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volume 39 No.

1
Fall 2009

Straight Talk
with Lawmakers

What Money Cant Buy:

p. 17

The Technology Leader


Your School
Has Been Waiting For

Powerful, Overlooked
Opportunities for Learning
By Mike Schmoker

p. 12

p. 30

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or cynthia.tracey@waldenu.edu.
Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and a member of the
North Central Association, www.ncahlc.org.
Walden University cannot guarantee that completion of coursework or any degree-level
program (bachelors, masters, education specialist, or doctorate) will lead to educator licensure,
certification, or endorsement. Walden does offer some Minnesota stateapproved programs.
While it remains the prospective students responsibility to comply with state requirements,
a Walden enrollment advisor can provide generalized statespecific information.
Call 1-866-492-5336 or visit www.WaldenU.edu for details.While it remains the prospective
students responsibility to comply with state requirements, a Walden enrollment advisor can
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professional
development
calendar

september
Renton 23 ASB Finance Issues and Answers

Moses Lake 30 ASB Finance Issues and Answers

Pasco 13 ASB Finance Issues and Answers

october

FULL


SeaTac 12 How to Work Less, Produce More and
Still Get the Job Done in a Sensible School Week

Wenatchee

ASB Finance Issues and Answers

Yakima 18-20 The AWSP Principals Conference

Olympia

ASB Finance Issues and Answers

Vancouver 22 ASB Finance Issues and Answers

If Disaster Struck Your School Today,


How Would or Should You Operate?

Bremerton 12 ASB Finance Issues and Answers

Kennewick 16-17 Extraordinary Leadership Institute

ASB Finance Issues and Answers

Anacortes 17 ASB Finance Issues and Answers

november


Olympia 3

Yakima

december

Olympia 7-8 Extraordinary Leadership Institute


Olympia 11 Working Successfully with Difficult

and Challenging Students

Spokane

Tacoma 15 ASB Finance Issues and Answers

Renton 12 ASB Finance Issues and Answers

Burien 23-24 Extraordinary Leadership Institute

ASB Finance Issues and Answers

january 2010


Shoreline 7-8 Effective Strategies to Maximize
Instructional Conversations

To learn more about AWSP professional development


activities or to register for an event, visit the AWSP
Web site at www.awsp.org.

february
Bellevue 3-5 Assistant Principals Leadership Conference

To register for the ASB workshops,


please visit the WASBO Web site at www.wasbo.org.


The Principal News is the official publication of the Association of
Washington School Principals (AWSP). It is published in the fall, winter
and spring each school year. Advertising inquiries should be addressed
to the AWSP Olympia office. All articles published become the property
of AWSP and may not be reprinted without permission.
AWSP 1021 8th Ave. SE Olympia, WA 98501-1500
(P) 360.357.7951 (F) 360.357.7966 www.awsp.org

the principal news | fall 2009

Association of Washington School Principals


Washington School Principals Education Foundation
State Components
Elementary School Principals Association of Washington
Association of Washington Middle Level Principals
Washington Association of Secondary School Principals

National Affiliates
National Association of Elementary School Principals
National Association of Secondary School Principals

AWSP STAFF


Gary Kipp

Jerry Bender

Don Rash


Paula Quinn

Robert Mc Mullen


Sharon Green
Jennifer Fellinger


Susan Davis

Annalee Braley


Denise Johnson

Caroline Brumfield

Rick Stacy

Linda Thomas



Cris Sippel


Susanne Danubio

Executive Director
Director of Governmental Relations
Director of Middle Level Programs
Director of Assessor/Mentor and Intern Programs
Director of Elementary Programs
Director of Professional Development
Director of High School Programs
Director of School Improvement Principal Support
Director of Diversity Initiatives and Services
Director of Communications and
Business Partnership Development
Executive Assistant
Membership Services Support
Middle Level Programs Coordinator
Professional Development Coordinator
Diversity Initiatives and Services Support
Communications Specialist
Financial Services and Information Technology Coordinator
Principal Leadership Support
High School Programs Coordinator
Legislation Committee Support
Elementary Programs Coordinator
PAC Support
Principal Support
Production Room Coordinator

FIELD CONTACTS

Harry Clemmons

Tom Eisenmann

Terry Barber

John Kvamme

Joe Pope


Sandie Cannady

Eastern Washington Member Services Support


PAC Membership/Special Projects
Special Projects
Legislative Support/Retirement Issues
Northwest Association of Accredited Schools (NAAS)/
School Safety
Northwest Association of Accredited Schools
(NAAS) Support

STUDENT LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS

FEATURES
Vulnerability and Leadership
12 What Money Cant Buy:

