Black Principals Network powered by Surge Institute

05/25/2026

This Memorial Day, BPN is honoring both the fallen and the forgotten history of this national tradition. 🕊️✨

Did you know that the earliest recorded Memorial Day commemoration was organized by newly freed Black Americans?

On May 1, 1865, in Charleston, South Carolina, a community of roughly 10,000 freed slaves, Black schoolchildren, pastors, and Union regiments came together. Together, they gave a proper burial to over 250 Union soldiers who had died at a Confederate prison camp, creating the "Martyrs of the Race Course" cemetery. They built a fence, walked in a procession singing spirituals, and blanketed the graves with flowers.

Historians note that this beautiful act of remembrance gave birth to the American tradition we practice today. While this vital piece of history was pushed to the margins for decades, we refuse to let it be forgotten.

This Memorial Day, BPN honors the fallen heroes of our past and celebrates the profound cultural impact of the Black trailblazers who taught a nation how to remember. 🌹🕊️

🔗 Read the full history via :

Historians like the Pulitzer Prize winner David Blight have tried to raise awareness of freed slaves who decorated soldiers' graves in 1865

05/21/2026

“It's like a superhero convention. All the superheroes came together… and it's like, 'Wow, I'm here with all the superheroes. Oh, I'm a superhero, too.'” 🦸🏾‍♀️✨

For many Black school leaders, finding a collective space to recharge, connect, and just be those superheroes can be incredibly rare. But we know that students deserve leaders who are energized, supported, and ready to show up for them every single day.

That is exactly the energy and community we are bringing to Greater Baltimore for our final gathering of the year: the BPN Eastern Regional Leadership Summit!

If you are ready to get in the room, find your collective space, and recharge your superpowers alongside fellow leaders, we want to see you there.

Tap the link below to fill out our interest form! You'll be the very first to get event details, speaker announcements, and early registration alerts.

🔗 Complete the Interest Form: https://sites.google.com/surgeinstitute.org/eastern-rls/complete-interest-form

05/18/2026

🚨 Now Accepting Speaker Proposals 🚨
This video captures the energy, honesty, brilliance, and community that filled our last regional gathering and now, we’re preparing to do it again at the 2026 Eastern Regional Leadership Summit.
The Eastern Summit will bring together school leaders from across the region for two days of meaningful conversations, leadership development, wellness, collaboration, and community centered learning designed specifically for the realities of leading schools today.
And we’re looking for speakers who are ready to pour into this community.
Our Speaker RFP is officially OPEN for leaders, facilitators, and practitioners who can offer engaging, impactful sessions rooted in equity, sustainability, innovation, leadership, and the lived experiences of school leaders.
If you have something meaningful to share, we want to hear from you.
🎤 Submit your proposal and be part of this powerful experience.
-------------------------
Eastern Regional Leadership Summit
🗓 October 9–10, 2026
📍 Greater Baltimore, Maryland
👉 RFP and Summit Information:
🚨 Now Accepting Speaker Proposals 🚨
This video captures the energy, honesty, brilliance, and community that filled our last regional gathering and now, we’re preparing to do it again at the 2026 Eastern Regional Leadership Summit.
The Eastern Summit will bring together school leaders from across the region for two days of meaningful conversations, leadership development, wellness, collaboration, and community centered learning designed specifically for the realities of leading schools today.
And we’re looking for speakers who are ready to pour into this community.
Our Speaker RFP is officially OPEN for leaders, facilitators, and practitioners who can offer engaging, impactful sessions rooted in equity, sustainability, innovation, leadership, and the lived experiences of school leaders.
If you have something meaningful to share, we want to hear from you.
🎤 Submit your proposal and be part of this powerful experience.
-------------------------
Eastern Regional Leadership Summit
🗓 October 9–10, 2026
📍 Greater Baltimore, Maryland
👉 RFP and Summit Information:
https://sites.google.com/surg.../eastern-rls/rfp-information

Watch the recap video here: YouTube recap video
https://youtu.be/w-ZPp3S-SoI?si=pWq44nUKJflrVnSQ
Watch the recap video here: YouTube recap video
https://youtu.be/w-ZPp3S-SoI?si=pWq44nUKJflrVnSQ

The Black Principals Network Southern Regional Leadership Summit hosted in Atlanta, GALearn more about Surge: https://www.surgeinstitute.org/Donate: https://...

05/11/2026

The Black Principals Network (BPN) is accepting proposals for presenters for our Eastern Regional Leadership Summit, which will take place in Greater Baltimore, Maryland, from October 9th to October 10th, 2026.

Guided by the theme, Grounded in Truth. Forward in Strategy, this gathering creates a brave, curated space for Black principals to name the realities of this moment, strengthen the systems that sustain the principal seat, and move with shared strategy across the region. We're planning to offer a variety of dynamic, engaging, and thought-provoking sessions focused on topics that matter most to Black school leaders.

