Students in foster care often face academic and social/emotional/behavioral challenges beyond those experienced by their non-foster care peers. When students are connected with a caring adult, are attending school regularly, and have the supports they need, they are more likely to be successful in school and in life. Establishing a building point of contact will support coordination of resources and facilitate compliance with state and federal laws related to students in foster care.

As Washington State considers future funding for outdoor education, there is no better time to have your voice be heard!  The Center for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) is working on behalf of the Washington State Legislature to learn more about the outdoor education opportunities currently being offered to students (if any), as well as your desires for the future.

Remember HB 1216 (2019) which created requirements around an optional School Resource Officer (SRO) program? Well, 1216 has been replaced! ESHB 1214 (2021) expands and modifies that earlier legislation and impacts the work of not just SROs, but all K–12 public school safety and security classified staff or contractors.

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In our kickoff episode for the 2021-22 school year, we discuss the recent mandate from the Governor about required vaccinations for K12 employees, Superintendent Reykdal comparing the fight against the delta variant to a chess match, reaching out to us in case of conflicts, a survey to develop a plan to fund outdoor school programs, an OSPI grant to help ASB funding impacted by HB 1660, a great new resource to share from Chad’s Legacy Project and the SMART Center on mental health instruction, the 2021 Healthy Youth Survey, our amazing ProLearning offerings, networks, networks, networks, and the “Triple A” for school leaders.

Teachers and students alike recognize the importance of reducing the stigma of mental illness and the benefits of good mental health. Proven benefits include increased student productivity and, more importantly, reduced suicidal ideation. The stigma associated with mental illness has contributed to a well-documented eight to ten-year delay from onset of mental health issues and illnesses to delivered services, with many never even receiving care. While some students may now be receiving mental health education, systemic inequities also exist in terms of availability, delivery, and depth of content. Two obstacles largely contribute to this inequity.

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. For 2021, the Council selected Senator Sam Hunt as AWSP’s 2021 Torch of Leadership Award winner. Senator Hunt is a Democrat representing the 22nd legislative district, which includes Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, and the surrounding areas.

Looking ahead, ‘21-‘22 is going to be a busy year. As we begin to kick it off, COVID still plays a major part in our school safety preparation efforts. Masks. Distancing. Hand washing. And that’s just the starters. Over the course of this year’s blogs, I plan to address several other school safety topics as well: school mapping, HB 1214, HIB, drills, equity, threat assessment, behavioral health, data requirements, and more. If you have a topic you would like to see included, please let me know.

The State Board of Education wants to hear from you about graduation and how students show they are prepared with the skills needed to thrive in life after high school. Learn more about this work and get an opportunity to provide feedback during a listening session.

As part of our celebrity Summer Conference news interview series, Dr. Scott Seaman and Communications & Technology Director David Morrill joined Kraken broadcaster Everett Fitzhugh to talk about his path to the NHL as the first black play-by-play hockey announcer. He has a unique story about culture and belonging and shares how the Kraken is breaking down barriers and creating a diverse, inclusive staff in a sport where that's the exception and not the norm. Everett has great stories, insight, lessons, and plenty of humor. You'll want to watch all the way to the end for this one.

Not too long ago, our Executive Director Dr. Scott Seaman wrote his "I Am More Than a Test Score" blog. Along those same lines, AWSL Director James Layman has a couple of quotes in this piece from Knowable Magazine.

There’s nothing like more than a year of pandemic learning to make us examine past practices and consider better and healthier ways! One change your school might consider is making a purposeful effort to take learning outside. In the report “Back to School: Back Outside” (Kevin J. Coyle, National Wildlife Federation, 2010), research shows how a “green hour” built into classroom routines has a positive impact on students’ focus, attitude toward work, behavior, connections with others, and even standardized test scores.

Some dream about winning an Emmy, Grammy or Golden Globe Award. Others fantasize about walking to the stage to accept an Academy Award. Some dream of ticker tape, fireworks, and packed stadiums while being crowned a Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, WNBA or World Series Champ. Others dream about stepping up on the Olympic podium as a new world record holder gold medalist. While others place their life’s work into winning a Nobel Peace Prize. And, finally, of course, above all recognition, the world waits with bated breath for the annual AWSP President’s Award.

Come join us free, end-of-year celebration and annual luncheon. Well, not totally free...you do have to supply your own lunch. Connect with us and principals and assistant principals across the state, find out who we interviewed for our "who's your favorite principal" celebrity surprise, and see if you win any prizes. We can’t wait to see you there!

Weekly special education and Section 504 resources from Abby Bowers, Capital Region ESD 113's Director of Special Programs.

In this final episode of AWSP News for this year, we discuss sharing any updates to guide how we might be opening our schools in the fall, this year’s virtual Summer Conference and the annual AWSP Summer Conference lunch program, the incredible programs and networks that your AWSP ProLearning Team has put together, making outdoor education accessible to all kids and an Outdoor School survey, programs and opportunities for developing your student leaders, how an AWSL “School” Membership supports your school, and our annual reminder to reach out to us as you head into your final evaluation with your supervisor.

AWSP will close this Friday June 18th, in recognition of Juneteenth (June 19th). Starting in 2022, Washington state will recognize June 19th as an official state holiday. Although this recognition as a state holiday is over 150 years overdue, AWSP is going to start this year.

When you’re ready to jump into some professional reading, check out this list of books that Jack Arend and I created based on some of the books that we are reading or that we hear others mention. We also provide some tips for engaging your staff in a book study, if that is something that you are considering.

Weekly special education and Section 504 resources from Abby Bowers, Capital Region ESD 113's Director of Special Programs.

Ready for some good news? There’s state money to help send your fifth- and sixth-graders to Outdoor School next year. We are working with a team of learning centers and camps to get money allocated in this year’s state budget.  To help us plan and budget, we need to find out who is planning to host an outdoor school for their students. You can help with this process now by completing this Outdoor Schools survey. This information will helps us to plan for the 2021-22 school year as well as give us information to seek further funding for the 2022-23 school year and beyond.