I’ve been “out of the building” now as a recovering high school principal for about seven years. My trips to the grocery store are still filled with high fives and hellos from kids and families. As a principal, I always prioritized relationships above all else, and the evidence of that can be found in any aisle of the grocery store to this day. There is no way those relationships would have happened with sixteen little video squares on a computer screen

In this episode of AWSP News, we discuss our statement on the tragic death of George Floyd and our continued commitment to lead an equitable and bright future, new guidance coming soon from the Department of Health and OSPI, the “Stay Safe, Stay Healthy, Stay Vaccinated” campaign, a statewide survey to collect student voice and perceptions about distance learning, a shout out to the Elementary GLLC, the 2020 AWSP/WASA Virtual Summer Conference and a message from Joe Sanfelippo, our Friday morning Coffee Chats, our online change of status form, and a Why Try Webinar.

The COVID–19 shutdown unexpectedly sent thousands of university students home and left them disappointed and uncertain about their future. However, many of them knew they could rely on support networks to help them continue their coursework online. They also knew many K–12 students across the nation would struggle to maintain academic support networks and succeed with the limited supports being provided by their school district, so a group of Ivy Leaguers decided to create a free, online tutoring service. This is how CovEd was founded.

With a little creativity and the right tools, there are ways to celebrate graduations safely this year and make positive memories for all. You're invited to join Microsoft live this Friday at 11 a.m. where they will share how you can create an engaging and rewarding virtual graduation experience for students, families, and educators alike. Use this link to access the conversation live via Microsoft Teams.

Some might say we’ve come a long way as educational organizations, stakeholder groups, schools, districts, and higher education spent the last few years talking about and addressing systems of inequity. That progress is only the tip of the iceberg. We will never be able to rest on this pursuit until access, opportunities, expectations, and outcomes can no longer be predicted by the color of one’s skin. We can’t rest until we’ve equipped new generations and addressed the biases of older generations so there is never another horrific example like George Floyd.

Come join us for our virtual coffee chat. Every Friday, at least for the foreseeable future, we'll be hanging out in Zoom. We'll start by providing new updates, we'll answer questions, and then we'll turn it over to you to share stories, successes, challenges, and learn from each other. We hope to see you there.

During this “Stay Home, Stay Safe” period of time, we can all benefit from a little structure. At our recent spring AWSP board meeting, we discussed providing additional resources for families. Here is a resource the principals at the Washington Virtual Academy (WAVA) shared with us to help students in grades K-12 and their families create schedules to manage their time.

In this edition of AWSP News, we discuss what school might look like in the fall, a brand new resource called the Principal Contract Guide, your own evaluation and some tools and resources to help you, our Virtual Summer Conference, the pre-conference registration deadline, the Association of Washington Student Leaders summer programs, new guidance from the Department of Health, Friday 7am coffee chats, and sharing with us the amazing leadership moves you are making every day.

Congratulations, 2020 grads! Alaska Airlines and their friends, Russell Wilson, Ciara, Governor Inslee, and more, have a special message for you. Watch it the video and keep soaring! #SeniorsTakeFlight

In this episode of AWSP News, we discuss what school will look like in the fall, our Grade-Level Leadership Committees, the hashtag #createhope as you share the cool ways you are leading your school community, our Virtual Summer Conference, our pre-conference sessions, the spring 2020 issue of Washington Principal magazine, ways to spice up some of your staffulty or team virtual meetings, two principals who blended humor, relationships and accountability to keep their students engaged, a special video salute from the Governor’s Office and a shout out to the AWSP Team.

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.

AWSP mentees find the mentoring program vital to their success. Read what one principal has to say about the power of mentoring, and as a bonus, check out her amazing morning mindfulness video.

In this episode of AWSP News, we discuss our annual Summer Conference, Principal Kirsten Rue from Chinook Middle School, a survey initiated by the State Auditor’s Office, another AWSP survey about inclusionary practices within your school communities, graduation guidance from the Department of Health, planning a virtual ceremony with resources from Jostens, a report from NASSP and the Learning Policy Institute, and a conversation about hope and relationships with Kids at Hope.

In the art and graphic design world, there is a concept known as negative space. Negative space is the area around an image or design – the edges, the background, the “white” of the paper. How does this relate to principals? As we navigate through these weeks where our lives have essentially been turned inside out, we have been given an opportunity to see the “negative space” in our home lives, in our careers, and in our leadership. Negative space that may not have been there previously is now suddenly there, as our usual routines, thought processes, and expectations have fallen by the wayside.

In this edition of AWSP News, we discuss Governor Inslee's 4 phase plan to slowly re-open our state, this year's Summer Conference and some new possibilities, grading issues, end of year celebrations, an Opening of School Year Task Force, and a question from AWSP President Cameron Grow.

AWSP and WASA can’t wait to gather together in person, but this year we need to prioritize the health and safety of our members and their loved ones. Therefore, both of our Associations, along with the 2020 Summer Conference Planning Committee, have made the difficult decision to convert to a virtual conference.

We can only know our own experiences and must be open to learning the stories of others. But learning from others as we are socially distant is difficult. We are always on a journey of learning and discovery. To better support our students and families, we need to hear (and hopefully understand) how this current reality is impacting them.

Social distancing can make it tough to show staff how much you care, but there are still plenty of options. From e-cards or thank-you videos to classroom goodies or decorations, we’ve compiled a list of many ways you can celebrate Staff Appreciation Week at a distance, plus some other links to help in the process.

As I look to the future of our education system, I challenge all the thought leaders, policy makers, and educational leaders to think differently as we redesign our new approach to serving kids. Whether we are still operating under a distance learning model, blended model, or back to some version of brick and mortar, can we prioritize relationships above all else? Can we build everything around creating time for students and adults to find, build, and sustain meaningful relationships that create hope for everyone involved?