Powerful, Overlooked Opportunities for Learning

17

Straight Talk with Lawmakers


19 Senator Honored by AWSP
21 AWSP 2008-09 Annual Report
29 Difficult Times Call for Student Leadership
30 The Technology Leader Your School
Has Been Waiting For
39 Managing the Unsolvable Problem
41 Cultural Competency: It Takes a Village

COLUMNS

The Editors Desk


Jennifer Fellinger

Susan Fortin
Joe Fenbert
Jan Phillips

From the AWSP President


A Sound Investment
Phil Brockman

Student Leadership
Authentic EngagementReal Results
Susan Fortin

Director of Student Leadership


Communications and Curriculum Coordinator
Leadership Support Staff

OUTDOOR LEARNING CENTERS


Martin Fortin

Director of Outdoor Learning Centers

20

Outdoor Learning

The Outdoor School


Martin Fortin, Jr.

34

Honor Roll

Profiles of Educational Leadership


Featuring Steve Mullin

46

From the AWSP Executive Director


Quotes and Questions
Gary Kipp

Managing Editor

Jennifer Fellinger
jennifer@awsp.org


Printing



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Tumwater, WA 98512
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Tumwater, WA 98512
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42
44


Design

DEPARTMENTS
4

32

Professional Development Calendar


PR for Principals
Book Reports
AWSP/WSPEF Board Highlights
Component News

the principal news |

fall 2009

The Editors Desk


Theres

Jennifer Fellinger
Managing Editor, The Principal News
AWSP
jennifer@awsp.org

When you see this symbol


after an article, you know
theres even more great
material online!

the principal news | fall 2009

a scene in the movie American Beauty where Lester,


played by Kevin Spacey, asks his wife, Carolyn, played
by Annette Bening, When did you become so joyless? The first time I saw this
scene, my stomach dropped. Could there be anything worse in life than being joyless?
But in these challenging economic times, we find ourselves dangerously close
to becoming just thatdeprived of joy as anxiety, fear and cynicism threaten to
transcend happiness, hope and gratitude. It seems to me that principals are particularly at risk. They walk a tightrope, keeping steady while juggling countless
concernsnot just the pressures of changing assessments and dwindling resources,
but also the personal challenges of staff and students facing job loss, illness,
poverty and abuse.
And yet, after being with AWSP for just over one year, I can say one thing for
sure: Despite having to shoulder this collective burden, principals and assistant
principals are among the most joyful people I know.
I was reminded of this recently at the Principals Summer Leadership Retreat
in Leavenworth, where I joined AWSP members who had gathered to reflect on their
jobs and recharge their batteries.
What impressed me was how often the participants, often unprompted, wove joy
into their conversations about leadership. Sure, there was talk about challenges; as
we all know, there are real challenges out there. But throughout the participants
many discussions, there was an underlying focus on what makes them happiest in
their jobs. Even casual chats led to humorous reflections on the most gratifying
things about being a principalmost often, not things at all, but rather simple
acts by students, staff or parents that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Don Rash, AWSPs director of middle level programs, recently described an
exercise he used to share with his staff: Think back to the best teacher you ever
had. Write down all the things that made him or her a great teacher. Now, look at
that listhow many of the things cost money? Chances are, very few. The same
could be said, I believe, of great leaders.
Joy doesnt cost a thing. While joy may not be a prerequisite for leadership, it
seems that there are very few great leaders out there who are joyless. Perhaps this is
why, even in the toughest timesespecially in the toughest timesgreat leaders shine.
My joy comes from having the opportunity to collaborate with some outstanding
AWSP members on this magazine. I hope you enjoy this issue of The Principal News as
much as I enjoyed working on it. In addition to featuring the voices of your colleagues
in this issue, we offer a special contribution from Dr. Mike Schmoker. (Consider it a
preview of coming attractions: Dr. Schmoker will be a keynote speaker at The AWSP
Principals Conference, Oct. 18-20, in Yakima.) Weve also included our 2008-09
Annual Report, to let you know what your Association accomplished last year.
Best to you as you make your way through the new school year!

FROM THE awsp PRESIDENT

A Sound Investment
Even in a climate of economic uncertainty, an investment in
leadership never ceases to pay high dividends.

When

we opened our schools for the new


academic year, we did so under the
charge to lead our schools with fewer resources, reduced
staff and diminished support services for our students.
Fortunately, as AWSP members, we have access to countless
resources that support our work in the principalship.
The Principals Handbook, the members-only section of
www.awsp.org, offers ready-to-use materials and the latest
research on principal leadership. In addition to The
Principals Handbook,
AWSP offers excellent
professional development
through workshops,
conferences and various
training programs.
One of the best conferences of the yearThe
AWSP Principals
Conferencewill return
Phil Brockman
this fall on Oct. 18-20.
Principal, Ballard High
Seattle PS
This year, building
pbrockman@seattleschools.org
administrators and other
conference-goers from
across the state will meet in Yakima to focus on the most
important aspect of their profession: leadership.
When it comes to conferences, I often hear colleagues
say they cant afford to go, usually due to schedule or budget
concerns. We all know how it feels to be mired in the
day-to-day demands of the principalship. And these days,
those demands are intensified by the pressure of having to
do more with less. This is precisely why professional
development opportunities like The Principals Conference
are so critical. In just three days, attendees will gain
experience and knowledge that will impact their leadership
beyond measureat a time when their leadership skills are
needed more than ever. The truth is, if leadership matters to
you, you cant afford not to go.

