With the move to a 24 credit high school graduation requirement, principals and schools are faced with this question: How can we create a system that ensures enough opportunities for students to earn those 24 credits without the risk of falling too far behind and losing hope?

Kid President checks in with another great video, this one pertinent to the start of the school year.

In a unanimous ruling, the State Supreme Court ruled the Legislature is in contempt by failing to provide an ample funding for basic education, the State's paramount duty according to the state constitution. The Court has given the Legislature until the end of the 2015 session to come up with a solution.

Q. I would like to know if it would be appropriate to have a booster club with officers comprised of coaches or coaches’ wives. I have been in this district for eight years and we cannot count on the community to assist due to many issues. Would we be in violation if coaches and their wives were in charge of the booster club?

We all know that positive adult-student relationships are key to students staying engaged in school. The other major factor contributing to the success of our students is their ability to see a positive future: a future of hope. In an age of school reform, talking about relationships and hope can often get pushed down the list by Common Core, instructional frameworks and testing. AWSP Leadership Framework Criteria 1 talks about the importance of Creating a Culture of learning. Where does this journey begin? It begins with hope.

Focus: To gain an understanding of the different parts of a tree and how they work together.

The Retirement and Benefits Update for the September 2nd edition of Legislative Update.

WSU football kicks off tonight, UW opens this weekend, the Seahawks are playing their last preseason game, and before long all the state's school hallways will be filled with kids. Also looming large, the outcome of the McCleary vs State decision. WASA Executive Director Bill Keim has a great blog post on school funding. Here's an excerpt below, but be sure you read the whole article.

Are you spending more time on dress code violations than instructional leadership? Or, has your school found that "silver bullet" policy that helps you spend your time where it counts? We’d like to hear from you.

We all know that taking attendance is mandatory. We also all know that taking attendance is one of those daily systems that either supports or detracts from learning. We are making a plea to our members to share their best practices around attendance systems. Enough is enough - let’s stop the suffering and bombardment for principals in attendance-related issues!

Principals, it’s your month nationally and here in Washington, Governor Inslee has proclaimed the last week of the month to be School Principals Week. Read the proclamation below or view a signed copy of the proclamation (PDF).

Kids are more ready to learn on the first day of school than any other day of the year. In many cases, it is the day they learn the least. What would happen if we set aside the rules for a couple of days and energized our students around the fun of learning and being a part of a very exciting school? It would take some creativity on the part of the teaching staff, but it would pay dividends throughout the year.

The PESB would like input deciding whether or not to require teacher candidates to pass the content knowledge test (WEST-E / NES) in the endorsement area being earned prior to student teaching. Currently, the content test is required, but there is no deadline for passing the assessment. The rationale for this proposed change is:

One in four U.S. households are without Internet access

Q. I was contacted today by a former student. She was inquiring how she could obtain the funds that her graduating class of 2004 left unspent. She wanted to use the funds for her 10 year reunion. Could you please shed some light on this?