact:  Jay Midwood
June 23, 2009                                                                      Director of Communications, CSSR
                                                                                                                          401-828-0077
                                                                                                              jaymidwood@cssr.us
                                
Breaking Ranks™ 2010 Secondary School Showcase
In Conjunction with NASSP’s 2010 Annual Convention & Exposition
March 12–14, 2010; Phoenix, Arizona
(link to Printable PDF version, if desired)

Reston, VA – June 23, 2009 – The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and The Center for Secondary School Redesign (CSSR) are proud to announce the selected secondary schools scheduled to present at the Breaking Ranks 2010 Secondary School Showcase as part of NASSP’s 2010 Annual Convention & Exposition March 12–14, 2010 in Phoenix, Arizona.  NASSP and CSSR are excited to collaborate for a second time in offering this unique and highly informative national showcase featuring school leaders, teachers, and students from the nation’s top middle and high schools.

This one-day Secondary School Showcase will take place on Thursday, March 11, 2010 from 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona.  “This showcase provides a wonderful opportunity to learn from and interact with principals, teacher leaders, and students representing exemplary middle-level and high school practices.  This event is a tremendous value-added benefit to the NASSP’s Convention & Exposition,” says Dr. Gerald N. Tirozzi, NASSP’s Executive Director.

The Secondary School Showcase convenes 18 of the most innovative and successful high-performing middle and high schools from across the country to share their programs and strategies for success.  “Schools are chosen to present on the basis of their outstanding reputations for quality and innovative practices with challenging populations,” says Joe DiMartino, President of CSSR.  “They share their stories of implementing Breaking Ranks II™ and Breaking Ranks in the Middle™, the guidelines created by the National Association for Secondary School Principals for improving the nation’s schools.”

Recommendations and strategies discussed at this year’s Secondary School Showcase will include dual enrollment, personalized learning, learning beyond the classroom, advisory programs, project-based learning, student involvement, professional learning communities, teaming initiatives, small learning communities and other school redesign topics and programs.

Middle and High Schools scheduled to present include: Brockton High School, MA; Cashman Middle School, NV; Center Grove High School, IN; Forest Grove High School, OR; George C. Marshall High School, VA; Hopkins West Junior High School, MN; Kelvyn Park High School, IL; Lehman Alternative Community School, NY; Manor New Technology High School, TX; Metro Early College High School, OH; Metro Tech High School, AZ; Morgan County High School, GA; North Royalton Middle School, OH; Phoenix Union Bioscience High School, AZ; Sacramento Met High School, CA; Seaford Middle School, DE; Stelle Claughton Middle School, TX; Withrow University High School, OH.

The student-based Secondary School Showcase offers 90-minute interactive presentations, hot topic forums, plenty of team collaboration time, and informal discussions that provide participants an opportunity to engage with school representatives, students, and other educators from around the country.  Secondary school administrators are highly encouraged to bring teams of educators from their school to learn new techniques and strategies that will motivate and inspire the redesign process.  Past participants have called the Secondary School Showcase “powerful,” “incredibly informative,” and “some of the best professional development I’ve ever received.”

This Secondary School Showcase is a separate registration cost from the three-day NASSP Convention and registration is required to attend.  For information on the annual NASSP Convention visit www.nasspconvention.org. For information or other questions on the school showcase, please contact Jay Midwood, Director of Communications and Student Involvement for CSSR by calling 401-828-0077 or via email at jaymidwood@cssr.us

About NASSP

In existence since 1916, the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the preeminent organization of and national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and aspiring school leaders from across the United States and more than 45 countries around the world. NASSP’s mission is to promote excellence in school leadership. The National Honor Society, National Junior Honor Society, National Elementary Honor Society, and National Association of Student Councils are all programs of NASSP.  For more information about NASSP, located in Reston, Virginia, visit www.principals.org  or call 703-860-0200.

About CSSR

Founded in 2005 by Joe DiMartino, The Center for Secondary School Redesign, Inc. (CSSR) has become a leading provider of ground breaking technical assistance to support both policy change and change leadership at the district and school level leading to a richer secondary school experience for all youth.  CSSR provides education leaders with the tools and strategies to create schools that have collaborative leadership, are professional learning communities that personalize the school culture, and have student-centered instruction, assessment, and curriculum.   CSSR has been designated by NASSP as the primary technical assistance provider of Breaking Ranks II™ and Breaking Ranks in the Middle™. For more information, visit www.cssr.us. 

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