AWSP Blog

I love APRIL. Spring time brings crazy scheduling for the Cromwell Family. Cooper, is playing baseball on two teams, and Kenzi, is preparing for high school graduation. We are taking time to enjoy these precious moments with our children along with the later sunsets, the blooming flowers (even though it brings out my husband's allergies), the birds in the morning, smell of fresh bark, and evenings on my deck. All of those signs of spring make me smile. However, April brings with it a new level of exhaustion for educators. This is the month you need to not feel guilty about shutting down your phone for an evening or weekend. Go for a walk, turn the music up a bit louder on your drive to and from work, get a massage, AND treat yourself to some me time. April is when we are starting to see the finish line for this school year so fill YOUR bucket because you can't take care of others if you don't have anything to give from. I hope you find this edition of my newsletter helpful to bring laughter and joy to your work. Feel free to reach out to me if I can do anything to support your work or be a sounding board for ideas. You got this.

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.

Find yourself frustrated with your current situation as a building level leader? Ever wonder who makes some of these big statewide decisions that impact the work you are doing in your school? Ever consider getting more involved in influencing the P16 education system? How about just getting better connected with other principals and assistant principals from around the state? Well, guess what -- It’s easy to get more involved with AWSP, and WE WANT YOU!

Tim Garchow, Executive Director of the Washington State School Directors'  Association, thanks principals for the enormous amount of work and dedication displayed while navigating the challenges of this year. "Our children are lucky to have you, and so are the rest of us."

In the middle of National Principals Month and an ongoing pandemic, Almira Principal Kelsey Hoppe's just got a lot tougher. Earlier this week, we heard the somber news from the town of Almira, where their school recently burned to the ground. Home to about 300 residents, this farming community’s school served 118 K–8 students. We don’t need to tell you the importance of school within a community, especially a small community like Almira where many of the students are the 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 6th generation family members to have attended the school. It’s just hard to fathom that kind of loss.