AWSP Blog

Most of us are just beginning our school year this August, and it is my hope you will find this School Celebration Newsletter Edition helpful as you begin to plan. I am making a few changes this school year to the School Celebration Newsletter. I’ll send it out quarterly now. In addition to including my traditional list of some of my favorite days to celebrate I am now including specific strategies you can use with your staff to support their educator well-being. I want to encourage YOU to utilize these research-based strategies also. In my work as an Associate for Educator Wellness with Solution Tree, I have been inspired by the research and writings of Dr. Tina Boogren. Dr. Boogren is at the forefront of educator wellness to support novice to season veterans throughout the school year. I encourage you to look into her research this year.

Having a sense of belonging in school does wonders for students. Research shows that it helps them both learn and grow. Unfortunately, many students feel disconnected and disengaged in school. Luckily, we don’t have to just hope that our students feel a sense of belonging in school. There is a lot we can do as educators to actively build it. This just might be the year to make BELONGING your school’s theme. To help, I’ve summarized a book that shows teachers how to build belonging in their classrooms.

Welcome to the beautiful month of May. I would say that May is a magical time for the students and staff we serve. It is the final push of knowledge and skills for our students to ensure they are ready to move on to the next grade, level of content or post high school graduation. Our staffs are digging deep this month and truly giving their students everything they have left. They (like us) are exhausted but we are all determined to dig a bit deeper to finish strong. The month of May is full of celebration opportunities for you utilize to celebrate with you staff. Some are ridiculously simple and others will require a bit of prep work. I have no doubt that this month's School Celebration Newsletter has something for everyone.

April marks World Autism Awareness/Acceptance Month, emphasizing the significance of embracing and honoring the diverse autistic and neurodiverse members of our school communities, including our school leaders and educators.

Are we truly tapping into each student’s fullest potential? We know that every single student has potential for growth and achievement, but it’s not always so clear how to unleash that potential in schools. Adam Grant’s latest book, Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things, has some great ideas for us. Adam is an organizational psychologist but I chose to summarize this book because his research and ideas have important implications for us in education. What does Grant suggest we do to bring out the best in students? He has a multi-level approach (and I love that each starts with an S!)