AWSP Blog

It’s a great time to honor the enormous contributions assistant principals make to student success. The many roles of the assistant, associate, and vice-principals have expanded and evolved as a result of a pandemic, remote learning, and all sorts of safety and health considerations most of us never even imagined. Through it all, our assistant principals have demonstrated unwavering leadership. At AWSP, we will continue to highlight the crucial role APs play, advocate for increased funding to provide more APs, and normalize making the assistant principal role not just a stepping stone on the way to the principalship, but a role worthy of respect, praise, and appreciation for those who find the role to be perfect for them.

Comfortable in her role as an assistant principal, Dickert embodies the ‘bloom where you are planted’ adage. "She effectively accomplishes all the essential duties of a strong instructional leader with grace and humor, and in every interaction communicates her desire and vision for a better future for all,” said Mill Creek Principal Brenda Fuglevand about Dickert. “She maintains an artful balance of attention to high academic standards, respectful and personable interactions, humor, positive presuppositions, and an unwavering focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

I’d like to start this blog by sharing three things with you - one you know for sure, and two you probably didn’t. First, it’s Black History Month. You should all know that already. The second thing? To keep my sanity as an educational leader for the last 25 years, I have been an active runner. How those two pieces are connected leads me to the third. My perspective of running was forever changed shortly after 1:00 pm on February 23, 2020, outside the small town of Brunswick, Georgia.

Brad Wilson, principal at Chelan High School in the Lake Chelan School District, was named this year’s Washington State Principal of the Year. Every year, the Association of Washington School Principals selects a state winner. Wilson will also be recognized at the national level by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). He will compete with winners from other states for the NASSP’s National Principal of the Year award.

Megan Mauro, assistant principal at LaVenture Middle School in the Mount Vernon School District, was named this year’s Washington State Assistant Principal of the Year. Every year, the Association of Washington School Principals selects a state winner. Mauro will also be recognized at the national level by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), where she will compete with winners from other states for the NASSP’s National Assistant Principal of the Year award, announced in early April.