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Black Principals Network powered by Surge Institute

The Black Principals Network is dedicated to the community, restoration, professional development, and liberation of Black principals across the country.

The overarching goal of BPN is to co-create a community of Black principals in pursuit of the career-bolstering and self-sustaining practices that are often not prioritized in this impactful yet demanding role.

08/27/2026

🚨 LAST CALL! 🚨

Do you want to get your work, organization, or business in front of a powerful network of Black educational leaders?

There are only a few days left to secure your ad space in the Summit Chronicle—the official event program for the BPN Eastern Regional Leadership Summit in Baltimore!

Whether you are looking to:

✨ Promote your education consulting business

✨ Recruit top-tier talent for your district

✨ Send a personal shoutout to a fellow Black school leader

This is the place to be seen!

⏳ The deadline to secure your space and submit artwork is this Monday, August 31st!

Don't miss out.

More info: https://sites.google.com/surgeinstitute.org/eastern-rls/purchase-ad-space

08/26/2026

Today is ! 🌑 We are flooding the timeline with a unified message for every Black school leader: You do not have to do this work in isolation.

You pour into your students, your staff, and your school communities every single day—but who is pouring into you? The Black Principals Network (BPN) was built specifically to be your unapologetic space to restore, strategize, and connect.

It is time to get your next wind. Join us in Baltimore, MD on October 9-10 for the Eastern Regional Leadership Summit! This 2-day intensive is designed exclusively for sitting Black school and district leaders who are ready to reimagine what is possible.

Come for the actionable strategy. Stay for the restorative community. 🤎 Grounded in Truth. Forward in Strategy.

Secure your seat before registration closes on September 11th! 👇🏾 🔗 https://sites.google.com/surgeinstitute.org/eastern-rls/home

08/24/2026

The category is: JOY! ✨

Black school leader JOY.

Back-to-school season JOY.

Being fully seen in a BPN space JOY.

That's it. That's the post.

Be in the space: https://sites.google.com/surgeinstitute.org/eastern-rls/home

08/19/2026

"The work is sacrificial, but I am not the sacrifice." 🤎

When we hosted our last Southern Regional Leadership Summit in February, the feedback from our Black school leaders confirmed exactly why we do this work.

You give everything to your school communities, but who is pouring into you? If you are feeling the weight of the principal seat, it's time to get your next wind.

Join the Black Principals Network for our Eastern Regional Leadership Summit in Baltimore, MD on October 9-10.

Come for the actionable strategy. Stay for the restorative community. Grounded in truth, forward in strategy.

Secure your seat before registration closes on September 11th! 👇🏾 🔗 https://sites.google.com/surgeinstitute.org/eastern-rls/home

08/17/2026

✨We have TWO panels we need your vote for!! ✨
Vote by August 23rd

👉🏾Restoration Is Retention: Redesigning How Black Leaders Lead
Districts invest heavily in recruiting Black school leaders while struggling to retain them. The response to burnout is usually another wellness initiative aimed at helping individuals cope, not redesigning the conditions in which they lead. The Black Principals Network has taken a different approach. Former principal and now BPN Program Director Dalonte Burns joins a fellow Black principal to explore why restoration is not a wellness strategy. It is leadership infrastructure. Together they examine how community, coaching, and intentional restoration reshape whether Black leaders stay.

Vote here: https://participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sxsw27/community-voting-edu/page/community-voting/session/1784914135605001sN4r
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👉🏾The Job We Keep Asking Principals to Do No Longer Exists
For decades, we have prepared better principals for a job that no longer exists. Today's school leaders are expected to be instructional experts, mental health responders, crisis managers, talent developers, community organizers, and political navigators, yet the role itself remains designed for another era. The solution is not asking leaders to become more resilient. It is redesigning the work. Drawing on a national network of 350+ Black school leaders, this session introduces five design shifts that make leadership sustainable, effective, and aligned with the realities of modern schools.

https://participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sxsw27/community-voting-edu/page/community-voting/session/1785106447926001VmBR

08/13/2026

Meet the Main Stage Speakers of the Eastern Regional Leadership Summit | Baltimore | October 9-10

The Eastern Regional Leadership Summit is an intentional experience centered on being Grounded in Truth and moving Forward in Strategy. Today, we are proud to announce our final Main Stage speaker, completing our official summit lineup.