Leadership does matter, according to the Mid-continent


Research for Education and Learning (McREL). In fact,
McREL research shows that effective leadership is
associated with a 10 percent point gain in school achievement. Perhaps you know about the 21 leadership
responsibilities McREL researchers have correlated with
student achievement. Three of these responsibilities
intellectual stimulation, optimizer and cultureare
particularly helpful to leaders during difficult times.
The responsibility of intellectual stimulation ensures
that faculty and staff are making current theories and
practices a regular aspect of the school culture. At The
Principals Conference, Dr. Mike Schmoker will discuss one
of the most effective practices in schools todayprofessional learning communitiesand its direct connection to
raising student achievement.
The responsibility of the optimizer reflects the extent
to which a leader inspires others. The closing speaker of the
conference, Helen Thayer, will share her inspirational story
of trekking to the magnetic North Pole. Like Helens, your
challenges can seem overwhelmingand yet you must press
on. Learn how to become the optimizer in your school and
motivate staff and students to reach their goals.
The responsibility of culture drives a leader to foster
a shared sense of community and cooperation. Dr. Gene
Sharratt will kick off the conference with a conversation
about building the capacity for hope in others and a culture
of continuous improvement. When you have hope for
tomorrow, says Gene, you have the power to change today.
The common thread of all AWSP resources, including the
conferences and workshops throughout the year, is leadership. We must continue to build our capacity and
knowledge, especially in difficult times, so that our school
communities sustain their focus on student achievement.
It is an honor to represent all of you as the president of
AWSP. Have a great year!

the principal news |

fall 2009

student leadership

Authentic Engagement

Real Results

Raising Student Voice and Participationfive years later.

Being
Susan Fortin
Director of Student
Leadership Programs AWSP
susanf@awsp.org

number one feels good. Im not particularly competitive and


certainly didnt set out to achieve this standing. However, with
five years of Raising Student Voice and Participation (RSVP) under our belts,
Washington state leads the nation with the largest number of high schools that have
been trained and have implemented the RSVP process. I find this excitingnot
because were at the top, but because behind each of our RSVP schools there is a story.
Each story reflects powerful changes in school climate because of student engagement.
Heres one story:

In the late afternoon on May 19, 2009, I drove down


40th Street in Yakima. Kids with signs, T-shirts, smiles
and hands waving lined the street in support of the
Yakima School District building bond. My first thought:
Thats coolkids rallying for the bond. Second thought:
Wow, running a bond in this economy?!
After three intersections and at least 100 students, I
spotted Alyssa Patrick holding a sign. Alyssa, a senior at
Eisenhower High, was the co-coordinator for RSVP at
Eisenhower for the 2008-09 year. Seeing Alyssa flanked
by peers who reflected the ethnic diversity of the Yakima
School Districtstudents coming together to make a
differenceI was overcome with a goosebump moment.
What I didnt know at the time was that the student
involvement in the bond was a direct result of the RSVP
process. In the fall of 2008, the entire student body at
Eisenhower participated in Summit 1 of RSVP. These
student-led conversations focused on four questions:

What is going well at our school?


What is one thing you would change
about our school if you could?

the principal news | fall 2009

What community issues concern you?


What national or global issue concerns you?
The results of Summit 1 were clear. Eighty-five
percent of the issues students identified as problems
were related to their outdated facility. Rather than
seeking solutions to each individual issue, the student
coordinators met with school administrators, the district
superintendent and ultimately the school board to
encourage their support of a building bond. With more
than 1,000 students actively involved in the campaign,
the building bond passed, and a new facility for
Eisenhower is in the works! Following the election, I read
the news reports, district comments and local letters to
the editor. Every article referred to the fact that student
involvement had made the difference.
The school-wide conversations that happen because of
the RSVP process are powerful, but beyond the conversations you find focused action. Student voice. Students
taking action. Students shaping school climate. Give
students the opportunity to be your partners in improving
school climate. In reality, you cant do it without them.

Vulnerability

and Leadership

An unlikely pair? Not for those who want


to build a culture of trust and success.

