August 27th Edition

AWSA Update

A Culture of Feedback: Indicators and Opportunities

A Culture of Feedback. Every school would say this is an essential ingredient of a high-performing school. Students receive timely feedback targeted at specific areas and ways to improve. Teachers provide feedback to one another in constructive and actionable ways. Coaches and principals are engaging in conversations about the impact of instruction and lesson design. Sounds glorious right? There are many factors that often keep a school from attaining a culture of feedback and also some sure-fire principles and beliefs to uphold. Read more here.

The Heartwork of Culture Building

Creating a culture that students want to learn in, staff want to work in, and families want to be a part of is the “heartwork” that school leaders step into, embrace, stress over, celebrate and live out. This journey is full of trials and tribulations, yet one that holds the promise of profoundly impacting every student and adult. As leaders, we are tasked with not just managing a building but cultivating an environment where every individual feels seen, valued, and believed in. This is the heart of a "culturized" school, a place where the work is guided by the unwavering belief that every student deserves our best everyday. Read more here.

Building a Culture of Staff Engagement in the Kaukauna Area School District

Across the country, educators and leaders are grappling with what Gallup calls the "engagement crisis." Nationally, just 31% of employees in the U.S. are engaged, while 17% are actively disengaged, otherwise known as “loud quitting.” Schools are not immune to this reality. When staff are disengaged, the impacts are felt by students, families, co-workers, and entire communities. Read more here.

Principal Leadership Award Nominations Are Now Open

Nominations of Wisconsin PK-12 principals can now be submitted online at KohlEducation.org for the 2026 Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Principal Leadership awards. The deadline for submission is Friday, October 3, 2025 at 5 p.m. central time. Awards are $6,000, with an additional $6,000 grant going to the school of each selected principal. Click here to learn more.

Save the Date for Upcoming AWSA Conferences

• Associate Principals Convention: January 28-30, 2026, Grand Geneva Resort, Lake Geneva
• Middle & High School Convention: February 11-13, 2026, KI Center, Green Bay
• Registration will open for both conferences this fall.

Elementary Principals’ Convention- Register Today!

Join your peers from throughout the state at the Elementary Principals’ Convention in LaCrosse  October 1-3.  The Convention will feature sessions by Mary Hemphill, Joe Sanfelippo, WI school exemplars, and AWSA thought leaders. Register today!

Recognizing our 2025 Class of Retirees

We are grateful for our members who retired this past school year.  THANK YOU for your many years of dedicated service.  May the coming weeks and months open an invigorating and more leisurely chapter of your lives and provide time to recall many fond memories of countless students and families well served: Class of 2025 Retirees- 2nd Edition.

August 13th Edition 

AWSA Update

DPI Updates Mandatory Reporting Training: What You Need to Know and Consider Moving Forward

On June 13, 2025, DPI published an EdLeaders Dispatch update regarding mandatory reporting requirements. The update advised of new mandatory training materials and DPI’s position on mandatory reporting of certain consensual sexual activity between minors. The update also provided a new Administrator Implementation Guide to support compliance with mandatory reporting training obligations. The purpose of this AWSA update is to provide a brief overview of the new training and DPI guidance. Read more here.

Teacher Compensation Practices When Collective Bargaining Disappears: A Follow-up Study 10 Years After 

This research found that teacher compensation practices have changed substantially in the roughly 10 years since Act 10. Most notably, many of the districts studied have returned to a modified version of the traditional step-and-lane salary structure, while few report that they have continued to use performance pay and additional compensation for teachers to acquire specific knowledge and skills beyond additional and more general advanced degrees. Read more here.