Featured speaker:
Dr. Nadia Bennett "Becoming the Kind of Leader Systems Can't Shake" This session invites leaders to move from the system they can't control to the self they can. We will explore the difference between your Locus of Control and your Sphere of Influence, and why so many leaders spend their energy fighting battles that were never theirs to win alone. Through honest reflection and practical assessment, participants will examine three critical awareness gaps that keep leaders stuck: self-awareness, awareness of others, and awareness of skill. This isn't a session about fixing systems, it's a session about becoming the kind of leader systems can't shake.

Our official lineup is complete. Secure your spot today to learn from these incredible leaders.

Registration is open and space is limited. https://sites.google.com/surgeinstitute.org/eastern-rls/speakers-sessions

08/11/2026

Meet the Main Stage Speakers of the Eastern Regional Leadership Summit | Baltimore | October 9-10

The Eastern Regional Leadership Summit is an intentional experience centered on being Grounded in Truth and moving Forward in Strategy. Today, we are excited to announce our next Main Stage speaker.

Featured speaker:
Aquabah Gonney

"Joy as Active Resistance" -For generations, Black school leaders have carried schools on their backs, often leaving little for themselves. Inspired by the ancestral understanding that joy is an act of resistance, this session invites leaders to reclaim joy as a core leadership practice. Participants will learn to refuse exhaustion as the cost of excellence and reject survival as the measure of success. Through honest reflection, you will create a personalized leadership plan to protect your humanity and sustain your leadership.

Stay tuned for our final Main Stage speaker announcement!

Registration is open and space is limited. https://sites.google.com/surgeinstitute.org/eastern-rls/speakers-sessions

08/10/2026

Meet TWO Main Stage Speakers of the Eastern Regional Leadership Summit | Baltimore | October 9-10

The Eastern Regional Leadership Summit is an intentional experience centered on being Grounded in Truth and moving Forward in Strategy. We have FOUR main stage speakers! Today, we are thrilled to announce our highly anticipated Main Stage fireside chat.

Featured speakers:
TaraShaun Gipson & Sharif El-Mekki

"Charting the Course”-- Before leaders can chart a course forward, they must confront the truth of the waters they navigate. In this candid fireside chat, TaraShaun Gipson and Sharif El-Mekki will address the realities shaping today’s school leadership: political polarization, public scrutiny, and competing demands. Drawing on decades of experience, they will explore how to stay grounded in values and lead with strategy rather than reaction. This is an invitation to align around what matters most and mobilize collective power.

Stay tuned for our next Main Stage speaker announcement!

Registration is open and space is limited. More Info Below:
https://sites.google.com/surgeinstitute.org/eastern-rls/speakers-sessions

08/06/2026

Part 3: Meet the Speakers of the Eastern Regional Leadership Summit | Greater Baltimore | October 9-10

The Eastern Regional Leadership Summit is anchored in four intentional pillars—Anchor, Steward, Design, and Mobilize—shaping an experience centered on being Grounded in Truth and moving Forward in Strategy.
Design focuses on intentionally structuring the systems and teams that drive our schools forward. This pillar explores how to build cohesive leadership teams and embed joy and excellence into the daily fabric of the school environment.

Featured speakers:
Noelani Gabriel Holt & Robyn Milliner
"I Am Because We Are: Building Cohesive Leadership Teams For Sustainable School Improvement" Sustaining the complex work of the principalship requires leadership that builds collective capacity and shares responsibility. Grounded in the principles of culturally responsive leadership, participants will learn a practical framework for building cohesive leadership teams rooted in trust, shared purpose, and collective accountability to advance equitable student success.

Troy H. Wilson, II
"The Joy Advantage: Designing School Systems Where Learning, Belonging, and Excellence Thrive" In high-performing schools, joy and academic excellence are often treated as competing priorities. Yet joyful, affirming learning environments are not a distraction from rigorous instruction—they are a critical condition for it. Participants will explore practical strategies for embedding rituals, routines, and traditions into existing systems to develop a tailored, yearlong Joy Calendar for their schools.

Together, these sessions equip leaders to design sustainable systems rooted in shared purpose, collective capacity, and unapologetic joy.

Stay tuned for information on our final pillar!
Registration is open and space is limited. https://sites.google.com/surgeinstitute.org/eastern-rls/speakers-sessions

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