Let

Paul Bodnar
Sunrise Elementary
Northshore SD
pbodnar@nsd.org

me ask a simple question: Are you a school leader? Now,


let me ask: Are you a vulnerable school leader?
During my 20-plus years as a principal, I have wrestled with this and many
other leadership questions. To what extent am I simply managing or indeed
leading? What do I believe about change? Is there congruity between my words
and actions? Perhaps part of the reason for my persistent questioning is that many
definitions of leader abound, each reflecting different theories of leadership.
By some definitions, I may be a leader; according to others, I may not.

In their book The Soul at Work, Roger Lewin and


Birute Regine noted that leaders need to pay as much
attention to how we treat people as we do to our structures, strategies and statistics. Margaret Wheatley said,
We cannot hope to influence any situation without
respect for the complex network of people who contribute to our organizations. Hans Selye observed, Leaders
are leaders only as long as they have the respect and
loyalty of their followers. To these insights, I would add
that at the heart of leadership is a life template that
includes vulnerability.
When I first arrived at my current school, I recognized that earning trust had to begin with my own
willingness to be vulnerable and manifest transparent behavior. To foster trustworthy actions within the
school, we took time to create operating norms in three
distinct areasCommunication, Preventing/Recovering
from Misunderstandings and Disagreements, and
Accountability. Some of the norms included:

Communicate with each other in an honest, receptive and positive manner.

Use I statements.
Speak only for yourself and not for a collective we.
Use e-mail for positive comments or general information and meet face-to-face if the information could
be perceived as negative.
Silence does not indicate agreement.
When a conflict arises with another staff member,
go directly to that coworker to discuss the situation.
Avoid triangles.
Avoid meeting when you are angry.
Hold each other accountable in order to avoid behavior that is divisive to our team.
If we is brought into the discussion, ask the parties
who we is.
If pulled into a triangle, listen, but ask colleagues
to discuss the issue directly with the person. Draw a
line when you start to feel uncomfortable.
(continued)

the principal news |

fall 2009

Once these were adopted, I asked the staff, first and foremost, to hold me accountable for following our agreements.
Because I knew my actions were going to be scrutinized and
analyzed for meaning as to my intentions and character, I
became more thoughtful about my behavior.
To gauge the perception of my leadership, I conduct an
administrative leadership survey about every three years.
Using a 1-5 scale, staff members assess the extent to which
they have observed 30 specific behaviors on my part and the
extent to which these behaviors are important to them. In a
subsequent staff meeting, I revisit one or two items with
the biggest disparity between what is occurring and what
is important. I ask staff to provide me some ways that these
particular areas could be improved. For example, when I noted
that the staff felt I didnt respond to their needs in a timely
manner, they offered suggestions for ways I could improve.
In being asked for this level of feedback, people recognize
the importance of seeking personal growth. In fact, a
number of staff have conducted similar surveys with their
students and/or parents.
While vulnerability may not be the first quality you
associate with leadership, it is deeply powerful. Think of the
implications of taking the time to evaluate your meetings
and ask questions such as, Did I, as facilitator, seek everyones opinion? Did you feel that you had a chance to ask
questions and to offer your thoughts? What would you like
to see changed ahead of our next meeting? True, you may
expose yourself to an unexpected critique, but the benefits
of soliciting and responding to input far outweigh the
minor discomforts of a bruised ego.
In closing, I offer five precepts (at right) that have
influenced my thinking as a principal. The extent to which
I am able to build and sustain trusting relationships in a
spirit of humility, using these five precepts, is foundational to our success as a school. These precepts, however, are in
no way exhaustive. As part of an ever-changing blueprint
for strong leadership, they continue to evolve as I continue
to revisit them.
As principal, your behavior sets the tone for your
building. Take a step toward vulnerabilityand take a step
toward a stronger, more trusting culture.

See an example of Pauls administrative leadership


survey. Go to The Principals Handbook at
www.awsp.org, then click on The Principal News.

10

the principal news | fall 2009

Five Precepts
Everyone is important. Do I pay attention to
everyone in our organization? In what ways do I
strengthen the self-esteem of staff members? Do I
know what motivates each person? What do I know
about their families, the seemingly minor details
of their lives, the burdens they are carrying? Am I
ready to affirm evidence, even glimmers, of excellence from all corners of the school community?
Model consideration, patience and courtesy.
Do I get so wrapped up in my work and my image
that I walk past people without acknowledging
them? Or, worse yet, do I acknowledge only some
people? Are people valued as individuals or are
they thought of primarily as assets? Do I maintain
confidentiality? Do I hurt when others hurt? Am I
timely in responding to peoples needs? Am I good
to my word?
Listen to understand. Do I stay focused on the
person who is talking with me? Does my body language say I am not interested in the conversation?
Do I try to multitask when talking with people?
When a person rambles, do I hang in there, mindful that the sentence I tune out might hold some
crucial fact? When were done talking, do I reiterate
what they said? Do I ask clarifying questions?
Let the staff get to know me. To what extent
does my staff know me? Do I believe that I cant
manage well unless I have an image of impervious
strength? Do I hide my humanity, especially my
flaws and weaknesses? Do people around me know
what I care deeply about, and even what I struggle
with? Do I regularly share my core values with staff?
Get formal feedback about performance. Do
I institute regular feedback mechanisms? Do I ask
staff for input about how I facilitate meetings?
Do I model that learning from mistakes is OK, or
do people perceive that they will be reprimanded
for errors or failures? Do I model commitment to
continuous improvement and learning? Do I use
surveys in a judicious manner? If I have made a
mistake, do I own it?

