If you haven’t heard the news, Dr. Kurt Hatch, one of our Associate Directors, is moving on to another incredible professional opportunity. Starting June 1st, Kurt will be the Educational Administration Program Director and professor of practice at the University of Washington Tacoma. Although a direct loss for AWSP, it is an indirect win as Kurt will be shaping and preparing the next generation of school leaders at UW-T.

Kurt joined AWSP about five years ago after a successful career as a building administrator and teacher. While at AWSP, Kurt served in a variety of capacities ranging from professional learning to becoming an important principal voice on statewide committees and task forces, to leading courageous conversations about race and equity. Kurt carried the AWSP torch proudly as he represented the mission of AWSP, which is supporting principals and the principalship in the education of all students. Kurt’s leadership and influence across the state have been invaluable and will be deeply missed.

When Kurt first came to AWSP, he was hired as the Director of Diversity and Equity. That move was in line with what many organizations in both the public and private sectors were doing as they were hiring similar positions. A few years ago, we changed Kurt’s title to Associate Director to (1) capture the wide array of work in which Kurt was deeply engaged, and (2) to shift our internal thinking away from placing the sole burden of leading race and equity on the one (at the time) Black male. Leading equity is not up to Kurt; it’s up to the entire organization and all those within. It’s up to all of us. And quite frankly, there’s greater urgency and burden for the white leaders in the system to lead the charge, and be the change.

As AWSP moves forward, we face a challenge immediately finding a replacement for Kurt. You might not see a job posting for his position for a while. For one, we don’t want to rush finding the right person. And secondly, we all know finding a high-caliber school leader willing to leave their building in late June is not prudent. In fact, when we hired Kurt, we had a similar situation requiring internal shifts so when the time was right, we could get the right person. 

But if we were filling Kurt’s position today, who would we be looking for? Someone who loves kids. Someone who loves the principalship. Someone with successful and effective school-level leadership experience. Someone who knows and understands how to lead adult learning. Someone with incredible interpersonal skills who can advocate and represent principal voice across the state. Someone with passion, a vision, and conviction for leading change. Someone who believes in the value of a team. Someone who is reflective in their practice. And yes, someone who will fight head-on for systems-level changes through the lens of race and equity. Is that you?

As the Executive Director at AWSP, it is my duty to lead our organization now and well into the future. You might be wondering how we can maintain our current level of high-quality support to our members by not immediately replacing Kurt’s position. Well, my answer is simple. I’d rather have us make internal adjustments right now to cover the scope of Kurt’s work until the right time and the right person comes along.

AWSP is a rapidly changing organization. Together with your student programs organization, the Association of Washington Student Leaders (AWSL), we are elevating the important roles both principals and student leaders play in shaping school culture, creating equitable systems, and improving learning for everyone. 

Kurt made AWSP better. He made us stronger as leaders. He left a long-lasting impact and legacy with us and across the state and country. We are better leaders thanks to Kurt’s time at AWSP. Future leaders enrolling in UW-T’s principal prep program will be in good hands. 

Onward.