In this episode of AWSP News, we discuss two students selected to represent Washington in the United States Senate Youth Scholarship Program, the 2020 Summer Conference, the Visible Learning Plus Institute, a monthly checklist of things you need to be considering in the world of school safety, another edition of Fact or Fiction, a powerful way to use student voice, students who dread the Winter Break, the break as a time to reflect as the lead learner in your school and a special shout out to 30-year rock star AWSP employee Annalee Braley.

Ross Hunter, Secretary of the Department of Children, Youth and Families, swings by to talk about his department and how principals can support early learning.

No doubt there will be a lot of new technology coming into homes over the holidays. Check out and share the Connect Safely Guides. You’ll find both one-page Quick Guides and longer Parent Guides to help all adults understand many of the apps, sites, and technologies which they may be seeing or hearing about.

Fact or Fiction? A “Classroom Exclusion” is the same as an “In-School Suspension”.

In this episode of AWSP News, we discuss AWSP's mission, advocacy with the Legislature, the Pay Gap survey, the staffing ratios for the prototypical school funding formula, Member Support Consultations, the AWSP Member Handbook, the WELL Summit, AWSP TV with Jill Patnode from Kaiser Permanente, the 2020 Summer Conference, great Trauma-Responsive resources and nominating the principal or assistant principal for Principal of the Year.

In this episode of AWSP News we discuss principal superheroes and superpowers, our October Principal Leadership Weekend, the principal or assistant principal of the year award, AWSL’s Advisor of the Year, Representative Laurie Dolan, our 2019 Torch of Leadership Award winner, Dr. Susan Enfield, Superintendent of Highline Public Schools, the inaugural winner of the Systems Changemaker award from Teach for America (TFA) Washington, the 2020 Summer Conference, and a new survey.

November is a month of thanks. As we head toward the holiday season, a big thank you to everyone who participated in last month’s National Bullying Prevention month. Also, thank you to all who dropped, covered and held on for the Great ShakeOut on October 17th. Each of these activities help ensure that all our students and staff are safer at school.

AWSP is redesigning our Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year program. In the past, we selected a Principal of the Year (POY) for elementary, middle, and high schools. We would either select one Assistant Principal of the Year (APOY), or recently, one for elementary and one for secondary. We’d love to explain all the reasons why we’re changing our (A)POY, but it might be faster for you to read War and Peace. You think we’re kidding…

Our Roz Thompson sits down with Jill Patnode, Thriving Schools Program Manager for Kaiser Permanente of Washington, to talk about all the programs and resources KP provides to support schools and the people in them.

In this episode of AWSP News, we discuss the most trusted professional in all the country, our Facebook giveaway and this week's winners, your Principal’s Advisory Council, enrollment for the School Employee Benefits Board, our first-ever WELL Summit, a part-time position opening up at AWSP, our Washington Principal Magazine and nominating next year's Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year.

In this episode of AWSP News, we discuss National Principals Month, a special message from Governor Jay Inslee, our favorite contest of the year and the chance of winning a $25 Amazon gift card, using social media to tell the story of your school, our Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year Award, AWSP, WASA and ESD sponsored School Leader Paradigm and Leadership Framework trainings, and resources provided by OSPI’s Safety Center.

“It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste, or sex.”

In the last couple of years, a number of policies and proposals have been implemented on a wide range of immigration enforcement issues such as border security, interior enforcement, tighter vetting on asylum hearings, exclusionary visas to certain groups of people, restricting temporary protected status/DACA, travel bans of certain countries, expansion of family separations, penalties for accessing public assistance, and most recently, proposed family detention centers without time limits. These policies can potentially impact 23 million non-citizens who live in the United States, as well as 12 million children who are predominantly U.S.-born.

Most of our school-aged children have parents that work. These schedules can make it challenging for parents to find quality before/after school care for their children. They often look to schools to provide quality programs. In the attached article by Dr. Helen Wang, read how some of our Washington State Elementary schools are providing unique experiences for their students.

Check out five great school safety tips courtesy of OSPI's Mike Donlin and their School Safety Center.

In this episode of AWSP News, we discuss our School Leaders Collaborative, AWSP-hosted WELL Summit, Kaiser Permanente, Washington State’s new Teacher of the Year for 2020, APLN, the 2020 legislative session, our Political Action Committee, and our tribute to the Mariners during this year's Summer Conference.

The Office of the Education Ombuds (OEO) and Rooted in Rights have partnered to create 6 student voice videos highlighting students with disabilities’ experiences in Washington’s public K-12 schools, as part of the One Out of Five: Disability History and Pride Project, an educational resource for teachers and students.

Q: Are elementaries required to have formal student councils? A: There is no legal requirement to create a formal student body organization for elementary. The WAC states that if you have 7th grade or above, then you must create a student council structure.

In this episode, Executive Director Scott Seaman is joined by Lindbergh High School's principal, "Q" Hollins, John Turner from Boeing, and Lindbergh student and national skills contest winner "MuMu" Chuol – all to talk about pathways and the opportunities Core Plus Aerospace can provide.

You’ve no doubt heard about the new School Employees Benefit Board in your districts but just in case you haven’t yet, here is the latest information about open enrollment in the SEBB. The SEBB Program’s open enrollment webpage is now live, with all the information school employees need to prepare for the first annual open enrollment (October 1–November 15, 2019).