Howard County Middle School Principal Named 2023 NASSP Advocacy Champion Of The Year

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Glenwood Middle School Principal Melissa Shindel has been named the 2023 NASSP Advocacy Champion of the Year.

Shindel started her educational career as a middle school English teacher and has been an educator for 28 years. She told Patch she was excited and surprised to receive the award.

"But also honored and humbled. I work with a great team and feel like we earned this together," Shindel told Patch.

As the NASSP state coordinator, Shindel serves as the lead advocate for the Maryland Association of Secondary School Principals in connection to NASSP.

"As a liaison from NASSP to my state, I work to keep our members informed on NASSP advocacy efforts in a variety of ways, including pushing out action alerts, sending newsletter blasts, attending and sharing out at MASSP board meetings and conferences, and using social media to share and promote important information," Shindel said.

Each year Shindel and a group of school leaders from across the country visit Capitol Hill to meet with federal legislators, advocate for students, staff, school leaders and schools.

"However, not only is it important for me to tell our stories in an effort to bring resources and support to our schools, but it's also important for folks to visit to get a real perspective regarding what it's actually like in our schools today. I have invited and hosted several people to shadow me at school, including folks from the U.S. Department of Education. I have also invited federal legislators: Senator Chris Van Hollen visited my school virtually and met with several classes of students, and Representative Elijah Cummings attended a school event. Most recently in October, Jessica Cook from Senator Ben Cardin's office visited and spent time with me at school," Shindel said.

On the federal level, Shindel has spoken out about educator shortages and the increased need for mental health resources in schools. Locally, Shindel has advocated for adjustments to Maryland's implementation of the new Blueprint for Maryland's Future.

"I believe the Blueprint offers wonderful opportunities for educators and students, but school leaders should have been included in many of the decisions around it and we were not. One such issue is that the Blueprint requires assistant principals to teach in the classroom for at least 20 percent and suggests that principals teach for 10 percent of the school day. As instructional leaders, we are teachers.

"It may not look like traditional teaching in a classroom, but we teach throughout the day, every day, in numerous ways. Given the complex nature of an administrator's job, it will be challenging to implement the Blueprint requirements for teaching as mandated, while also remaining readily available to students, staff, parents and community members who need our assistance or immediate attention, not to mention the numerous other responsibilities that are part of our jobs," Shindel said.

Cultivating relationships with government leaders as a principal ranks high on Shindel's priority list.

"Each school has a story to tell. Either we tell that story or someone else does. Either we have an impact on the policies that govern our schools or folks who are not in our schools will make those decisions for us, without context. Fostering relationships with government leaders can only make our schools healthier and stronger, and more aligned to truly meeting the changing needs of our students, schools, leaders, staffs and communities," Shindel said.