FREE Admission
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Call for more details.

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the principal news |

fall 2009

11

What
Money
Cant
Buy:
Powerful, Overlooked Opportunities

for Learning

Simple fundamental changes in instruction


are less about cash than courage
and could make gargantuan differences
in student learning.

Mike Schmoker
Writer and consultant
Flagstaff, AZ
info@mikeschmoker.com

States

Dr. Mike Schmoker, author of Results NOW: How We Can Achieve


Unprecedented Improvements in Teaching and Learning, will be a
keynote speaker at AWSPs 2009 Principals Conference, Oct. 18-20,
in Yakima. Be sure to join Dr. Schmoker for his presentation, The
Opportunity: From Brutal Facts to the Best Schools Weve Ever Had.

are in a fiscal funk. This


means, as we are told in
Education Week, that ambitious education initiatives
are being scuttled (Jacobson 2008).
Sounds grim, but there may be an opportunity here.
The current downturn could force us to see how much
can be accomplished by attending to some long overlooked, incontrovertibly effective actions and initiatives.
Best of all, these are largely free. Its not that funding is
irrelevant or that money couldnt help us institute these
changes. But the simple, fundamental actions I recommend could all be done with existing resources. In
combination, they would have more impact on learning,
on the achievement gap, and on civic, college and career
preparedness than anything weve ever done.
This might sound farfetched. So before you weigh
their merits, know that each of the following suggestions
has been tested on hundreds of educators, including
members of state and national education organizations.
Overwhelming majorities of these audiences have
strongly agreed with these proposals, as well as the
problemsthe brutal realitieswhich they address.

12

the principal news | fall 2009

Stop wasting time by using worksheets, movies and the


like as if they were important instructional tools.
Virtually every audience I have spoken to will admit to the
inexcusable proliferation and abuse of worksheets, movies
and other time-consuming activities that only masquerade
as instruction. Even teachers and administrators in highscoring or award-winning schools openly acknowledge
this. Most of them agree that, with exceptions, low-quality
worksheets consume as much as 25 percent or more of
class time in most schools. Replacing these with worthy
learning experiences (which I later describe) would be like
adding two months to the school yearenough to have a
breathtaking impact on learning.
And then there arethe movies. When I walk the
halls of schools, from high-scoring to low, I routinely
hear the blare of movies emanating from too many
darkened classroomsin science, history and English.
For most of these (often recent release) films, we hear
the same flimsy justifications, year after year. Most of
these movies consume about three entire class periods.
Then, there is the ubiquitous coloring, cutting and
poster-making, the collages and arts projectsin

subjects like history and English, from kindergarten to


senior year. In a rank perversion of active learning,
differentiated instruction and multiple intelligences,
collages and mobiles have emerged as unit assessments
for gauging student understanding of To Kill a Mockingbird and The Great Gatsbyeven in honors classes.
Something is amiss when high school students spend
weeks building a medieval castle for world history, a
course in which time is so clearly precious.
All this starts in the early grades, when many childrens academic futures and their college prospects are
made or broken. Thats when many students discover that
reading class means lots of coloring, cutting and
pastingabout two-thirds of classtime, according to Ford
and Opitz (2002).
Add it up. These various diversions translate to several
months per year of precious instructional time. As bizarre
as these practices might
sound to the average
person, educators admit
that they are oh-so-common in every kind of
school, even as they
diminish kids futures.
Fixing this is not a
matter of money. Like all
of the following, these
problems will be solved
only with candid, courageous dialogue. Its time
to break the silence on
these insidious, indefensible practices.
But what will replace these activities? Simple, powerful lessons and activities that are affordable within
most schools budgets.
Dramatically increase the amount of purposeful
reading, writing and discussionin as many subjects
as possible. If we replaced the most egregious and timewasting activities with vastly more reading, writing and
discussion, something marvelous would happen for
students. There is a revealing story in Cross X, the bestseller about the meteoric rise of an all-black debate team at an
inner-city high school in Kansas City. Their adventure
began with a simple practice: Give students an interesting

