We are all advocates for the principal profession! Our daily interactions with students and adults are opportunities for us to communicate about the importance of education and having strong leaders.  

Want to help do more? Become a Principal Partner for Legislators to connect more regularly with a legislator you already have a relationship with, or find one you're interested in developing a better relationship with. It’s easy! Email Roz Thompson if you are interested.

Once you are connected to a legislator, reach out to them and their legislative assistant to share contact information. Create a reminder on your calendar to share updates with your legislative partner each month or so. You can also invite them to visit your school. The goal is for the legislator to know a principal in their district who he or she can call to get an understanding of how potential policy may impact student learning and the management of a school building.

We know our students' mental and behavioral health needs are increasing. We also know many adults around us face stressful situations in their lives. When talking to family, friends and students, and interacting with coworkers, we know lots of people around us are dealing with mental health issues. So what can we do? When does a situation become an illness or a crisis? How can we help until professionals can take over?

The City of Auburn developed a one hour mental health training so anyone can be a first responder to mental health needs. This is similar to teaching people CPR. We can all do something until trained help arrives. But what should we do?

The R.E.A.D.Y. (Real Emergency Aid Depends on You) program is a first step in increasing awareness of mental health issues, reducing fear, and providing tools for people to use in a crisis situation. If we can share this information with others, we will begin to end the stigma that keeps many people from seeking help when it’s needed.

The City of Auburn created a one hour training video. 

High school students in Auburn are currently helping to develop a 30 minute video for students. For more information, contact Pat Bailey.
 

OSPI has a “Mental Health and Schools” page on their website. There are some great resources here for you and your teachers. Be sure to connect with your health teachers to see how they might be incorporating the mental health literacy standards in their classes.

In this episode of AWSP News, Kurt Hatch fills in for Scott Seaman and we discuss:

• the challenges and rewards of the principals job,
• National and State Principals Month,
• our Facebook contest to celebrate the month,
• how much the average principal is working,
• Principal of the Year and Assistant Principal of the Year nominations,
• Cameron Grow’s Fast Five Video for Creating a Positive Staff Culture,
• proposals for presenting at the Pave the Way Conference put on by the Washington Student Achievement Council,
• two OSPI webinars related to student discipline,
• getting eligible students to vote,
• Prudentials 24th annual Spirit of Community Awards, and
• CSTPs 15th birthday.

Prefer to read the news? Read our script.

Watch our AWSP Board President-Elect and all around good guy, Cameron Grow, give five tips for creating a positive staff culture. Cameron is the proud principal at Lincoln Middle School in the Pullman School District. He even got a little extra credit for this video with a bonus tip, which if you follow @LMSprincipals on Twitter (and you should be), you might already know. 

Thanks, Cameron. Got any great tips to share? Add them in the comments below. 

Check out our latest AWSP News, where we discuss:

• post-strike and post-bargaining focus on culture,
• the closing gap between teacher and principal pay and what we’re doing about it,
• including our recent survey,
• participating with us and our #AskAWSP segment,
• Robert Hand, our new state Teacher of the Year,
• nominating a great colleague for Principal or Assistant Principal of the Year,
• Senator Wellman, our 2018 Torch of Leadership winner,
• great resources for you to communicate with parents on the GearUp website,
• taking the lead on learning in your building,
• and using student voice to keep students engaged and motivated.

Prefer to read the news? Check out our script.

Partnering with equity-focused committees and agencies is one way AWSP focuses on educational justice for historically underserved populations. 

On Tuesday, Director of Government Relations, Roz Thompson and I traveled to Renton for a meeting of the Educational Opportunity Gap Oversite and Accountability Committee (EOGOAC).

A highly influential group of decision-makers, the EOGOAC’s mission is to address the opportunity gap in Washington state.

Reacting to a report provided by OSPI, they voiced concerns about how best to ensure achievement data is available and usable at the district, school and community level. They also gave specific feedback about an initial draft-proposal from OSPI and the State Board of Directors for a newly revamped school recognition system.  The proposal includes a number of important conceptual ideas including:

• Establishing a shared understanding of values they want to bring into a new recognition system.
• Creating a system of recognition that mirrors the breadth and depth of perspective featured in the new ESSA accountability requirements.
• Acknowledging and naming the institutional racism and bias in our existing system in order to design a system that recognizes our schools and communities as assets.

