Who tapped you on the shoulder and encouraged you to lead? That’s a great question and one we constantly remind ourselves and our members. We all landed in this incredibly important and crucial role in the system because of the gentle or not-so-gentle nudge of someone in our lives. Inspiration might also have come from a great example or not-so-great example. When I look back at my career path, I see a wide variety of faces who both inspired and encouraged me to lead. From people in my inner circle of family and friends, to school leaders in my early days of teaching, to inspirational superintendents, the influences are far and wide. It’s hard for me to pinpoint one person in particular because everyone played a role in pushing me to take that next impactful step.

Melyssa Stone, Assistant Principal at Shorewood High School in Shoreline, WA, has been named the 2026 Washington State Secondary Assistant Principal of the Year. Stone is one of those heroes who doesn’t want recognition, which makes her all the more deserving of it. By listening closely to students and rolling up her sleeves to take practical action, Stone has transformed Shorewood High School into a place of belonging, support, and self-advocacy.

Teresa “Traci” Schultz, assistant principal at Southworth Elementary School in Yelm Community Schools, has been named the 2026 Washington State Elementary Assistant Principal of the Year. Schultz leads with empathy and clarity—anchoring every decision in her belief that every interaction can change a life. Known for her steady leadership and ability to restore hope in times of challenge, Schultz has helped rebuild trust and community at Southworth following district-wide levy losses and staff turnover.

Dr. Brent Osborn, principal at Lakeside High School in Nine Mile Falls School District, is our 2026 Washington State Secondary Principal of the Year. Osborn’s focus on strong systems and his belief in his students and staff drive powerful change in his rural school community. At a time when principal turnover is a concern for long-term student and staff wellbeing, Osborn’s 14 years (and counting!) at Lakeside High School shows the impact of consistent, meaningful years in the same building.

Kim Doughty, principal at Peter G. Schmidt Elementary School in the Tumwater School District, has been named the 2026 Washington State Elementary Principal of the Year. At the heart of Doughty’s leadership is a simple yet powerful belief: every student, staff member, and family deserves to feel seen, known, and valued. Under her guidance, Peter G. Schmidt Elementary has become a place of hope and high expectations for all learners.

AWSP is celebrating YOU this October for National Principals Month! We’ve partnered with Books Are Fun to bring an exciting surprise to AWSP members and their students. Books Are Fun is offering an opportunity that supports your students and comes with a meaningful reward for you. Books Are Fun is offering a $500 AWSP professional learning scholarship to the first 50 AWSP members/schools who partner with Books Are Fun to launch the Book Blast program at their school between now and December 10. This scholarship can be used toward any one AWSP conference, workshop, webinar, or series.

As we look to wrap up a great National Principals Month, I just wanted to remind you that we celebrate and support you every day, not just in October. The work you do every day for students, staff, and your school communities is immeasurable and should be recognized throughout the year.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve had the privilege of visiting eight incredible schools across our state to present them with their School on the Rise banners and certificates, and each visit has filled my heart in ways I didn’t expect. You can’t walk into these buildings without feeling the energy... that mix of purpose, pride, and pure joy that lives in every hallway, classroom, and gym.

Each year, AWSP’s Advocacy Advisory Council has the opportunity to select a state-level public servant who has demonstrated support of principals and the principalship in the education of all students. We’re thrilled to announce that our 2025 Torch of Leadership Award is presented to Representative Steve Bergquist (D-Renton), who currently serves on the Appropriations, Education, and Early Learning & Human Services committees.

While virtually every school leader wishes they had more resources to support their school improvement efforts—more time, funding or staff—they also know their most valuable resource isn’t a line in the budget, calendar, or policy manual. It’s their staff’s minds: their knowledge, mindset and motivation. School leaders routinely invest in professional development aligned to improvement goals because of its potential to grow not only new skills but also staff buy-in. Yet often professional development (PD) that educators experience fails on both fronts, because of its transactional, sit-and-get approach. Luckily, there is a better way: To grow your team’s practice and positively influence mindsets, give teachers the kind of learning you want them to design for students. Learn more from AWSP's business partner, sideby.

Washington Breathes has two active surveys for middle and high school staff to inform our work across the state. We know school staff are always busy, so these are ongoing surveys without a specific deadline for responses. We will share the aggregated data from these surveys to inform school leaders, community leaders and policymakers about the challenges our schools face with youth commercial tobacco use . We will avoid describing the data in any way that identifies an individual school. Please take the surveys linked in this post.

The 64th anniversary of the United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) will take place in Washington, D.C. from March 7–14, 2026. For the past 64 years, two students per state have been selected to receive a $10,000 scholarship and attend this week-long program, funded by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. This program is a national nonpartisan initiative to provide an annual opportunity for high school students with demonstrated leadership abilities to deepen their understanding of America’s political processes and strengthen their resolve to pursue careers in public service. Students should apply by September 26, 2025 for consideration.

As another school year begins, we know the back-to-school season can bring a mix of excitement and stress for teachers and school staff. That’s why Kaiser Permanente Thriving Schools is proud to champion the well-being of the entire school community. Let us help you set the right tone for the year with these resources and webinars.

Right now, most students get their information about firearms from television, movies, social media—even video games. By the time the average U.S. student graduates from high school, they’ve seen more than 200,000 acts of violence on TV alone, many involving firearms. Yet instruction on firearm violence is not included in Washington State’s health education standards. For the past decade, Firearm Injury Prevention Educators has provided public health–informed education on firearm injury prevention to high school students. We present the facts—without embellishment, without a political agenda.

As many of you know, OSPI has completed its permanent rulemaking process regarding student discipline. The updated permanent rules took effect on July 11, 2025. These rules mostly mirror the emergency rules issued in September 2024, but also include additional changes that school districts should carefully review. To help school districts comply with the new requirements, WSSDA has updated its model student discipline policy and procedure, 3241/3241P.

What do Monsters, Inc., TPEP, and PLCs have in common? More than you think. This post explores how one school flipped the script on isolated goal-setting by aligning TPEP, PLC, and SIP efforts into one shared system — turning disconnected “containers of energy” into a powerful, unified grid. The result? Purposeful evaluations, real-time instructional impact, and student-centered learning that actually sticks.

School safety is not the responsibility of a single person, department, or profession—it is a shared mission that thrives when schools and communities come together. That belief is at the heart of the Lower Columbia School Safety Summit, an annual event dedicated to fostering a united, proactive, and resilient approach to school safety by bringing together key partners.

How you start the school year matters. The first days and weeks set the tone for everything that follows — and no one knows that better than Cathy Sork, 2024 AWSP Elementary Principal of the Year and principal at Dorothy Fox Elementary in Camas. In her recent article for NAESP’s Communicator, Cathy shares nine creative, practical ways principals can help students feel like essential members of their school community from the moment they walk through the doors.

You are the architect of your building’s culture, its systems, and its commitment to learning. That’s not small work—that’s transformational. So here’s your invitation: Before the first bell rings, take some time to reflect. What do you want to be true about your school by October? What will you design now to make that vision a reality? Let’s start strong. The blueprint is in your hands.

The Association of Washington Student Leaders (AWSL) and the Association of Washington School Principals (AWSP) will present 42 schools across the state with our Washington Schools on the Rise Award this fall. This is double of the submissions from the 2024 award year.