New AWSP Learning Lab course explores how principals and front-office professionals can build stronger teams, better systems, and a school culture where everyone belongs.
Before a student meets their teacher, before a family sits down with the principal, and before a visitor experiences a single classroom, they’ve likely already encountered the people who help define the school’s culture.
The front office.
It’s where questions get answered, problems get solved, tears get wiped away, and the occasional chaos of a school day finds its way to the counter.
And it’s where a school makes its first impression. Every single day.
That’s the starting point for AWSP’s new on-demand course, Leading and Learning Together: Maximizing the Strengths of the Team to Create and Maintain a Positive, Effective, and Impactful Front Office Culture.
Two Perspectives. One Team.
Dr. Scott Seaman, AWSP Executive Director, and Kim Marquette, AWSP Operations Director, have spent decades working together in school leadership and operations.
Scott brings the perspective of a classroom teacher, assistant principal, principal, and statewide education leader. Kim brings extensive experience as a school secretary, administrative assistant, and operations leader.
Together, they’ve learned something important: A great front office doesn’t happen by accident.
It takes trust. It takes communication. It takes intentional systems. And it takes people who recognize that their different strengths make the team stronger.
Culture, Systems, and Learning
Throughout the course, Scott and Kim explore three interconnected leadership domains: Culture, Systems, and Learning.
Culture is how people experience your school. It’s the greeting at the counter, the relationship with a frustrated parent, the way a student is treated after a difficult morning, and the trust that holds a team together.
Systems are the routines and structures that make those experiences consistent. Clear communication, established protocols, regular meetings, and shared expectations help teams spend less time putting out fires and more time supporting students.
Learning is what keeps the team moving forward. It’s the willingness to ask what’s working, what isn’t, and what needs to change.
These domains don’t operate independently. They reinforce one another, and the strongest teams recognize that different people bring different strengths to each.
The Power of Your School’s Context
No two schools are exactly alike.
The people, history, community expectations, and organizational dynamics of a school all influence its culture. Scott and Kim challenge participants to examine these forces rather than assume a strategy that works in one building will automatically work in another.
They also encourage participants to look at their own leadership strengths.
Are you naturally drawn to building relationships? Creating efficient systems? Helping colleagues learn and grow?
There’s room for all three. The challenge is recognizing how those strengths work together.
Small Changes. Schoolwide Impact.
The course isn’t just about theory. Scott and Kim offer practical recommendations that teams can put into action, including regular meetings, stronger communication practices, shared professional learning, and systems that help everyone work more effectively.
Participants also examine real-world scenarios, from repeated student referrals to the subtle warning signs of declining team morale.
The goal isn’t to create a perfect front office overnight. It’s to build a team that continually learns, adapts, and improves.
Learn Together. Lead Together.
Leading and Learning Together is designed for principals, assistant principals, school secretaries, administrative assistants, office managers, and other front-office professionals.
While participants can complete the course independently, its reflection and discussion opportunities make it particularly valuable for teams learning together.
Because the front office isn’t simply where a school day begins.
It’s where leadership becomes visible.
Explore Leading and Learning Together in the AWSP Learning Lab and discover how your team can strengthen the culture of your entire school.
Your Facilitators
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Meet Your Facilitators
Scott Seaman joined AWSP in July 2013. Scott was a teacher, coach and principal for 19 years. He spent 12 of those years as Principal at Tumwater High School. Scott’s career started as a Spanish teacher and soccer coach at Capital High School in Olympia. He then moved to neighboring Tumwater School District and became the Assistant Principal at Tumwater High School for three years before taking over the principalship. Scott earned his Masters in School Administration from Seattle University, returned to WSU to earn his superintendent credentials, and graduated with a doctorate from UW’s Leadership For Learning program in June 2018. |
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Meet Your Facilitators
Kim Marquette joined AWSP in August 2014 after 25 years with the Tumwater School District, including 14 years as the administrative and athletic secretary at Tumwater High School. A Tumwater High School graduate, Kim attended Olympia Technical Community College. Her experience in school operations brings a practical front-office perspective to building strong teams and welcoming school environments. Kim oversees internal and external operations, supports the executive director and the AWSP and WSPEF boards, manages the organization’s master calendar, and is the primary liaison with venue partners for conferences and workshops. |