Out of the box thinking and bold steps are needed to call out inequity and have in-depth conversations about race. Doing so in partnership with OSPI, the State Board of Education and the EOGOAC will continue to be a priority for AWSP.

Learn more about the EOGOAC by visiting their website.

Learn More

Here is what we know:

 

• The 3.1% cap on administrator salaries is only a one-year cap.
• The 3.1% salary limitation was intended for all positions and was not clearly articulated for classified and instructional staff positions in statutory language.
• Your principal contract agreements should be limited to the 2018-19 year. This lets you respond next year to the salary increases teachers are getting this year, as well as any modifications the Legislature might make this coming session.
• The Legislators we've talked to have told us that the narrowing gap between principal and teacher salaries is an unintended consequence of contract negotiations.

• Helping principals navigate teacher strikes throughout the state.
• Helping principals reset their school culture following difficult negotiations.
• Combining the best elements of model principal contracts to help prepare principals for negotiations next year.
• Engaging stakeholders in the discussion around narrowing the gap between principal and teacher salaries (this includes legislators, OSPI and other education advocates).
• Creating resources to advocate for the importance of supporting principal leadership.

• If you are a principal or assistant principal complete this short survey to provide us with data, information, and anecdotes on the narrowing pay gap, your workload, and your stress level. We'll use this data to fight for principals across the state.
• Contact your legislators and your situations - tell your unique stories.
• Contact us for help with strike preparation, recovery, or additional resources.

We know great things are happening in our schools each day thanks to your leadership. Make sure you practice self-care during these challenging times and take pride in knowing your work matters to all students. 

In this episode of AWSP News, we discuss:

• teacher strikes across the state,
• the shrinking gap between principal and teacher pay,
• some great ideas for starting the year off right,
• our interview with Washington comedian and actor Joel McHale,
• some safety and vaping resources from OSPI,
• another OSPI budget survey,
• your goals for the year,
• our goals for the year and two new staff to support the east side of the state,
• our new #AskAWSP segment, and
• a great quote about principal leadership from former Governor Christine Gregoire.

Prefer to read the script? Read it here.

I’m in trouble...I’m not in trouble...am I in trouble? Confused? After two years of writing and revising, OSPI finally adopted new state rules (WACs) for student discipline. The rules describe how school administrators discipline students, communicate with parents, and provide guidance and due process expectations for suspended or expelled students. 

It’s going to take time to wade through everything. You might have to change processes. New rules might require board approval. You’ll definitely want to communicate the changes with students, staff, parents, and community. Staff will need training. 

All that’s to say, you have a lot of work on your plate. OSPI will phase the rules in over a two-year period, starting in the 2018-19 school year with classroom exclusions, absences and tardiness, the right to educational services, and student re-engagement plans. The following year, new rules kick in for parent notification requirements, appeal and grievance procedures, and new conditions and limitations will be required. 

We’ll put out our own resources for handling the student discipline rules in the coming weeks. Fortunately, OSPI has a bunch of resources ready now. OSPI really wants districts, buildings, and classrooms to have the resources and supports they need with a holistic student discipline view, including classroom management, mental health, and restorative justice. 

For the time being, here’s a to-do list you might find helpful:

• Read sections of the WAC related to the changes that go into effect this school year and compare the information with your student handbook.

• Familiarize yourself with the rules defining misconduct and the distribution of these rules in WAC 392-400-225.

• This WAC lists the ways in which you are required to inform parents/guardians, students, and other stakeholders regarding your discipline rules. It also speaks to disaggregated data collection.

• Read the Discipline in Schools: A Parent Guide, along with the quick introduction guide. They're both great to use with your staff.

• Share the updated information regarding the rules with your staff. In some cases, not all, the newly adopted rules will require a change in how student discipline has been applied in your school.

• View the technical guide. 

• Read the corrected version of the final rules’ Concise Explanatory Statement.
  

You can find these resources and other information regarding the final discipline rules on OSPI’s New Student Discipline Rules webpage. As always, AWSP is here to help. After reviewing the information, please call our office at 1-800-562-6100 if you have any questions.

