AWSP Blog

The weekend leading up to the closure, all of our schools in the district were buzzing with teachers feverishly putting together work packs for students. Copy machines were running at full steam and teachers were bundling materials to keep learning alive amidst a Governor Proclamation that all schools in the state were to be closed by March 17th, 2020. Everyone has gone above and beyond to implement this new normal. Principals and district office staff have converted space in their home as their new office and teachers have transformed a space in their home as their new classroom.

Throughout these challenging times the voice of the students should be at the core. The AWSL Student Voice and Advisory Council took time to share their thoughts, questions and perspectives on how Covid-19 is affecting their academic, social, and personal livelihoods.

We assembled an expert panel of state, regional, district, and community partners to provide guidance, resources, and advice on child care during the COVID shutdown.

Looking to connect with other school leaders at your building level? Join us on Zoom for these upcoming grade-level-based office hours.

The Ed Leaders Network, or ELN, is offering three free webinars coming up. Register for Strategies for Leading Through COVID-19, an ELN Virtual Tour, and Preparing Students for College, Careers and Civic Responsibilities in the 21st Century.

We recently reached out to our contacts at online schools including Washington Virtual Academies and K12, Inc. They know that teaching students in an online environment presents challenges and are graciously sharing lots of resources with us.

In this edition of AWSP News, we discuss your amazing leadership during these unprecedented times, better work-life balance and selfcare, the Governor’s school closure announcement, information, resources, tools, and ongoing professional learning, our Weekly Friday Zoom AWSP Office Hours, separate office hours next week for grade-level specific virtual convenings, some upcoming online learning sessions from Inclusionary Practice Demonstration Sites from around the state, emergency rules that allow school districts to apply for greater flexibility in awarding diplomas to seniors impacted by closures, a Virtual Commencement Toolkit for every high school in our state, a 60 second survey, an upcoming webinar, and National Assistant Principals Week.

The University of Washington Haring Center is hosting online learning sessions with four school sites the week of April 20 to showcase the inclusionary practices these schools are implementing.

We know there have been way more questions than answers as the entire P-16 education system has moved into this new reality of distance learning. And now that we’ve officially heard from our Governor that schools will remain closed through the end of the year, even more questions are surfacing. So, what about the Class of 2020? What about all of those year-end events for seniors to celebrate the end of their K-12 experience? What about the graduation ceremony itself...the cap, gown, and tassel toss?

At a special Board Meeting today, the State Board of Education adopted emergency rules that allow school districts to apply for greater flexibility in awarding a diploma to high school seniors impacted by closures.