AWSP Blog

After a crazy few years of school leadership through a pandemic and its immediate recovery, the vibe we're getting for this back to school season is simply "normal." That was the report at least from the vast majority of our AWSP Board Executive Committee check-in we had the other day. What's not normal is the way AI has infiltrated so much of our lives, especially for those of us in education. I've got a few things to share with you to help navigate through these undiscovered waters.

Principaling has always been difficult, but now the role building leaders play in our system has grown exponentially, even though they are not leading a physical building. Principals sit in the middle of policy (state and district) and practice (what happens in the classroom) and are expected to answer to both sides of the sandwich. If being in the middle was a challenge before, what's it feel like to be a digital principal in the sandwich now?

The weekend leading up to the closure, all of our schools in the district were buzzing with teachers feverishly putting together work packs for students. Copy machines were running at full steam and teachers were bundling materials to keep learning alive amidst a Governor Proclamation that all schools in the state were to be closed by March 17th, 2020. Everyone has gone above and beyond to implement this new normal. Principals and district office staff have converted space in their home as their new office and teachers have transformed a space in their home as their new classroom.