AWSP Blog

The 5th Annual School Safety Summit was held on June 12 of this year. Annual Summits are designed to be participatory. Over the years, we have had targeted presentations on specific funding issues, safety topics, and studies mandated by the legislature. Some excellent recommendations have come out of the Summits, and some notable legislation has been proposed – and passed.

How about a fun, rewarding safety activity for students this summer? Washington Operation Lifesaver (WAOL) is a non-profit organization consisting of public and private entities whose purpose is to educate the public about safe practices at highway-rail grade crossings and other locations along railroad tracks.

If you think principaling was tough before COVID19, what about now? If we kill the will of our principals by not addressing the workload, stress and increasing demands, then our kids and schools will suffer the consequences through a constant turnover of school leaders. LPI's research highlights the obvious, principals are fighting to survive. But their research also recommends some action we can all take to breathe hope into the system for one of our most precious resources - principals and assistant principals.

We are coming to the close of what will go down as perhaps the most challenging school year in history. Part of the ongoing challenge, as well, is uncertainty about the coming school year. Where we will be, and how and when we will move forward all remain to be seen. We have guidance. We can predict measures we will have to take. We can anticipate that, as we proceed, the future will look and feel different. Let’s take a look at some safety-related actions we can take now to carry us into that future. These suggestions are made with district, school, classroom and home activities in mind.

These are not normal times. This is not our new normal. We hear that expression used frequently these days about these days. However, rather than thinking of the current situation as ‘normal’, I prefer to see it as a challenge to the comfortable normal of not too long ago. Within that context, we need to remember that we did not plan for this. We should have, but we didn’t. However, we have been flexible and agile. We have been creative and adaptable. We cannot forget that this did really happen. (Just give it 6 months or so after schools reopen!) Because of COVID-19, we have experienced and learned much. So, as we approach the end of the current academic year, and as we look forward to what a new normal will hold, let’s begin reflecting on this experience and planning for the future.