Presenting at the BPN Regional Leadership Summit is a unique opportunity to showcase your expertise, elevate your voice, and share best practices with a national audience of Black school leaders and district leaders who are committed to empowering students and advancing equity in education. Our goal is to create transformative spaces where participants can learn, lead, and leave with actionable strategies that improve practice, strengthen schools, and sustain leadership longevity.

Proposal submissions are due by Friday July 10, 2026.

Visit the RFP Guide: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AWHrdKsASusYP_8YAcGgh0tXJBl9cXAg/view?usp=sharing

More information about the summit: https://sites.google.com/surgeinstitute.org/eastern-rls/home

05/10/2026

Happy Mother’s Day to the mothers raising, loving, guiding, protecting, and showing up every day, often in ways the world never fully sees. 💐

Today, we also hold space for the people who may experience this day with tenderness, grief, longing, or mixed emotions.

To those missing their mothers.

To mothers grieving the loss of a child.

To those longing to become mothers.

To those navigating complicated relationships with motherhood or their families.

To the aunties, grandmothers, mentors, godmothers, and community caretakers who mother through love and presence.

To the single mothers carrying so much on their own.

To the mothers who are exhausted, healing, surviving, and still showing up.

We see you today too.

May this day meet you with gentleness, care, love, and whatever you need most.

05/07/2026

Today, we’re celebrating a leader whose impact continues to reach far beyond the walls of her school. 💫

Congratulations to Nicole Spicer, TLC24 Alum, on receiving the 2026 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Leadership from Golden Apple Foundation.

The Golden Apple Award recognizes exceptional school leaders across Illinois who are creating meaningful impact in their schools, fostering strong communities, and helping students thrive through innovative and transformative leadership. It is one of the state’s most respected honors for educators and school leaders.

From the moment her name was nominated, there was no question about the impact she’s made. Fellow leaders, colleagues, and members of her BPN community showed up to celebrate a principal who leads with intention, heart, and deep commitment to young people.

Nicole, we are so proud of you and grateful for the way you continue to lead, serve, and inspire. This recognition is so well deserved. 👏🏾🖤

05/06/2026

Next stop, EAST COAST! 🦀✨

We are thrilled to announce the dates and location for the Black Principals Network Eastern Regional Leadership Summit!

This will be our FINAL summit of the year, and we are closing it out strong! Join us for an intensive 1.5-day experience specifically curated to equip, energize, and elevate Black school leaders through radical restoration and shared strategy.

Registration officially opens in June, but you can get ahead of the curve right now. Fill out our interest form today to be the very first to receive updates, speaker announcements, and early registration alerts!

🔗 Complete the Interest Form:

https://sites.google.com/surgeinstitute.org/eastern-rls/complete-interest-form

👉 Visit our microsite for the summit: https://sites.google.com/surgeinstitute.org/eastern-rls/home

05/04/2026

Education is the practice of freedom, and our teachers are the frontline facilitators of that freedom. 💡

Happy from the Black Principals Network!

As school leaders, we are tasked with sustaining the systems that make learning possible, but our teachers are the heartbeat of that work. From designing culturally responsive lessons to cultivating spaces of radical belonging, you are doing the heavy lifting that changes the trajectory of our students' lives.

To the teachers who partner with us to disrupt the status quo and elevate excellence: We appreciate your brilliance today, and every day. We could not lead without you.

👉 Tag a teacher you are proud of below !!

05/01/2026

For School Principals Day, our Executive Director, Tarashaun R., shared a powerful reflection on what leadership really looks like—especially the kind that happens quietly, behind closed doors.

In “The Leader Behind the Door,” she challenges us to think beyond titles and visible outcomes, and instead honor the emotional labor, decision-making, and responsibility that leaders carry every day. At its core, the piece reminds us that leadership is not just about authority—it’s about stewardship, care, and showing up for people in ways that aren’t always seen or celebrated.

Today, we recognize and appreciate school leaders who hold so much for their communities. Your impact reaches far beyond what’s visible.

Read here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/leader-behind-door-what-we-owe-people-who-hold-our-tarashaun-r--nelrc?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&utm_campaign=share_via

04/30/2026

Tomorrow is National School Principals Day, a moment to pause and recognize the leaders who carry so much of our schools every single day. Principals are often the steady presence behind the scenes, making decisions, supporting staff, responding to students, and holding entire communities together with care and intention. Their work is constant, complex, and deeply impactful, even when it goes unseen. As we approach tomorrow, we invite you to take a moment to acknowledge the principal in your life.

Send them message, share a note of appreciation, or simply let them know their leadership matters.