I've heard of vaping, but "juuling" is new to me. If you're now sure what "juuling" is, it's basically a form of vaping often difficult to detect. We've heard from principals about the many challenges vaping presents in schools, one of the main ones being, you have no clue what's being vaporized and ingested.

To get you up-to-speed, watch the embedded video from PBS News Hour and read EdWeek's article, Juuling and Teenagers: 3 Things Principals and Teachers Need to Know. 

For the third year in a row, TVW's Inside Olympia interviewed Washington's Teacher of the Year and one of our Principals of the Year. This year, the teacher also happened to be the National Teacher of the Year, Mandy Manning. Our Middle Level Principal of the Year, Marc Gallaway, represented principals.

Marc and Mandy sat down with host Austin Jenkins to discuss what's happening in the halls and classrooms of Washington's public schools? The hour-long interview includes great conversation between the three. Be sure to watch the video, but even if you don't have time, take a minute to share the link on your social media – it's a great way to showcase the great things happening in public education. 

Dear Principals,

This year’s Basic Education Funding Bill has given your school an unprecedented opportunity to update a significant capital resource: your library.  Substitute Senate Bill 6362designated for library materials in the Basic Education Funding bill created a $20/FTE line item for libraries.  

The Washington Library Association (WLA)  encourages you to advocate for this funding with your district and collaborate with your Teacher-Librarian to develop a plan for using these funds. This bill allocated MSOC funding for library materials as separate and unique from “Other Supplies.”  WLA asked legislators for this change in response to the need to develop culturally responsive materials and to equitably fund library programs in every school for every child.

Here is a screen shot from page 6 of SB 6362 that shows clearly the legislative intent of this funding change:


 6362 Session Law Text

Although we understand the $20 per FTE is not a mandate, it does show a clear legislative intent for school districts to ensure all students have access to quality library materials including books, online resources, computer science tools, makerspaces and materials that support adopted curriculum and initiatives.

In the 2015 Washington State Study of Library Information Technology WSSLIT study coordinated by OSPI and WLA, (http://bit.do/WSSLIT15) and in similar studies conducted  across the nation, there is a strong correlation between support for school library staffing, instruction and materials, and student success (http://bit.do/library-impact-studies). Schools with strong library programs show  higher student scores on statewide assessments, particularly in reading, and higher five year graduation rates.  Schools with strong library programs also have more equitable access to technology and research resources for students – something that is very important to ensuring ALL students have access to these tools and instruction on how to use them.

In the past decade, Washington State legislators have shown strong support for school libraries as evidenced by the inclusion of teacher-librarians in the prototype school staffing allocation (RCW 28A.300.173), inclusion of information technology literacy in the state’s core basic education goals (RCW 28A.150.210(3)), passage of SB 5294.  In 2015 (RCW 28A.320.240) changed the definition of a school library programs to school library information technology programs. Please note line item (e) which states:

(e) Create a culture of reading in the school community by developing a diverse, student-focused collection of materials that ensures all students can find something of quality to read and by facilitating school-wide reading initiatives along with providing individual support and guidance for students.

WLA urges you to work with your school librarian and library staff to ensure efficient and adequate planning for MSOC allocation dollars to be spent in the library. Our hope is that when the 2019 MSOC reports go to the school boards, districts will see clearly outlined how these dollars are improving student success. 

Equitable library funding allocation in SB 6362 will go a great distance to ensure that students have up-to-date and culturally responsive materials for independent reading. It also gives you an opportunity  to strengthen support for building-specific goals through targeted library collection development. 

Beginning Sept 2018, the $20/FTE allocations are coming to your district with library-specific spending recommendation. It is up to education leadership to ensure that legislative intent is met for the benefit of all students…through strong, smart school library budgets.  We urge you to advocate for your students and stand ready in support of strong school libraries for every student in Washington’s public schools.

Respectfully,

Washington Library Association 

Welcome to our last AWSP News for the 2017–18 school year, where we discuss:

• feedback for the AWSP Leadership Framework rubric language,
• examining your cultural competence and racial identity to become the best leader you can be,
• updates from OSPI,
• the State Board of Education,
• bills from this last session,
• mental health first responders,
• more high five goodness,
• updating your info with us, and
• Scott says thanks.

