As we close out National Principals Month, I have a few updates to share with you. First, I want to say thank you to all the amazing principals and APs who engaged with us on social media and through email during this month celebrating YOU. As a refresher, our prompts were:
Read the Script
Hello, and welcome back to AWSP News. As we close out National Principals Month, I have a few updates to share with you. First, I want to say thank you to all the amazing principals and APs who engaged with us on social media and through email during this month celebrating YOU. As a refresher, our prompts were:
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What’s your theme or focus for this school year?
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Who is one person who has had a major impact on your school leadership career?
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What’s the funniest or strangest thing that’s happened to you at school? And,
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What’s the piece of advice you live by as a school leader?
You can find some of those answers on our social media, but you’ll also see some of our favorites pop up on our blog before long.
What else will you find on our blog soon? How about some information about the 2024 Principals and Assistant Principals of the Year? And they are…
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Nick Davies, Elementary Assistant Principal of the Year at Lake Shore Elementary in the Vancouver School District
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Heidi Fagerness, Secondary Assistant Principal of the Year from Chehalis Middle School in the Chehalis School District
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Cathy Sork, Elementary Principal of the Year from Dorothy Fox Elementary in the Camas School District
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Dr. William Jackson, Secondary Principal of the Year from Nathan Hale High School in Seattle Public Schools
Join me in congratulating all four of those outstanding school leaders. While we’re able to recognize the four of them, there aren’t enough awards to acknowledge each of you for all you do to support students across the state. However, we can share how grateful we are for all of you as we shift into November.
Not only is November a great time to practice and share gratitude, but it’s also our Fall Forum on November 14th. Join us via Zoom to connect and learn what your grade-level leadership committee representatives are up to. We love seeing new faces, connecting with our members, and taking your stories to the policymakers and legislators who need to hear them. More on that in a minute, but for now, go ahead and hit pause. Head over to learn.awsp.org and register for the Fall Forum in the AWSP Learning Lab, where you’ll soon find a new on-demand course to help you lead conversations around the new student growth goals for teachers.
Now, back to the legislators and policymaker piece. Not only is November the time for pumpkin pie, warm apple cider, sweats, and the Apple Cup, but perhaps even more anticipated, the release of our legislative platform. Relax, people, it is important, but that was a joke. What’s on our platform this year?
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Increased funding for administrative internships
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Immediate and centralized support for school leaders around behavior and discipline; instructional models, pathways, and academic success; and TPEP
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Updating some existing laws to strengthen your employment provisions
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Increased funding for school leaders in the prototypical funding formula, and
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Trying to fix the funding gap and ensure principal pay keeps up with the raises teachers have seen.
You can find our Legislative Platform on our website. Be on the lookout soon for how you can advocate to support you, your peers, and your students during the upcoming session.
Thanks again for all you do. The work you do leaves a forever impact. From all of us here at AWSP, and our foundation family of AWSL, Cispus, and Outdoor Schools Washington, keep up the great work for kids. See you next time.