April 20th EditionRegistration Open for 2022 Elementary Principals’ ConventionThe 2022 Elementary Principals’ Convention will feature sessions by Zaretta Hammond, Rick Wormeli, high-impact school leaders, and AWSA thought leaders. Review the program and register today for this fantastic learning opportunity! Reflective Leadership and Renewed HopeIt is now spring (although the weather may not mirror the season ) and we are winding down the end of another school year. For every challenge I’ve encountered this year, those challenges have been offset by many, many, rewards. Students are actively engaged in learning again. Teachers are actively engaged in learning again. I am actively engaged in learning again. There are plenty of smiles and lots of laughter. I am sharing a few key leadership takeaways that I believe school leaders need to reflect on and leverage as we continue to create our “new” normals and become even stronger instructional and servant leaders. Read More Basic Drug Impairment Detection for EducatorsWI State Patrol Lieutenant Andrew Hyer recently recorded this 90-minute video on drug impairment detection for educators. For a detailed description of the video and associate resources. Read More Utilizing Educator Effectiveness as a Tool for Educator, School, and District ImprovementThe Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has articulated five principles necessary to promote a learning-centered Educator Effectiveness (EE) System. One of those principles is the integration and alignment of the System with local improvement priorities. Since the initial implementation of the EE System in 2014, some school and district leaders have intentionally leveraged EE to create coherence around individual, school, and district improvement goals. Researchers from UW-Madison recently reached out to school and district leaders from across the state to learn about their alignment efforts. This article highlights five examples from these discussions. Read More Equitable Family and Student EngagementThere is no better way to ensure student success than to meet families where they are through equitable family engagement. The Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships supports the development of family engagement strategies, policies, and programs. As the Dual Capacity-Building Framework shows, equitable family engagement is an essential component of a thriving school. Research has shown that consistent, comprehensive, and sustained outreach programs to families and communities is associated with many positive outcomes. Read More Are You Retiring?
If you are retiring this year, please let us know by sending an email to [email protected]. We’d like to include you in our recognition announcement and also share with you information about retired membership with AWSA. AWSA’s Annual ElectionThe election is open! The success of our association depends, to a large degree, upon the quality leadership that members collectively choose to lead AWSA. We are proud that our tradition of strong leadership continues. The election will remain open through April 30. Vote Now April 6th Edition2022 Elementary Principals’ Convention: Save the DateThe 2022 Elementary Principals’ Convention will feature sessions by Zaretta Hammond, Rick Wormeli, high-impact school leaders, and AWSA thought leaders. Save the date for this fantastic learning opportunity October 12-14, 2022! Registration will open later this month. New Support for Schools Responding to Critical IncidentsThe Office of School Safety is developing regional Critical Incident Response Teams to support all PK-12 schools after a critical incident (e.g., threats, suicide, fatalities, etc.). Kelly DeJong, CIRT Coordinator, recently recorded this video providing an overview of this new support for schools and communities (video is 26 minutes). Leading LiteracyAWSA recently closed its 2022 Membership Satisfaction Survey, and literacy leadership was members' top priority for future AWSA academy development. For this reason, AWSA will be launching the Literacy for All academy this fall to support school leaders to accelerate literacy development in their buildings. Read More After the Pandemic: A Self-AssessmentSo, are we OK? Are our schools OK? To answer this question, we would do well to get some perspective. When we look at some recent polls on American schools, the data may surprise you. Despite all that has happened in the world over the last two years and despite all we have heard about protests, ugly school board meetings, and nasty social media posts, people generally like their local schools. According to Gallup in 2021, "73 percent of parents of school-aged children say they are satisfied with the quality of education their oldest child is receiving." Read More April - the Month of the Military ChildStarting in 1986, former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger initiated April as the Month of the Military Child to recognize the challenges military children face and the contributions they make. Activities associated with the Month of the Military Child are called “Purple Up” Celebrations. The color purple was chosen because it symbolizes all branches of the military, a combination of Army Green, Air Force Blue, Coast Guard Blue, Marine Red, and Navy Blue. Read More Cyber Threats: Incident Response Planning and Security TestingThe main goal of incident response is to identify threats to a school or district, respond to those threats to prevent or minimize damage, and stop the threats and recover as quickly as possible. An effective documented plan will include the right investigative procedures, reporting, data collection, management responsibility, legal protocols, and communications strategy to allow a school or district to successfully detect and respond to an attack. Read More |