AWSP Blog

What an amazing week of advocacy here in our Washington and in the “other” Washington, our nation’s capital. Our 12 principals arrived just in time for peak cherry blossom viewing. What a treat! The National School Leaders Advocacy Conference is organized each March by NAESP and NASSP. We spent the first two days learning from expert panels, congressional staff, principals from around the country, and Cindy Marten, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Education, about various pieces of federal legislation and effective advocacy strategies. On Wednesday, over 400 principals headed to the Capitol to meet with their members of Congress to talk about educator shortages, improving school mental health, wellness, and safety resources, and various budget priorities. Our group shared poignant stories about students and staff in their buildings related to each area, and we built relationships with decision-makers and principals from other states.

This was another full week in the Legislature with jam-packed agendas in committee hearings, a bit of floor action sprinkled here and there, and plenty of attention on the Senate as they released their budgets. One of my personal highlights of the week was listening to our very own Tricia Kannberg, principal at Deer Park Elementary, share how her Classroom Support App (CSA) works during a work session with members of the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Committee. Tricia and her team created the CSA to provide an immediate response to the needs of students and staff. It has been extremely effective, and the app is now used in 35 different schools. For more information, check out the video of Tricia walking through her app.

March can feel like a long and busy month in schools, and it is the same in the Legislature. This week, there were lots of hearings on bills by committees in the opposite house. Next week is more of the same. The updated revenue forecast comes out on Monday, March 20, and this will be used to help determine the final operating budgets (and other budgets) for this year’s legislative session. We will see the Senate budget on Thursday, March 23, and it will be heard in Senate Ways and Means on Friday, March 24. We should also see the Senate Capital Budget next week. I’m hearing the House will release its budget the week after.

On the morning of the house of origin cutoff, SB 5175 passed the Senate. Many thanks to all of you who engaged with your Senators and sent emails encouraging them to support this bill. Senator Lisa Wellman sponsored SB 5175, which allows districts to offer principals up to a three-year contract. We see this as an option that districts may choose to use to recruit and retain leaders, especially for high school positions. We support this bill because we hope school districts see this as an opportunity to maintain consistent leadership. Dismantling bad-for-student systems takes time and consistent, effective leadership. Principals deserve this job security due to the complex nature of their jobs and the years of experience required to become a highly effective and impactful school leader.

We are halfway to the end of this year’s legislative session, and we are fast approaching the next legislative cutoff date when bills must pass out of their house of origin. We need SB 5085 and SB 5175 to get pulled to the Senate floor by Wednesday, March 8th for a vote, or their journey this legislative session ends. I’ve heard this week that SB 5175 may get a vote but SB 5085 may not. There is a potential concern with the salary piece in SB 5085, so I told Senator Wellman to remove that section if that is what is needed to keep the bill moving.