We are quickly approaching the release of the State Board of Education (SBE) draft rules around the waiver process and potential graduation credit adjustments. According to the SBE timeline the draft is to be released on Wednesday, April 1st with the comment period ending Friday, April 3rd. This is a very quick turnaround and we want to make sure our collective voice is heard around the draft rules.

Come join us for our virtual office hours. 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.

A long gaze outside and the certainty that normalcy is not soon. AWSP learning centers suggest you take a walk to your backyard. Time to get comfortable with what you see and explore the great potential.

Message from Washington State Superintendent Chris Reykdal to educators, parents, students, & seniors.

The team at Jostens went through the Harbor library and pulled the best 9 episodes addressing social and emotional wellbeing that are applicable to middle and high school. They actually screened these with some upper elementary students and believe they are applicable for that age group as well.

In this unique edition of AWSP News, we discuss some of the impacts COVID-19 is having on AWSP, an opportunity to work on your professional learning, and what is NOT being cancelled.

Our KPA Executive board got together last night to reflect on what strong leadership looks like in a pandemic. In times of crisis, it is even more important to think reflectively about our practice and how we are using our systems intelligence, personal intelligence, and social intelligence as we navigate the contexts around us. Below are some “leadership moves” that you might consider as we move forward.

The State Legislature passed a new law (EHB 2965) supporting the state's response to the novel coronavirus. This law includes a provision (see Section 10) that allows the State Board of Education to grant an emergency waiver to local education agencies (e.g., school districts, etc.) and private schools.

In 2019, 16% of companies exclusively hired remote remote workers. In 2020, nobody could foresee the huge numbers of employees forced into working from home. Remote work has some clear benefits, but how do you adjust and adapt when your job is running a school full of adults and students? We’ve got more than just some bad puns for you. See if you can envision any of these tools or resources help bring your team together.

When the requirement for comprehensive school and district safety plans was first written into law nearly 20 years ago, the legislature had some very insightful comments on the need for such plans.

In this unique edition of AWSP News, we discuss some of the impacts COVID-19 is having on AWSP, an opportunity to work on your professional learning, and what is NOT being cancelled.

With the spread of the Coronavirus and the tremendous impact it’s having across our state, we know you have a ton of questions. First, what does the Coronavirus COVID-19 mean for AWSP? Just because all our districts are closing doesn’t mean all your troubles go away too. AWSP staff has always been a phone call or email away when you are in need, and this closure will not change our response time to you. Our office will continue to operate on your behalf. Some of us will continue to come into the office, some of us will be working from home, but all of us will still be available to serve you.

Sine Die occurred and the 66th Legislature has concluded. The last act is the Governor’s responses to the various legislative proposals that have delivered to his office. Once his ‘singing’ is done, attention will shift to the upcoming national and local election. There will be a more complete ‘End of Session’ summary to follow, but this is just an update on some selected bills.

The session is moving toward Sine Die and there’s a great deal of unknowns still to come. It’s the part of the session where bills need to be voted out of their opposite house. Some bills will make it; others will die as the clock runs down. Each chamber has lengthy lists of other bills eligible for debate and votes. Many won’t make it. There are at least four main areas yet to be dealt with, any of which will take a great deal of floor time as bills addressing these are debated. These are bills that seek to establish a low carbon fuel standard, a clean air rule, guidelines protecting data privacy and those that deal with the repeal of the Boeing tax break. Additionally, time can be consumed by virtue of debating proposed amendments attached to these or any remaining bills.

In this episode of AWSP News, we discuss some coronavirus resources, the new immunization rules,  our last episode of AWSP TV Highline Superintendent Dr. Susan Enfield, Omak’s 3F Club,  the annual Equity Conference, the AWSP/WASA Summer Conference, the NASSP Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, the NAESP Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, a new survey and winning a $15 Amazon Gift Card, and a last chance to nominate a Principal of the Year or Assistant Principal of the Year.

AWSP is excited to be one of many organizations involved with the IPPDP cadre as an external partner navigating the implementation of better inclusionary practices for Washington state educators; our focus being, of course, YOU, the building learning leaders. Since November 2019, AWSP has embarked on a “fact-finding” crusade to measure the understanding of what inclusion and inclusionary practices are from our members’ perspective and evaluate what the immediate needs are in order to embed targeted inclusionary practices within all of or professional learning opportunities.

We have some openings to serve on our Grade Level Leadership Committees (GLLC), formerly our component boards. Join the many principals and assistant principals who've become more involved with us. We know how busy you are, but our board and committee members consistently tell us about incredibly value the networking and professional learning, both formal and informal, is to them.

Daylight Savings Time! Spring! St. Patrick’s Day! March is full. Here are some important topics rising to the top in March.

A change is coming in August 2020 that you don’t want to miss. The way schools collect immunization records and comply with immunization rules will be different beginning with the 2020-21 school year. Effective August 1, 2020, a state rule change will affect three areas of immunization compliance: The definition of “conditional status” has been clarified. Students must turn in their immunization paperwork on or before the first day of attendance. All new immunization records from students need to be medically verified. The Tdap vaccine requirement for 6th through 12th graders has been changed to a 7th through 12th-grade requirement.

As many of you know, Governor Inslee declared a state of emergency due to the growing presence of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in our state. What does that mean? Should you freak out? Is this something we're all overreacting to? Great questions, but we're no doctors (although we do have a Dr. Scott Seaman). Here's what we can tell you though; listen to advice and guidance from your district and from local, state, and national health experts. Aside from that, our best piece of advice is to make sure you are communicating frequently and clearly with your students, staff, and community.