AWSP Blog

A topic that has permeated many discussions with school leaders, students, and community members over the past several years has been vaping. With a rise in students vaping, specifically in schools, the stress of figuring out how to 'solve' this epidemic has fallen on our teachers, counselors, community members, school leaders, and students. Recently, we met with the AWSL Student Voice Network and asked them to weigh in on what we can start doing, stop doing, and keep doing to find solutions for this ongoing issue.

If we truly want to put equity into action, then perhaps we should consider redefining time throughout the system. How do we define an instructional “period,” a school day, the week, a month, or heaven forbid, the entire school calendar? We love our 180-day calendar so much that we’ve allowed that alone to drive the entire system for decades (the calendar, funding, collective bargaining, etc.) and subsequently blind us to new ways of thinking and doing. It is deeply entrenched and built around the needs of the adults working in the system, not the families we are trying to serve.

These resources are sent out weekly to leaders in special education and Section 504. Each post contains tips and resources on a variety of topics that are meant to keep you informed and up-to-date.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month.  Not all behaviors we don’t like are bullying. Bullying is done on purpose, involves some kind of power imbalance, and is repeated – or likely to be repeated. The bottom line, it is hurtful or harmful in one way or another.  Did you know that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recognizes bullying as an  Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE)?

There are so many wonderful things I associate with October. The change of leaves, the final harvest from our garden, my son's birthday, and Friday night lights just to name a few. October is when the school year becomes real for our staff and students. The novelty of the start has worn off and it's fast and furious every day for our team. It is a month where you need to do something to celebrate your staff. This month's newsletter is loaded with a ton of ideas to help you achieve this. Make sure you check out the details of October 4 as it is becoming one of my favorite days of the year--but then again anything to do with tacos makes my heart happy. I also want to challenge YOU to put something on the calendar this month that will bring you joy. Maybe it will be coffee with a friend, a spa treatment, or going out for dessert with your partner. Do something intentional this month to bring joy to your heart. I believe in you! Cindy.