WHEREAS, the American Federation of School Administrators has joined with other leading education groups to form the Coalition to Support Grieving Students; and

WHEREAS, coalition members have developed educational materials for the use of educators, parents and community members to deal with all areas of grief and loss; and

WHEREAS, the coalition has set up guidelines on how to respond to the death of a student or staff member; and

WHEREAS a bipartisan Congress overwhelmingly approved the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA); and

WHEREAS, ESSA provides new opportunities for states to use Title II, Part A funds to invest in principal leadership; and

WHEREAS, many states already have taken advantage of the optional 3 percent of Title II, Part A funds for school leadership activities; and

WHEREAS, states also report that Title II, Part A funds make possible the majority of their professional learning activities for teachers; and

WHEREAS, several locals of the American Federation of School Administrators have developed chapters within their locals to serve the needs of retired administrators; and

WHEREAS, retired administrators can serve as valuable resources for active administrators in helping with ongoing issues within the locals; and

WHEREAS, retired administrators benefit from continuing their membership within the American Federation of School Administrators;

WHEREAS, Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States; and

WHEREAS, Puerto Rico has determined that public education is a foundation of our democracy; and

WHEREAS, there are some 300,000 students in more than 1,000 public schools in Puerto Rico; and

WHEREAS, the growing number of school closures is having a profoundly negative impact on the students of Puerto Rico; and

WHEREAS, there are proposals in Puerto Rico to close or privatize more schools; and

WHEREAS, the American Federation of School Administrators currently does not have a recruitment program to encourage public charter school administrators to become members of AFSA; and

WHEREAS, there is a growing number of public charter school administrators who could be eligible for membership in AFSA; and

WHEREAS, public charter school administrators would benefit from membership in our organization;

WHEREAS, public school administrators play a crucial role in educating our nations children; and

WHEREAS, local aspiring teachers and educators understand the educational needs of the local student population; and

WHEREAS, highly qualified teachers and educators should be encouraged to become school administrators; and

WHEREAS, local AFSA members have the talent and experience to act as mentors and coaches for aspiring school administrators;

Education Week reports, the national union for public school principals plans to launch a recruitment program for charter school leaders.