text and the chance to argue about the characters and


issues within it, and they will do the rest (Wiliam 2007).
I have led countless discussions with students from
2nd grade through university. If you give them a fair
chance to read a good text closely and then to form and
express an opinion about it, they will respond. This is
especially true if they have adequate in-class time to do
the reading, under a teachers supervision, followed by a
chance to pair up to share opinions and impressions
before whole-class debate or discussion.
This year, Ive been working with a teacher who does
this with students continually. With middle schoolers,
weve had great discussions, analyzing and comparing
readily available texts. We make sure that every student
participates. Weve discussed Plessy v. Ferguson and
Disneys use or abuse of history in the movie Pocahontas,
and weve closely compared primary source documents
describing the lives of
a slave and a New
England mill worker.
Of course, we extensively model such
analytical reading
and thinking for
every assignment and
give students plenty
of opportunities to
engage in these
activities in class,
with teacher guidance. We explicitly
and repeatedly teach
them how to underline and annotate a text as they read (I cant overemphasize
the importance of this).
Once you get the hang of these simple activities, they
wont fail you, even if you vary and repeat them hundreds of
times per year in almost any subject. Moreover, students do
their best, most impassioned writing after they have
carefully read and discussed one or more textsin the
argumentative mode. A legion of thinkers and researchers
has found these simple activities to be the best way to
prepare students not only for college, but for the intellectual demands of 21st-century work and citizenship (Conley
2005; Allington 2001; Schmoker 2006).
(continued)

the principal news |

fall 2009

13

The impact of this one simple changereplacing poor


teaching and pseudo literacy practices (described previously) with large daily doses of purposeful reading, writing
and discussionwould be seismic. But keep reading: There
are other, equally rich opportunities for improvement.

Ensure that a high-quality, coherent curriculum


actually gets taught. On the one hand, Marzano and
others found that a coherent, agreed-on curriculum
(which includes higher-order literacy and problem
solving) has more impact on achievement than any
other factor (Marzano 2003). But only if we actually
teach that curriculum.
And theres the rub. Numerous studies, including
Marzanos, confirm what most educators know all too
well: curricular chaosnot coherencestill prevails in
most schools, a result of our no-oversight, high-autonomy culture (Schmoker and Marzano 1999). Fortunately,
many successful schools have seen achievement levels
soar after developing coherent, high-quality curricula
but only when they instituted monitoring mechanisms
for ensuring that it is taught.
There is a simple way to ensure a common, high-quality
curriculum: Teachers, by school or district, must create
maps, by grading period, designating clearly which
standards and objectives students will learn, with ample
inclusion of higher-order, critical-thinking, reading and
writing standards. Then, for each grading period, common
assessments must be built and administered (not bought
from a test-prep vendor). Building these maps and assess-

14

the principal news | fall 2009

ments is an essential and ongoing professional learning


experience (summer is an excellent time for such work).
Finally, teacher leaders or administrators must meet
with teacher teams to constructively discuss the results
of these assessments for continuous improvement
purposes. These simple practices have had a
stunning impact on schools like Adlai
Stevenson High School in suburban Chicago
and many schools that have faithfully
implemented Stevensons model.
For what its worth, even in the small
school district where I once worked, it cost us
less than $30,000 in the late 1990s to create
the curriculum maps and common assessmentsabout 5 percent of our federal funding
allotment for a single year. Monitoring such a
simple system is cost-free. And remember:
These simple mechanisms address the #1
factor that affects student learning, that is,
what we teach (Marzano 2003).
Which brings us to how we teach. Huge
rewards await those who, at no additional cost, will
actually implement what weve known for decades about
effective instruction.
Ensure reasonably sound lessons in every subject
and classroom. The work of several eminent educators,
over several decades, points to one of the most simple,
powerful sets of practices we know. They form the
general structure of an effective lesson. This simple,
well-known pattern is supported by the work of Dylan
Wiliam, Robert Marzano, Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey,
Madeline Hunter, James Popham, Richard Stiggins,
Marilyn Burns, Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe. Together,
they have a monumental impact on learning for every
kind of student. But alas, these practices are seldom
consistently implemented in the preponderance of our
schools and classrooms. Indeed, we dont insist on them
or even monitor to ensure that they are implemented.
Effective lessons (most of them, anyway) start with
teaching only those skills or standards that teachers fully
understand and which come directly from the agreed-on
curriculum. Then, start the lesson by being scrupulously
clear in conveying both the purpose of the lesson and
how it will be assessed, with a careful description of the