Prefer to read the news? Read the script.

Our mission is to support principals and the principalship in the education of all students. Part of supporting the education of all students is our core responsibility as educators to fearlessly shield children from traumatic events, ensure their safety and advocate for the health and well-being of all children, particularly those most vulnerable. 

The statements below from the national associations were all issued before President Trump signed an executive order ending the forcible separation. Here's a good explainer from CNN on what the order actually does from CNN. 

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NASSP Statement: Principals Condemn Border Policy That Forcibly Separates Children From Families

NASSP Executive Director JoAnn Bartoletti issued the following statement regarding the Trump administration border policy to forcibly separate children from their families:

“School leaders recognize the faces of traumatized children. We sit with them as they relive painful experiences, isolate themselves, and act out for their inability to manage effects of deeply damaging events. As schools across the country scrape together whatever resources they can to address the needs of traumatized students, it deeply saddens us to see the faces we know all too well needlessly spreading across the U.S.–Mexico border.

“NASSP strongly condemns the policy implemented by the Trump administration to forcibly separate children from their families crossing the border to seek asylum. We demand an immediate end to this misguided, cruel policy that is intentionally inflicting trauma on children for strictly political purposes.”

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NAESP Urges End to Child Separation Policy

In response to the Administration’s child separation policy, NAESP Executive Director Dr. L. Earl Franks, CAE has issued the following statement:

“Protecting children and ensuring their well-being is core to NAESP’s mission and to the work that principals do as school building leaders. Every day all across the country, principals provide safe and welcoming environments for their students and work vigorously to protect children from trauma in all its forms. NAESP is deeply concerned about the crisis at the U.S. border involving the separation of families and the short- and long-term impact these actions will have on children. To that end, NAESP urges the Administration to end its policy of separating children from their parents who are crossing the border and to work with Congress to find a solution that protects the well-being of these children.”

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AASA Statement On Family Separation

AASA Executive Director Daniel A. Domenech and AASA officers Gail Pletnick (Dysart Unified, AZ); Chris Gaines (Mehlville, MO) and Deb Kerr (Brown Deer Schools, WI) issued the following statement in response to the recent separation of children and parents at the border:

"Our nation’s public school superintendents and the schools they serve are legally required to educate the children that come through their doors. We are deeply concerned with recent steps that result in the separation of children and parents at the border. Immigration policy is not easy, but we are deeply troubled by the purposeful and aggressive implementation of a policy that is widely recognized as flawed, one that separates young children from their parents in a world they do not know. AASA is an organization that serves and represents education professionals. And while we won’t claim expertise in immigration policy, the nation’s public school superintendents are experts in what can and does work for students and young children, and we know that the separation policy is harmful, traumatic, and stressful, and these effects may follow these children for the rest of their lives. Policy can be tough and fair without being inhumane, and we urge the administration to immediately cease this intentionally cruel policy.”

Fred Yancey, a retired principal and superintendent, represents AWSP on health care and retirement issues. Check out his summer conference update with the latest from the School Employee Benefit Board (SEBB), the Public Employee Benefit Board (PEBB), and pensions. Fred can be reached at fyancey@comcast.net if you have questions. Read his update below.

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SEBB: School Employee Benefit Board

• K–12 health benefits will be consolidated into a statewide insurance pool administered by the Health Care Authority HCA; Effective January 1, 2020.
• At a minimum, any employee who works or is anticipated to work 630 hours more a year is entitled to benefits. Recent legislation also allowed districts, at their option, to offer benefits to those working less than 630 hours.
• Future health benefits will be collectively bargained between a coalition of education groups and representatives from the Governor’s Office. Bargaining is to begin after 1, July 2018 “to determine the dollar amount to be contributed on behalf of each employee”.
• Officials from HCA and the Office of Financial Management (OFM) are currently holding hearings seeking input from the education field on this conversion and specifically how to establish the bargaining coalitions and other issues of concern.
• It appears that the ‘management’ side of the bargaining table will solely consist of representatives from OFM.
• One KEY question concerns the funding of benefits. Will these benefits, once negotiated, be state funded on a per-FTE/state formula allocation basis? Or on head-count basis? No one knows. Districts should rightly be concerned over this issue as these potential added costs could be substantial. (Estimated statewide to be about $200-$300 million dollars.)
• The SEB Board is holding frequent and lengthy meetings to meet the deadline for full implementation.
• More detail on adopted policies, suggested models, provider interest and other issues is available on the SEBB website https://www.hca.wa.gov/about-hca/school-employees-benefits-board-sebb-program
• Regular updates and reports from Nexus are sent to AWSP, WASA and WASBO at the end of each meeting.

