AWSP News for August 23, 2017
Welcome back…
Happy New Year and welcome to the 2017-18 school year AND to the first of many great episodes of AWSP’s News You Can You. We hope you found some time to sneak away and recharge for another year of powerful school leadership.
AWSP is ready to support you as you once again create the best school possible for your kids and community. The role of the principal is vital to the success of a school. You set the tone in creating a positive school culture. And, we’re here to help you with anything and everything. Don’t be shy, we’re only a phone call away.
In that effort to support your work this year, AWSP will once again be offering our workshop focused on creating a new culture of discipline in your building. This workshop is designed for you to bring a team from your building to learn how the new discipline laws came to be, but more importantly how you can work to build a new restorative culture that starts with the adults in your school. Check out our website for more information.
Last May, AWSP trained its first cadre of principal mentors. These seasoned rock star principals are now being paired with our state’s new principals, ensuring they have the support they deserve as they begin their journey as a new building leader. Our next cadre will be trained on October 4th and 5th in the SeaTac area. If you think you have what it takes to give back to our system and be a mentor to a new principal, contact Ron Sisson here in our office for information on how to apply.
We all know that the number one influence on student learning is an effective teacher, but, the students have to be in class to receive that influence. How do you support kids showing up each and every day? What do you do to get kids to school? September is Attendance Awareness Month and OSPI has several resources on their website to help you, help families in making school attendance a priority. We want to hear from you; what do you do to encourage students to show up every day. How do you support your students with attendance issues? Shoot me an email if you have great ideas, supports, or programs; OSPI and principals across the state would love to hear from you.
Looking for an evidence-based solution to help increase academic achievement in middle and high school, help with the 8th-9th transition and freshmen success rates in general, and/or help increase freshman success in Algebra 1 specifically? Check out OSPIs College Ready “Math” Initiative (CRMI)!
Still wondering about the what, when and how ESSA is being defined here in our state? Want to provide public comment on your thoughts about Washington’s response to ESSA? There are several upcoming webinars available to help you gain clarity into Washington’s Draft ESSA Consolidated Plan. Check out PM for those dates and times.
An August legislative update was emailed out last week. Check the AWSP website to find it on the advocacy page if you accidentally deleted it. Roz is meeting with several education groups this week to get the latest updates from the legislature and to hear about the budget concerns that local districts have as they have worked through their budget planning this summer.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? If so, you know we’ve published Fast Five videos three weeks in a row. Check out new videos from Lori Wyborney on increasing graduation rates, Aaron Fletcher on building positive student relationships, and Scott Friedman on tech tips. Up next this Friday, Ken Schutz on dealing with difficult parents.
Missed our Summer Conference luncheon, but subscribed to our YouTube channel? If that sounds like you, you have probably seen our special Summer Conference edition of AWSP’s News where we go 1 on 1 with RIchard Sherman. If not, check it out. We’ll be releasing our full interview with Richard in the coming weeks.
Make sure you read Principal Matters this week for some of our back-to-school classics like the Tunnel of Hope video, Gary Kipp’s “Don’t waste the first day of school” article, and new resources and videos to help you kick off the year with a bang.
Well that’s it from all of us here at AWSP. Welcome back to another year of making the magic happen for kids in our state. See you next time!