criteria necessary to succeed on the assessment. The lesson


must be taught in manageable steps or chunks. Between
each step, the teacher must check for understanding or
formatively assess (e.g., by circulating, scanning, observing)
to ensure that students understand the chunk that was just
taught. Between chunks, students engage in guided practice
replete with teacher modeling (or thinking aloud), with
frequent use of student and adult models and exemplars,
where helpful, to help students understand the work.
Throughout the lesson, the teacher makes ongoing adjustments and clarifies difficult concepts or processes when
students are struggling. These general elements are as
important for learning three-digit multiplication as for
learning how to take notes for content mastery or to effectively select and explain supporting quotes and references in an
argumentative paragraph. In sum, these should be routine
components of every lesson (Marzano 2007, p. 180).
We know these elements. But we greatly underestimate
the impact they would have if they were even reasonably well
implemented. Dylan Wiliam (who all but coined the term formative assessment) found that such practices can account for
400 percent speed of learning differences (2007, p. 185).
Students whose teachers largely observe such practices can
learn, in a single grading period, what those in less effective
classrooms will require an entire school year to learn. For all
this, my audiences concede that these simple, universally
known practices are conspicuously absent in most lessons.
This is painfully apparent with respect to perhaps the
most pivotal componentthe check for understanding or
formative assessment. Teachers in America almost universally continue to call on students who raise their hands, then
move onwhile the rest tune out or fall behind because no
one took a moment to see if they understood the material. As
Richard Elmore notes, effective instruction is voluntaryand
therefore rare (2000, p. 6).
To change this, these elements of good instruction need to
be reinforced and clarified regularly and redundantly.
Someone in the system should make regular, brief classroom
visits to ensure they are being implementedand then
provide feedback to faculties primarily (and to individual
teachers only as a last resort). We need to require all teachers
to observe effective teaching as a routine matter of professional practice. This, too, could be accomplished in
already-existing faculty meetings and with existing professional development funds.
(continued)

References
Allington, Richard L. What Really Matters for
Struggling Readers. New York: Addison Wesley
Longman, 2001.
Conley, David. College Knowledge: What It Really
Takes for Students to Succeed and What We Can
Do to Get Them Ready. San Francisco: JosseyBass, 2005.
Elmore, Richard F. Building a New Structure for
School Leadership. Washington, D.C.: Albert
Shanker Institute, 2000.
Ford, Michael P., and Michael F. Opitz. Using
Centers to Engage Children During Guided
Reading Time. The Reading Teacher 55
(May 2002): 710-717.
Jacobson, Linda. States May See Fiscal Squeeze
on Education. Education Week, January 9,
2008, pp. 1, 16.
Marzano, Robert J. What Works in Schools:
Translating Research into Action. Alexandria,
Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development, 2003.
Marzano, Robert J. The Art and Science of Teaching:
A Comprehensive Framework for Effective
Instruction. Alexandria, Va.: Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2007.
Schmoker, Mike. Results Now: How We Can
Achieve Unprecedented Improvements in
Teaching and Learning. Alexandria, Va.:
Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development, 2006.
Schmoker, Mike, and Robert J. Marzano.
Realizing the Promise of Standards-Based
Education. Educational Leadership 56
(March 1999): 17-21.
Wiliam, Dylan. Content, Then Process: Teacher
Learning Communities in the Service of
Formative Assessment. In Ahead of the Curve,
ed. Douglas Reeves. Bloomington, Ind.:
Solution Tree, 2007.

the principal news |

fall 2009

15

Ensure that teachers work in teams, as all true professionals do. Stop honoring
teamwork and professional learning communities mostly in the breach. Be redundantly,
obsessively clear about this: True PLC teams meet regularly to ensure fidelity to good
curriculum that is replete with higher-order skills and habits of mind. Remind each other
that professionals dont let professionals abuse worksheets and movies. Authentic teams
build effective curriculum-based lessons and units togetherwhich they routinely refine
together on the basis of common assessment data.

Adlai Stevenson High School is, deservedly, the poster child for the power of professional
learning communities. As one teacher there noted recently, such disciplined teams made all
the differenceand didnt cost anything in additional expenditures.

The impact of these simple changes, in combination, would be gargantuan. To be sure,
there are legitimate needs for additional funding to address structural needs in many of our
schools. But the actions advocated here are less about cash than courageand clarity. In
these tough budget times, we could do no better than to turn our attention, at the national,
state and local level, to the historic opportunity these changes represent.
What Money Cant Buy: Powerful, Overlooked Opportunities for Learning, by Mike
Schmoker, Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 90, No. 7 (March 2009): pp. 524-527. Reprinted with
permission of Phi Delta Kappa International, www.pdkintl.org, 2009. All rights reserved.

Association of
Washington
School
Principals

16

the principal news | fall 2009

Straight
Talk
with Lawmakers
Principals are stepping up to share their expertise with legislators.

Did you know AWSP helps members set up meetings with their state legislators? As one of the benefits of
membership, the Association works on its members behalf to organize meetings such as the one described in this
article by Seattle principal Jennifer Wiley. For a calendar of principal-legislator district meetings taking place
this fall, go to www.awsp.org, then click on the Legislation tab.

