Relay’s National Leadership Programs Gain Momentum

Last week, the Denver Post published an article describing Relay’s National Principals Academy Fellowship (NPAF) program, and its impact in Denver. Now entering its fourth year, NPAF is a year-long intensive professional development program designed for current principals and principal supervisors. The program is unique in its innovative approach to building participants’ instructional leadership skills.

In the article, Denver Principal and NPAF alumnae Kimberly Grayson describes how NPAF helped her to improve outcomes in her school, specifically citing her success bolstering teacher retention from 43 percent to 93 percent in just one year. Grayson’s assistant principals at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Early College are now attending NPAF, continuing to grow the school’s ability to support their students.

Like all Relay programs, NPAF leverages practice and feedback to help principals improve. Sean Precious, instructional superintendent at Denver Public Schools, underscores the importance of this approach, stating, “We’re getting lots of rounds of practice. The same way a basketball team or an orchestra needs practice to get better at what they do. We’ve done so many rounds that it’s just part of what I’m going to do now.”

In the 2016-17 school year, Relay will serve nearly 400 school leaders nationwide, half district and half charter, including 90 school leaders in Denver.

Read the full article to learn more about Relay’s impact in Denver.

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