AWSP and WASA are excited to share the latest opportunity for our two associations to partner in support of Washington’s education leaders and the students we serve. We want to hear your thoughts and suggestions about TPEP! AWSP and WASA are privileged to hold seats on the OSPI TPEP Steering Committee. To ensure we accurately articulate the desires of our members relating to evaluating teachers, principals, and assistant principals, both associations are launching the Thought Exchange prompt to gather ideas and suggestions from you:

As we close out National Principals Month, I have a few updates to share with you. First, I want to say thank you to all the amazing principals and APs who engaged with us on social media and through email during this month celebrating YOU. As a refresher, our prompts were:

As you can probably tell I LOVE to celebrate and show appreciation for people in my life. I believe passionately it is critical to have a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving. November is the perfect month to spend time thinking of the things or people that make you smile. Thank YOU for supporting me by reading this newsletter and sending me your pictures or email about how you are implementing the ideas.

School leaders, what if one of your students said, “We won an Emmy!”? Our ultimate goal as inclusive educational leaders is to have all of our students achieve at high levels. For Samuel Habib, an Emmy was never his end goal; he set out to document his life story so others can see the daily struggle, perseverance, and payoff for our students with disabilities when they are encouraged, supported, included, and advocated for. In honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, I encourage each of us to learn more about Samuel and your own staff and students with disabilities' journey. As you identify the barriers your students and staff face in your school and district, think about how you and other school leaders can use your privilege, title, and opportunity to remove some of those barriers. What can I (we) do to support and advocate for students and staff with disabilities? How can I (we) elevate their story of perseverance to pave the way and model for others?

Back in June, we gathered a small cadre of principals, superintendents, and staff members from AWSP and WASA to begin to identify short-term and long-term solutions to the leadership crisis in our state. We must do something to reverse the course of high turnover rates, small candidate pools, and decreased job satisfaction. While the focus of this committee is starting with easing the pressure on principals, it is much larger in scale. It’s about the entire leadership pipeline in our K12 educational system. If we want great future superintendents, we must cultivate and support future and current school leaders.

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 when you must do something to celebrate your staff. This month's newsletter is loaded with a ton of ideas to help you achieve this. 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!

The Washington State Department of Health sent me a couple of pieces of information to pass along to our school leaders across the state. Unfortunately, many of you middle-level and high school leaders might already be aware of these.

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.

Kaiser Permanente is proud to offer Way to Staff Well-being Workshops for the 2023-24 school year. These workshops are designed for all teachers, staff, and administrators in Washington to learn how a proactive approach to staff well-being can help schools thrive.

As we dive into September, there are lots of changes in the air. A new school year, a new season, pumpkin spiced drinks, and Constitution and Citizenship Day!  State law requires the study of the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Washington state as a prerequisite for graduation from public and private high schools. Additionally, federal law enacted in December 2004 states: "Each educational institution that receives federal funds for a fiscal year shall hold an educational program on the United States Constitution on September 17 of such year for the students served by the educational institution..." to commemorate the signing of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787. If this day falls on a weekend (like it does this year), then the day can be observed the week before or after.

Even though my morning routine always includes a good sunrise run, today was different. It wasn’t just any morning. It was the first day of school. As I made my way through neighborhoods and cross streets to meet my daily mileage and stress-release goals, I passed an elementary school, middle school, and high school. Cutting through the campuses of each building brought a flood of feelings and emotions that contributed to my pace.

Fall has always been my favorite season of the year – it’s the warm days and the cool nights, the smell of a wood fire, turning leaves, the excitement of a new school year, and the start of football season. What I appreciate about fall more than anything, though, is the particular quality of light that comes with the shortening of the day. I can’t exactly describe that light, but it is somehow different: a little softer, a little less intense, a little less direct. Maybe it seems more special because there is progressively less and less of it as we move through autumn.

Today is Calendar Awareness Day. No, you won’t find Calendar Awareness Day highlighted on your actual calendar. (Yes, that means we made it up.) But whatever day you’re reading this, we hope to make you more aware of four important calendar resources for school leaders.

Welcome back to what is already shaping up to be an incredible school year. At AWSP, we’ve had a busy summer continuing to “Shine the Light” on our most robust advocacy campaign ever. The role principals and assistant principals play in the system is critical. We won’t rest until everyone is paying attention to your needs as school leaders across the state. From working conditions, to due process, to more protections, to compensation, to respectful contracts, to respect in general, and to more support, we are shining the light on you.

September is a critical month to keep yourself reminded of the goals you set this summer. Are you getting enough sleep? Are you eating healthy most of the time? Are you getting exercise and taking timeouts from electronics? It is so important for all educators to make time this month and do something to charge their batteries. I want to challenge you to make a musical playlist for yourself to listen to on your drive home to help reset your mind from work to family time. What will be your go-to song?

Ensuring children have health insurance coverage to keep them safe and healthy is critical. About half of the nation’s children are covered by Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). However, students across the country who rely on this coverage for health insurance right now risk losing it due to the ending of the public health emergency. Schools can play a key role in ensuring that doesn’t happen.

Each year, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation awards two high school juniors or seniors from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia with an all-expense-paid, week-long tour of Washington, DC, and a $10,000 scholarship as part of the United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP). In Washington state, AWSP administers the program in conjunction with AWSL. Please encourage students to apply if they are qualified to submit an application!

School employees that are mentally healthy are our most valuable resource for creating safe and supportive learning environments. Creating a culture of health and well-being is critical at this time.

Happy New School Year, friends!! I have been honored over the last several months to have met so many principals throughout our country. To those of you joining this newsletter after the NASSP #Ignite Conference in Denver--Welcome!!! If you are a regular subscriber, thank you for continuing to be a part of my work!! Most of us are just beginning our school year this August, and it is my hope you will find this School Celebration Newsletter Edition helpful as you begin to plan. I have included a list of some of my favorite August days along with simple suggestions for celebrations that you can EASILY incorporate into the beginning of the school year. I wish you a successful start this new year. Be well, and as always, let me know how I can support your educational journey. Cindy

House Bill 1426 passed in 2021 and it requires that administrators who renew their administrator certificate on or after July 1, 2023 must complete a five-hour Government-to-Government Relationships Training. Administrators also need to complete 10 clock hours related to leadership standards and 10 clock hours related to equity before renewing their certificates.