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And the Greatest of These is Love: Partnering with Parents
The walkie crackled, “Sky’s mother is in the office.” I pushed the button, “Copy. I’ll be right down.” I signaled to the teacher I would be back. She continued to watch Sky as he was starting to right the chairs he had thrown. As I walked, I repeated my mantra for hard family meetings: “be…
Learn MoreCultivating Hope: It’s Never Too Late
Elementary School was extremely challenging for me. I was a square peg trying to fit into a round hole and it wasn’t working. When I think about those early years, I felt tremendous embarrassment that I would be “found out.” I struggled in all basic education skills. I couldn’t read or spell basic words, math…
Learn MoreHopes and Dreams: A Story of Belonging
When someone holds onto their hopes and dreams, they possess powerful encouragement that can help them overcome any obstacle in their way. Having a clear vision of what they want to achieve can provide a person with a sense of purpose to fuel determination and inspire perseverance. George Washington Carver once said, “Where there is…
Learn MoreTapping Into Hidden Potential — A Book Summary From The Main Idea
Are we truly tapping into each student’s fullest potential? We know that every single student has potential for growth and achievement, but it’s not always so clear how to unleash that potential in schools. Adam Grant’s latest book, Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things, has some great ideas for us. Adam is an…
Learn MoreSchool Celebration Newsletter | April 2024
I love APRIL. Springtime brings crazy schedules for the Cromwell family. However, I am determined to enjoy these precious moments with my family along with the later sunsets, the blooming flowers, the birds chirping in the morning, and evenings on the back deck. All of these beautiful signs of spring make me smile. This month…
Learn MoreElementary Leaders, NAESP Needs Your Vote
Last week, I had the honor of representing our state and AWSP members at the NAESP National Advocacy Conference in Washington, D.C. While there, I was able to hear from both candidates running for NAESP Vice-President. Both candidates were able to answer the questions put before them, though Ann-Marie Gleason articulated her thoughts and personalized…
Learn MoreThe Greatness Guide: Leaders Make Tough Choices
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,…
Learn MoreWhat Is Our Definition of Post-Secondary Success?
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…
Learn MoreAssistant Principals: A Direct Line of Hope
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…
Learn MoreFYI: Important Update for Washington State Principals and Assistant Principals – New Evaluation Deadline in Effect!
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…
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