September 8th Edition

Tips for Taking Action with Tech-Friendly Interventions

by Monica Burns, Ed.D.

Collecting formative assessment data is an essential part of a teacher’s day, but it is critical to consider what happens next. Formative assessment data should be actionable and give educators information they can use to inform future instruction. There is no point in gathering data if we’re not going to use it, and carving out time to analyze data is crucial.

Read more.


2022 Principal Leadership Awards: Nominate a Principal You Know Today!

AWSA and the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation are celebrating our sixth year of providing fellowships for principals and their schools. The purpose of the Herb Kohl Wisconsin Principal Leadership Award is to recognize and support excellence in Wisconsin school administration. The Herb Kohl Educational Foundation's goal is to support Wisconsin principals in pursuit of their unrealized goals for their schools or professional development. The 12 public school Kohl Leadership Award recipients and the 12 schools of those principals will each receive $6,000 grants from the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation and will be recognized at a spring banquet.  

The Wisconsin elementary and secondary Principal of the Year will be selected from the Leadership award recipients. Specific information regarding the Principal Leadership award is available here. Nominations are due October 12, 2021. 

If you know a principal who has positively influenced their community, please consider nominating them today! If you have any questions please contact Jena Sebald at [email protected]

Do You Have a Teacher That is Leading the Way in Excellence and Innovation?

The Herb Kohl Educational Foundation is also currently accepting nominations for their Teacher Fellowship Program. The goal of this program is to support teachers in the pursuit of their unrealized goals for their classrooms or professional development. The 100 Herb Kohl Fellowship recipients and the 100 schools of those teachers will each receive a $6,000 grant. 


Comprehensive School Mental Health Academy | Registration Closes Friday, September 10, 2021

Meeting the rising mental health needs of school communities is an increasing challenge for education leaders.  The Comprehensive School Mental Health Academy is designed to grow capacity in Wisconsin’s School Mental Health Framework and related efforts.  The overall goal is to equip leaders with easy-to-access resources, tools, and application examples so that relevant, local action can be thoughtfully implemented and monitored.

Prior to attending the academy, teams will complete the first section of the SHAPE assessment, which provides guidance on forming a strong team. SHAPE is used to assess comprehensive school mental health system quality at the school or district level based on seven quality domains, associated indicators, and best practices.

If you are interested in improving mental health in your school/community, then consider participating in the Comprehensive School Mental Health Academy.

Read more.


Upcoming Essential Standards Webinar Series 

The pandemic illuminated a lot of improvement areas --in positive ways-- and one of those is the need for staff to truly refine curriculum, focusing on Essential Learnings or Power Standards/Clearer standards for each grade and subject, and vertical articulation.  AWSA will be providing a series of webinars to equip school leaders and leadership teams with the knowledge and skills to facilitate this work back at the school/district level.  Participants may choose all four webinars or pick and choose the specific topic of need. Click here to find out more

  1. Foundational: What is a Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum and how are defined Essential Standards a key element of important work? 
    Tuesday, October 12, 2021 | 1pm - 3pm

  1. Identifying Essential Standards:  Learn a process and be introduced to tools from a some Wisconsin schools and also from Learning by Doing: A handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work ©2016.  
    Monday, October 18, 2021 | 1pm - 3pm

  1. Formative Assessments: Why does formative assessment matter in the classroom?  Learn how to create and use formative assessment on a regular basis to monitor mastery of Essential Standards.
    Tuesday, November 9, 2021 | 1pm - 3pm

Now What?: Learn how to lead the work in your building (Principal's role, Coach's Role, Guiding Coalition Role and PLC Role)  This session will focus on the structures and systems to support the work.
Tuesday, November 23, 2021 | 1pm - 3 pm 


September 22th Edition

Student Health Care Records and COVID-19, Bob Butler

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, school administrators have spent a heightened amount of time discussing and addressing student health.  Whether those conversations involved student mental health and/or the physical health of students, more stakeholders – both internal and external – have asked questions and sought district data regarding student health.  From the number of COVID-19 positive cases, to the number of students excluded from school as close contacts, to the supports offered for students’ mental health, all districts have had to address how they maintain, and in limited circumstances, release student patient health care records. 

Read more.


 2019 Act 118: What Administrators Need to Know about Seclusion and Restraint, DPI Wellness Team

The pandemic has prompted our educational system to focus on how we support student mental health and well-being, and has highlighted and exacerbated many of the inequities within our system.  Practices such as seclusion and restraint certainly have an impact on the mental health and well being of both students and the staff members, and the data is clear that these practices are overwhelmingly used on students with disabilities.

Read more.


Back to School: Student and Staff Mental Health, Elizabeth Krubsack

The first day of school remains a momentous event for families with school-age children.  The backpacks, the school supplies, the endless front porch pictures.  But some things are clearly not business as usual.  Where they eat lunch depends on how far they can get away from their classmates.  They pack multiple masks to change out when they get too damp.  Buses have assigned seats.  Households get multiple symptom check emails each morning. The list of new normal goes on and on. 

Read more.


Ready. Set. Pivot!: 4 Things You Can Do to Prepare for Impromptu Learning at a Distance, Caroline Haebig

As school systems continue to face the pandemic, many educators are still working on how to pivot when students are unable to attend school in person. The purpose of this article is to help educators build a foundation of the work they are already engaged in.  Specifically, this article outlines routines and strategies that can support learners and their families in face-to-face learning environments and ease the transition to distance learning when needed.

Read more.


Self-Care Video Series For School Leaders 

While serving others can be incredibly rewarding, it also can take its toll. So how are you caring for yourself?  How are you finding support for your ongoing role in the road ahead? AWSA invites you to review our webinar series from the 2020-21 school year that members may find equally helpful or even more so for the school year ahead of us.

The Self Care Video Series has information on a variety of topics centered around strengthening individual resilience, setting boundaries, and helpful self-care strategies, while also examining the aspects of the work environment that drive individual and staff fatigue. 

Building a Compassionate Staff Culture

Managing Expectations (of Self and Others)

Setting Compassionate Boundaries

Acknowledging “the Good” & Expressing Gratitude

Letting Go (of the Need to Control Everything)

Developing Optimism and a Growth Mindset

Building Community and Empathy

Self-Awareness and Positive Self-Talk