The first cut off is occurring as this is being written and next week will be the last cut-off deadline for all fiscal bills. The legislative field will then be winnowed down, and the focus will shift toward floor action and behind the scenes’ discussions over the budget.

In this episode of AWSP News, we discuss Future Educators Month, our Future School Leaders Day workshop, and the Give ’Em Your Keys campaign; what’s happening in the Legislature; some of our recent blog posts; our opening for an Associate Director and the retirement of two icons; sharing your stories with us; and how we’re always here to pick up the phone when you need us.

Snowmageddon descended on Olympia, and things came to a halt, but now that the worst (we can hope) is over, the process is moving again. Agendas have been lengthened. As cut off dates approach the list of bills for executive action by individual committees grows long. This is a brief summary of bills that are either moving or should be pushed to move. The last section of this report has some suggested actions on bills that need support and advocacy in order to advance before cutoffs.

Ed reform. Those two words are a lightning rod for people in education and policy. They can strike fear and uncertainty for some and hope and visions of equity for others. One thing is for certain, many of the reforms borne out of the Race to the Top grant era have drastically changed the reality of what it’s like to be a school principal.

AWSP is closed for snow today (February 11), as are many districts across the state. FYI, we typically follow the Olympia School District for closures or late starts. Some of us are still checking email.

The session is still flowing toward cut off dates, when an observer can then more closely focus on what would appear to be potential ‘rocks’. Also, energies can be directed more specifically to advance critical bills that have survived the first cut. As a reminder, the cut off dates are: February 22 for policy bills and March 1 for fiscal bills.

Last session, the Legislature created the School Employees Benefits Board (SEBB). The SEBB will help ensure K-12 employees get the affordable, high-quality benefits they deserve. Washington state public employees have long been the beneficiary of a great health benefits program through the PEBB, and it's great to see similar benefits coming to school employees across the state.

Welcome to another episode of AWSP News, where we discuss delivering AWSP News to you through rain, sleet, or snow, African American History Month, our Future Educators Month and Future School Leaders Day workshop, revisit the Give 'Em Your Keys campaign, update you on what's happening with the Legislature, discuss our "Day on the Hill" and your advocacy, thank partners Capturing Kids' Hearts and Freshgrade, remind you to register for summer conference and a couple awards to nominate someone for, Ron's departure and hiring his replacement, and some contract negotiation resources for you on our website.

Dr. Karen Burke (Vice President of Data and Academic Planning) and Pam Allyn (Senior Vice President, Innovation and Development), both from Scholastic, drop by our studio to talk about K-12 literacy and what principals can do to promote schoolwide literacy efforts. Lots of great advice and takeaways in this episode.

What happens when 40+ scarf-wearing principals visit the Capitol? Great stories, great data, and great impact. On Monday, January 28, our AWSP Advocacy Committee and members of our AWSP Board took to the Capitol to advocate for principals, the principalship, and each and every student. Watch the video to learn a little more.

Recess in an outdoor natural environment is more restorative than recess in an outdoor built environment. Cognitive assessment results demonstrated better sustained and selective attention and children reported greater restorativeness in an outdoor natural environment than in an indoor built environment. This finding applied to both group playtime and individual free play.

The Association of Washington School Principals (AWSP) is seeking candidates for the position of Associate Director. The chosen candidate will work with the AWSP Executive Director and AWSP Board in fulfilling board policy and direction. This full-time position (230 days) will join the AWSP Executive Team in the support of K-12 principals and assistant principals, the principalship, and all students throughout the state.

Student leaders are key players in a school's mission to create a culture, close the gap, ensure safety and engage the community. Guided by Washington principals for more than 60 years, the Association of Washington Student Leaders (AWSL) has provided the opportunity for student leadership training through summer camps. AWSL camps are held in three locations. Leadership camps for high school and middle level students are held at both of the two learning centers sponsored by the Association of Washington School Principals: Chewelah Peak and Cispus. CheerLeadership Camps are held at Central Washington University.

The introduction of bills has slowed markedly as committees now focus on having public hearings. Then bills are moved out of their respective committees through action in Executive Session. February 22 (policy bills) and March 1 (fiscal bills) are the cutoff dates. Bills that have not advanced by then, ‘die’.

What an amazing show of advocacy this week as 40 principals from across our state met with their legislators on Monday, January 28 for our annual “Day on the Hill”. We wore brightly colored plaid scarves in our AWSP colors which were noticed by many (that’s a good thing!) Rep. Mike Chapman from the 24th district even requested one for his scarf collection!

After a recent talk from Richard Louv, Marty revisits an old magazine article talking about Louv's book, The Nature Principle, which outlines a course of action for human restoration by way of the natural world.

The legislative river is running as close to 1,500 bills have been introduced since December’s prefiling. Included among those are a number of bills affecting pensions, health, and job benefits. Hearings and any resulting action moving bills out of committees have begun as both houses move toward the first cut-off date. This is a brief summary of bills of interest: Retirement Related Proposals

The School Employees’ Benefit Board met for an all-day meeting and covered, as usual a wide range of topics. (Read the full post for the whole summary)

Welcome to another episode of AWSP News, where we discuss the new legislative session and the Tobacco 21 initiative, Vicki Puckett as the NASSP Quarterly Advocate, two amazing students who won $10,000 US SSSPenate Youth Scholarships, Evergreen Public School's "starting small" video featuring AWSL's James Layman, Central Valley High School's powerful Mental Health Awareness Day, our Future School Leaders Day and Future Educators Month, Rich Knuth Distinguished Mentor Award winner Heather Renner, the latest issue of Washington Principal and success of the Lopez Island Farm Education program video, the nomination window for the Robert J. Handy Most Effective Administrator Award, and Summer Conference registration.

Considering a school yard garden? Here are some tips.