AWSP Blog

As a recovering principal, you never forget the experiences you faced. Traumatic, high-stress events become permanently ingrained into the rest of our lives. And as much as we try to forget and move on, all it takes is one reminder and we are right back to the moment, the event, the decisions, and all the related emotions. On May 24, 2022, we were all given a reminder through yet another horrific school shooting and the tragic deaths of innocent students and teachers. For those in education, these unimaginable events generate additional emotions and trauma. And for principals and assistant principals, the emotions become even more complex and traumatic. Complex because we move from anger and defeat to shock, horror, sadness, and, unfortunately, the relief it wasn’t at our school.

As a superintendent, and former assistant principal and principal, I admire and respect our AWSP principals and assistant principals. Why? Principals and assistant principals are committed to the students they serve! Principals and assistant principals are advocates for their staff members! Principals and assistant principals are tireless workers committed to making things better for their school community! These are just a few of the many reasons why our principals and assistant principals are so admired and respected.

Science says that COVID19 cases are on the rise and spiking across the country. Science also says we should go back into lockdowns and social isolation. Science also says we are close to the release of a new vaccine that might finally bring us some relief. That same science says that we should get kids back in school as soon as humanly possible. But doesn’t that sound like conflicting science? Well, it’s not. After countless studies conducted throughout the country studying COVID cases, transmission rates, and symptoms among youth, on top of safe procedures for reopening our schools, the evidence seems to be overwhelming that we need to get our students out of isolation and back into our schools. Schools, like always, are proving to be one the safest places for our kids.

Check out this new resource, share it with your teacher-librarian, and begin a conversation about how you can work as a team to impact student learning: Let's Talk: A Conversation Starter to Help Future Ready Librarians Build Collaborative Relationships.

I’ve been “out of the building” now as a recovering high school principal for about seven years. My trips to the grocery store are still filled with high fives and hellos from kids and families. As a principal, I always prioritized relationships above all else, and the evidence of that can be found in any aisle of the grocery store to this day. There is no way those relationships would have happened with sixteen little video squares on a computer screen