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  • The Greatness Guide: Leaders Make Tough Choices

    Lisa M. Upton, Principal, Kiona-Benton City Elementary School, Kiona-Benton School District
    Mar 15, 2024
    I’ve realized that in the world of leadership, the path less traveled is often paved with tough decisions and unwavering values. It's not about being everyone's favorite, and being kind doesn’t make you weak. Leadership is about making decisions that, while they may not please everyone, are in the best interest of students, staff, community, and the mission at hand.
  • What Is Our Definition of Post-Secondary Success?

    Dr. Scott Seaman, Executive Director, AWSP
    Mar 14, 2024
    I recently attended the second of three convenings at the Gates Foundation with educational partners from every sector you can imagine. From early learning to higher education, various perspectives, organizations, community partners, and agencies were in the room—including students. Why are we meeting? To urgently address our state’s low FAFSA completion rates, decreasing number of students pursuing post-secondary educational opportunities, and how these trend data compare to our state’s current and future job market. We are not moving in the right direction as a system. Something must be done, and soon.
  • Assistant Principals: A Direct Line of Hope

    Dr. Scott Seaman, Executive Director, AWSP
    Mar 11, 2024
    Principals carry this burden of school-wide hope, but if they are lucky, they are not alone. While principals set the tone for the entire school, there is another group who are quite often working on hope from a completely different angle—our assistant principals. These unsung heroes are a direct line of hope to some of our most hopeless students. Our assistant principals have the opportunity to reach many of our students who don’t feel loved (at school or at home), who don’t have any sense of belonging in their lives, and far too often lack any vision of life in the future, yet alone where they might get their next meal.
  • FYI: Important Update for Washington State Principals and Assistant Principals – New Evaluation Deadline in Effect!

    Jack Arend, Deputy Director, AWSP
    Mar 11, 2024
    As we move from winter winds down and we can see spring just around the corner, we just want to remind principals and assistant principals that your own evaluation must be wrapped up on or before June 1 of each school year. This includes them having a summative conference, scoring, final eval, etc. This is the first year this date has been REQUIRED, per the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 392–191A–190(8) (see the WAC text below).
  • Legislative Update | March 4-8, 2024

    Roz Thompson, Governmental Relations & Advocacy Director, AWSP
    Mar 08, 2024
    Yesterday, the Legislature adjourned “Sine Die”. Over the past few days, decisions were solidified about final supplemental budgets and final bill language. Here is my description about this year’s legislative session based on the book Fortunately that I used to read to my own kids.
  • 2 - 1 = ? | Where Do Assistant Principals Fit Into the Equation?

    Patrick Vincent, Elementary Grade-Level Leadership Committee Chair and Principal, Union Gap School, Union Gap School District
    Mar 07, 2024
    Before working in education, I worked in the private sector as an HR manager for aerospace manufacturing firms in Los Angeles. My time on the other side of the wall (the office versus the shop) gave me plenty of time to evaluate the efficient operations of machines, people, and processes. It was the latter that I find most interesting now.
  • Feedback for OSPI on the Model Student Handbook

    Anna Marie Dufault, Student Engagement and Support Assistant Superintendent, OSPI
    Mar 06, 2024
    OSPI is seeking your feedback on model student handbook language that school districts will be required to use to notify students, families, and employees about important rights, complaint options, and contacts.
  • Online Modules for Administrators Government-to-Government Relationships Training Now Available!

    Jack Arend, Deputy Director, AWSP
    Mar 05, 2024
    Good news, everyone! The long-awaited asynchronous Government-to-Government training is here. House Bill 1426 passed in 2021 and it requires that administrators who renew their administrator certificate on or after July 1, 2023 must complete a five-hour Government-to-Government Relationships Training. Administrators also need to complete 10 clock hours related to leadership standards and 10 clock hours related to equity before renewing their certificates.
  • Legislative Update | Feb. 26 - March 1, 2024

    Roz Thompson, Governmental Relations & Advocacy Director, AWSP
    Mar 01, 2024
    Today, March 1, is the last day to consider (or pass) opposite house bills (except initiatives and alternatives to initiatives, budgets and matters necessary to implement budgets, differences between the houses, and matters incident to the interim and closing of the session). March 7 is scheduled to be “Sine Die” – the last day of the legislative session. Work goes on behind the scenes to reconcile the two different budgets from the House and the Senate.
  • Retirement & Health Benefits for March 1, 2024

    Fred Yancey, The Nexus Group LLC
    Mar 01, 2024
    Action has centered around floor debate and voting on proposed bills from the opposite house. As explained previously in the TWIO, if any bill is changed/amended by action in the opposite chamber, the ‘reconciliation’ process must take place. The “*” before a bill below indicates that reconciliation will need to occur. If no changes take place and the proposed bill is adopted by the opposite house, the bill is signed and then sent to the Governor for his response.

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David Morrill | Communications & Technology Director | (800) 562-6100

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