PEBB: Public Employee Benefit Board

• Because PEBB already administers a statewide health care insurance program, its model is the one that the SEBB is using as it creates its ‘own’ design.
• Both SEBB and PEBB are changing their prescription drug coverage provisions to compel use of generic/cheaper alternative drugs.

Pensions

As a head’s up, the Office of the State Actuary will be submitting an early report on longevity. It is likely that it will show that retirees continue to live longer. With longer lives, and a lower, assumed investment return (7.5% from earlier 7.8%), the new result is going to be an increase in pension rates paid by employers and some employees.

UPDATE

We've fixed the job search functionality. However, users are still unable to reset their own passwords. If you are an AWSP member and you need to reset your password, call us at 1.800.562.6100 or email us and we'll reset it promptly. 

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There are two ways to view jobs on AWSP now.

1. If you’re a member, you have to log in. If you know your password, everything should be simple and straightforward. Sadly, our programmers are still trying to sort out some issues with our web platform and our member management database. More on this in a minute.


2. If you’re not a member, you can sign up for one year of free access to view our job postings.

Why the change?

Well, our job listing page is the most popular page on AWSP.org. We would love it if it was our staff bios – kidding, we’re not that vain. We are working hard to promote principal longevity and keep principals in the same building longer. All the research says this is best for kids, but we know people find or change jobs all the time for all sorts of valid reasons. Our goal for the site is to be the number one resource on the web for Washington state principals. We want to provide our members better and more personalized content on a more consistent basis, and having our members sign in to use the site helps us with that.

The unintended consequence of requiring a member sign-in is some people would lose access, so we created a free job seeker account. We don’t want to put up a barrier to great principals from other states looking for jobs here, or a principal intern with a family on a teacher salary needing to spend the money on an intern membership (although we think it’s a great investment, but hey, we might be a little biased).

Cool. What does that mean for me?

If you’re a member…

• If you know your password, you’re all good. Head on in and find your perfect job.
• If you don’t know your password, please call us or email webmaster@awsp.org. We’ll get you sorted out quickly.
  
  
  
  • Our reset password function is currently stuck in a really frustrating loop. We apologize. Our vendors are working away at trying to fix it.

For anyone without an active membership right now…

• The job seeker page has a sign up which will let you create a free account.
• In theory, this account will let you access just the job postings. In practice, it’s not working yet.
• We apologize for the inconvenience. Again, we’re working to get it sorted out as soon as we can.

Conclusion

We know you are all working hard and this is a stressful time of the year no matter what. If you’re looking for a job, chances are it’s even more stressful. Thanks for your patience as our programmers try and sort everything out. Keep checking back for updates, but we expect the job seeker logins to start working very soon. Hopefully the password reset problem will be fixed quickly too, but if you can’t get logged in, reach out and we can help.

In this episode of AWSP News, we discuss:

• our new website,
• the Healthy Youth Survey,
• joining a Networked Improvement Community with a clip from Jason Smith,
• the Gender Odyssey Conference,
• cultural items for tribal students during graduation,
• a tip from Dr. Roz,
• UW’s Leadership for Learning program, and
• high five and hug data.

Prefer to read the news? Read the script.

In this episode of AWSP News, we’re coming to you from our remodeled studio to discuss:

• Principal Appreciation Night with the Tacoma Rainiers,
• two great new additions expanding our reach across the state,
• the Retreat at the Peak Summit at Chewelah Peak,
• the latest Golden Apple Moment from PEMCO,
• increasing student voice,
• our coaching and mentoring efforts, and
• the PESB’s grants for micro credentialing.

Prefer to read the news? Read the script.