National Principal Academy Fellowship
A fellowship program that cultivates school leaders to become exceptional instructional leaders and transform their schools.
Program Participants
The National Principal Academy Fellowship (NPAF) is for principals who are looking to gain in-depth training to launch the school year strong and continue to level up their instructional, cultural, and strategic leadership practices throughout the year. Participants work in a variety of K-12 settings, including traditional school districts, independent schools, and charter management organizations across the U.S.
Program Focus
Research has shown that school leadership matters, influencing student outcomes in significant ways. NPAF develops school leaders’ skills in culture and instruction, helping leaders to align their decisions to the needs of their students, staff, and communities. We place a particular focus on improving outcomes for Tier 1 instruction.
We delve deeply into areas such as:
- Centering Equity: Strengthening awareness and strategies to systematically increase opportunity and remove barriers for historically underserved students.
- Instructional Rigor: Building deep knowledge of the rigor required by grade level standards, and supporting teachers in aligned instructional planning that meets students’ needs.
- Coaching: Building skills in observation and coaching to better support all teachers.
- Data-Informed Instruction: Leading teachers to analyze student work, identify gaps in student understanding, and then plan effective instruction to close those gaps.
- Strategic Planning: Planning for implementation, monitoring progress, and practicing strategies to close gaps.
Program Experience
NPAF is a one-year program consisting of an 6-day hybrid (in-person and virtual) Summer Intensive, followed by three Intersessions (two in person, one virtual) throughout the year. Based on a cohort model, leaders learn alongside their colleagues from across the country, including participation in Practice Clinics Learning Teams and submission of job-embedded assessments.
Participants will benefit from:
- Expert faculty: Learn from experienced practitioners who have demonstrated effectiveness in the field.
- Feedback: Practice new skills and receive regular feedback via video assessments and learning teams.
- A network of peers: Join a national network of instructional leaders who can support each other as they implement their Relay learning and problem-solve critical challenges.
Optional:
Implementation Coaching
School districts can deepen their leaders’ learning with additional support from a Relay leadership coach. This service includes:
- 8 hours of virtual coaching
- An in-person site visit to collaboratively observe school culture and classroom instruction
- Team debrief and strategic planning session
Participants will choose to focus on a one instructional priority, such as starting the new year off strong, deepening academic rigor, ensuring student success, or planning for next year.
About Partnership
Ready to get started? Check out The Partnership Process for next steps and the FAQ page for answers to common questions.
Program Schedule
The National Principal Academy Fellowship (NPAF) begins alongside the National Principal Supervisors Academy (NPSA) with the Summer Intensive, enabling alignment within teams.
NPAF participants will have the option of attending the Summer Intensive in either June or July. The time commitment and the content are the same for each cohort.
Summer Intensive
Option 1: June Cohort | New Orleans, LA
June 17, 18 and 20, 2025
Virtual Sessions
Participants will attend two, half-day sessions in this date range
June 23 - 27, 2025
In-Person Sessions
Option 2: July Cohort | College Park, MD
July 9 - 11, 2025
Virtual Sessions
Participants will attend two, half-day sessions in this date range
July 14 - 18, 2025
In-Person Sessions
Intersessions
Oct. 15 - 16, 2025
Intersession 1 | College Park, MD
Jan. 26 - Feb. 5, 2026
Intersession 2 | Virtual
Participants will attend four, half-day sessions in this date range.
May 7 - 8, 2026
Intersession 3 | New Orleans, LA
Program Cost
$16,500 per participant
The program fee covers:
- High-quality professional development from experienced leaders
- All course materials, licensing fees, and online access to electronic versions of resources
- Hotel room on in-person session dates
- Breakfast, lunch, and snacks during in-person sessions
Additional costs apply for the optional local intersessions and implementation coaching.
Deadlines
Partner organizations should request seats for their leaders by the following deadlines. Seats are filled on a first-come, first-served basis and may fill up quickly.
Seat Request Form Opens: January 8, 2025
June Cohort - Seat Request Deadline: May 23, 2025
July Cohort - Seat Request Deadline: June 13, 2025
New to Relay? Check out The Partnership Process page, FAQs, and contact us. We work closely with school systems to select the best program for their needs.
Ready to request seats? Check back here in January!
District leadership saw the gains we were having and decided to enroll all middle school principals in Relay’s National Principal Academy Fellowship program.
- Michelle Hammonds, Principal, Weis Middle School, Galveston ISD, Galveston, TX
Michelle's Story
“One of the biggest successes has been creating meaningful exit tickets aligned to the objectives of the day and student exemplars. In the past, exit tickets might have been a simple thumbs up or thumbs down.
However, through our work with Relay, our focus on exemplars took this to the next level, which was the missing piece. District leadership saw the gains we were having and decided to enroll all middle school principals in Relay’s National Principal Academy Fellowship
program to ensure it becomes a common practice across all schools.”
- Michelle Hammonds, Principal, Weis Middle School, Galveston ISD, Galveston, TX
Read more about how Relay partnered with Galveston ISD to improve instruction
Start the Conversation
Are you new to Relay? Or have partnered with Relay in the past, but have questions? We would love to discuss your team's needs and identify which programs would be a good fit. Submit the interest form below to schedule a conversation or pose a question.
Request Seats for NPAF
Relay will open the Seat Request Form for our School Year 2025-2026 programs on Jan. 8th, 2025. Check back then!