January is Mentoring Month!! I want to thank all the AWSP-trained mentors who have willingly accepted the assignment to walk with a new/newly assigned school leader in our state. Although the 2021-22 school year has thrown all of us in K-12 education a few wrinkles, we greatly appreciate all mentors who have added additional responsibility to their plate by being a mentor to our amazing AWSP school leaders! 

As the school year continues, we’d like to take the opportunity to share a few things we are focusing on to refresh and enrich the mentoring supports we are able to provide our amazing AWSP members.

Currently, AWSP is launching critical work centered around its Principal Mentor Program in refreshing our existing mentor training program to include training and tools for mentors around issues of diversity, equity, race, and inclusion. We know school leaders are leaving their leadership positions for many reasons, but in large part due to the demands of the position.  

AWSP believes we can impact and sustain school leadership through a variety of supports. One of those supports is a robust mentor program that sustains and supports school leaders. The need to build cadres of experienced trained mentors who represent diverse intersections of identity, have similar lived experiences, and which represent multiple cultural and human differences will be needed to sustain school leadership in our state.

We believe, if we train experienced school leaders who represent diverse intersections of identity, then a diverse group of mentors will be prepared to walk alongside school leaders who have needs represented by a diverse population of school leaders. If each ESD region in our state has a cadre of experienced and trained leaders, access, opportunity, and hope can be easily accessed by school leaders across the state regardless of their local or regional context.

Additionally, we know that to advance racial equity, there is work for white leaders and leaders of color to do separately and together. We want to be intentional about providing spaces for people to work within their own racial/ethnic groups to support school leadership in our state. AWSP wants to increase statewide support for all leaders through a robust, intentional, and strategic statewide mentoring program with intentionality and focus for leaders of color, while also ensuring mentors have the skills and competencies to support seated school leaders.

We look forward to sharing updates to the AWSP mentor refresh, as well as the work of our stakeholders’ group. Updates will be posted here in blog format as the work unfolds. We are excited to get to work and best support the remarkable school leaders in our state!