AWSP News for November 20, 2020
Hello and welcome to another episode of AWSP News. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I believe we should celebrate the work principals and assistant principals do every day even though we just wrapped up National Principals Month. We had a great month with highlights, celebrations, and giveaways. Thanks to all of you who participated in our efforts to highlight the important roles you play in the P-16 system. Amazing.
Speaking of AMAZING...Congratulations are in order for a new group of Washington State Principals of the Year. Let’s take a minute to congratulate Secondary Principal of the Year David Cooke, principal at Jemtegaard Middle School in the Washougal School District; Elementary Principal of the Year Dr. Mandi Rehn from Opportunity Elementary from the Central Valley School District in Spokane Valley, and Jobie Flint, our Assistant Principal of the Year from Cedar Heights Middle School in the Central Kitsap School District. For more on them, check out our website or an upcoming issue of Washington Principal magazine.
Just a quick reminder for you. AWSP is at the table in just about every discussion happening in the state about education. From hybrid to remote, from grad recs to learning loss, from legislative policy to school funding, from attendance to home visits, we are there. Your voice and stories from the field make it even more powerful for us to advocate for you. So, don’t ever be shy in reaching out to the team here at AWSP about the realities of principaling right now. Keep the information coming!
With the Governor’s recently announced COVID restrictions you might be wondering whether K-12 will keep talking about getting kids back in school. Well, the science is still leaning toward the evidence that kids can and should be back even though as a society we are locking down again. This confusion doesn’t help the position you are in as leaders in the building, so while they figure this out at the state level, we recommend you focus on what you can control. And, that is taking care of you. Are you feeling alone in this work? Don’t be. We have networks, professional learning opportunities, open office hours, grade-level specific gatherings, regional meetings, etc. There is no excuse not to be tapped into one of AWSP’s principal support groups. Call or email today and we’ll get you connected.
AWSP is pleased to continue to offer incredible professional learning for you and your admin teams. You will not want to miss the STAY SMART series that starts in December. This quick just-in-time learning is the perfect way to start your day. Join us as we have dynamic guest speakers talking about: The Impact Of Social Media on the School Leader, How To Share the Impact Of Your Leadership, And of course, this series will remind you all that Principal Leadership Matters!
While you are registering for the STAY SMART series, you will also want to check out a brand new professional learning event that starts in January. AWSP has partnered with WSPA to provide for you TWO WAY CONVERSATIONS. This series will feature HR Director and Principal Teams sharing how they have developed great working relationships to tackle important issues. These conversations will be centered around best practices like... how to read and understand a CBA or MOU, How to Effectively Screen Applicants for Interviews, What to do with Public Records Request, Affirmative Action and FERPA and more. Check out the registration on our website!
Our free workshop series How To Be All In as an Inclusive Leader continues on December 1. International Film Maker Dan Habib will be sharing how to create a culture of inclusion in your school and community. We had over 300 people join us for the first session in October. Register for this great “free” event on our website!!
Obviously there is a huge concern about the alarming failure rates happening across the state and at all levels. We’d love to hear from anyone out there who has come up with a great solution to address failure. The larger system can’t afford for you to keep the magic of your work a secret. Please reach out to me directly if you’ve put some new systems in place to address this growing crisis.
Behind every successful, student-centered leadership program is a skilled, energetic and compassionate adviser. The AWSL Adviser of the Year process is an opportunity to acknowledge those deserving advisers who display the qualities of service, dedication and leadership to student activities. Each year, both a high school and middle level adviser is honored by AWSL in front of their peers at the Washington Activity Coordinators Association Conference in March. Visit the AWSL website for more information.
We've added another session for our popular ASB Finance workshop. Join us Wednesday, December 2 from 8-10:30 am. Registration information can be found on the AWSL website.
Today is the last day to register for the National Conference on Student Activities. THE NCSA conference will take place December 4th - 6th virtually. This professional learning opportunity is ALL Student Activity Professionals to join us for a unique virtual conference that will bring together different groups of like-minded leadership educators, principals and newly-minted activity advisors for a weekend of learning, networking, and fun so that they are inspired to return to their homes and communities to make the most significant differences possible in the lives of their students, colleagues, and community members! Visit nawd.com for more information and great team discounts.
Mark your calendars for Giving Tuesday (Dec 1). We need your help in getting the word out. If your school’s clubs, teams and/or students have been to Cispus for leadership camp, outdoor school, or group retreat, we would love for you to convey the message that Cispus needs everyone. Since Cispus is yours, we would love to have you join us in supporting. If every member were gracious enough to donate $100 this season, we would have close to $500,000. What a great start to 2021 to get our endowment up and running!
Finally, I’d like to close with a great leadership example for your consideration. At Fort Vancouver High School Center for International Studies, principal Curt Scheidel, shared one of his school’s SIP goals to an entire zoom screen full of amazing leaders in the ESD 112 region.
“By Fall of 2025, FVHS CIS is a an aligned and well functioning school where INCREASING HOPE and OPPORTUNITY is the daily focus and reality for every individual who chooses to be a part of our school.”
This serves as a great reminder about the powerful role hope plays...always, but especially during challenging times. Hope is real and can be measured. How are you leading hope for your school? Thanks Curt for the reminder.
Well, that’s it from all of us here at AWSP. As always, keep up the great work and we’ll see you next time.