AWSP Blog

As a recovering principal, you never forget the experiences you faced. Traumatic, high-stress events become permanently ingrained into the rest of our lives. And as much as we try to forget and move on, all it takes is one reminder and we are right back to the moment, the event, the decisions, and all the related emotions. On May 24, 2022, we were all given a reminder through yet another horrific school shooting and the tragic deaths of innocent students and teachers. For those in education, these unimaginable events generate additional emotions and trauma. And for principals and assistant principals, the emotions become even more complex and traumatic. Complex because we move from anger and defeat to shock, horror, sadness, and, unfortunately, the relief it wasn’t at our school.

Another tragedy. Another senseless act. Another experience that creates fear in our system. I’m numb. My emotions are all over the place as I begin to wrestle with how do we (adults) support our communities through yet another horrific and vile act of violence The answer is, I don’t know. What I know is that our communities deserve grace, patience, and love as we mourn, hurt, cry and be angry. What I know is that our students deserve to know they are loved, and worthy of love.

Before the pandemic, addressing principal turnover across the state and country was a top priority for us at AWSP. It was an epidemic before the pandemic. Principal churn is bad for kids. Bad for teachers. Bad for schools and the communities they serve. Again, this was alarming and concerning before the current pandemic. Even more alarming when you consider our schools with the greatest needs are churning building leaders at twice the rate. So, if we really care about equity as a system, why isn’t everyone talking about the direct negative consequences of principal churn on our most disadvantaged students and schools?

Schools used to be a place where students and adults would use the lessons learned from mistakes or failure to move forward and improve, but not anymore. The new normal is to no longer have grace, assume best intentions in others, or respect those placed in leadership positions. What does that mean for school principals and assistant principals? An already nearly impossible job becoming even more impossible.

This week, we hosted a Zoom on the topic of mental health. Our guests included Representative Lisa Callan who co-chairs the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Work Group (CYBHWG), Representative Carolyn Eslick who is the co-chair for a sub-group of CYBHWG (Youth and Young Adult Continuum of Care), and Representative Monica Stonier who led the efforts last legislative session to pass HB 1225 which established a School Based Health Center Program within the Department of Health.