Jennifer Wiley, Ed.D.


Principal, Franklin High
Seattle PS
jwiley@seattleschools.org

The

Of all of the civil rights for which the world has struggled
and fought for 5,000 years, the right to learn is undoubtedly
the most fundamental And whatever we may think of the
curtailment of other civil rights, we should fight to the last
ditch to keep open the right to learn, the right to have examined in our schools not only what we believe but what we
do not believe; not only what our leaders say, but what the
leaders of other groups and nations, and the other centuries,
have said. We must insist upon this to give our children the
fairness of a start which will equip them with such an array
of facts and such an attitude toward truth that they can
have a real chance to judge what the world is, and what its
greater minds have thought it might be. W.E.B. Dubois

executive board of the


Seattle Public Schools
Principals Association recently had
the pleasure of meeting with Rep.
Reuven Carlyle, 36th Leg. District, and
Sen. Joe McDermott, 34th Leg. District, for an invigorating discussion about public education in Washington state.
During the meeting, the two state legislators expressed an earnest desire to hear about the successes, trials and tribulations of principals in order to better understand and advocate for our children. While there were
many heartfelt stories of courage, conviction and triumph, there were also shared accounts of the frustration and
despair that come with the leadership journey of getting all students to reach academic excellence.
Three main themes emerged during the principals discussion with the legislators.
First, the principals expressed a need to celebrate educators, with special acknowledgment of building leaders.
As the principalship grows increasingly complex, research suggests an inextricable link between high-quality
instruction and building leadership. Educators, students and school leaders are working harder and in a more focused
fashion, despite the backdrop of an ever more challenging society. While teachers deserve thunderous applause for
their efforts, we must also take a moment to recognize our principals who are often held in the blinding public light,
playing a shock-absorber role for the shortcomings of many public servicesand doing so with aplomb, dignity and
uncompromised tenacity.
(continued)

the principal news |

fall 2009

17

Second, the principals called on the legislators to


embark upon a more honest dialogue with the public about
education. The average citizen probably does not know that,
in school funding, Washington ranks 42nd among the 50
states. This level of funding is acceptable only if we agree
as citizens that a 42nd-rate education is good for our kids.
From the perspective of those of us in the trenches, it
appears that we are expected to deliver first-rate results and
experiences for our children with 42nd-rate resources. If
we expect excellence, it is incumbent upon each and every
citizen to ensure as much.
Finally, shared by all was an ethos of high-quality
instruction for every student, with particular emphasis on
providing historically underserved students more services
in order to close the opportunity gap. While budgets are
strained, the demand to do even more with less is reaching a
fever pitch, particularly in light of our commitment to offering all our children equitable educational opportunities.
As principals, our plea to legislators is to keep in mind the
paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the
education of all children residing within its borders.

tbc129154_AWSP_7.5x4.75K_rSG

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2:34 PM

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Legislators like Carlyle and McDermott are to be


applauded for reaching out to energize this conversation.
Although it remains unclear whether these lawmakers
will be able to make a difference for principals, educators
and ultimately the young people in our state, the
principals in attendance felt the discussion we shared
was enlightening on all fronts. We were left with the
impression that public education is a top priority for
both lawmakers, who seemed not only genuinely interested in understanding the principals perspective but
further serving on behalf of students and educators to
establish a world-class public education system in
Washington state.
By meeting with your legislators, you have the opportunity to reach out and remind them that public education
is one of the cornerstones of our democracy. We ought not
lose sight of this investment in our future as we look for
ways to tighten the fiscal belt. When push comes to shove
in making fiscal decisions at the state and local levels, we
must take care of the children first and foremost. Our very
democracy depends on it.

If you wanted to spend your days putting


out fires, you would have become a
firefighter instead of a school principal.
Learn How to Work Less, Produce More, and Still Get the Job Done in a Sensible
School Week with Malachi Pancoast, President, The Breakthrough Coach. Its one
of the most practical and liberating programs you will ever attend.
UPCOMING PROGRAMS IN YOUR AREA:
Seattle, October 1 & 2, 2009

PROGRAM SOLD OUT


For more information on our Spring 2010 Programs,
please visit www.the-breakthrough-coach.com/upcoming.asp

18

the principal news | fall 2009

Senator Honored
by AWSP
Torch of Leadership Award goes to Sen. Rodney Tom.

Senator Rodney Tom


Torch of Leadership Winner

In

June, AWSP selected Sen. Rodney Tom to receive


the 2009 Torch of Leadership Award. The award
honors a state-level public servant who has demonstrated
support of principals and the principalship in the education of all students.
Tom, who represents the 48th district, was chosen for
the award for his commitment to K-12 education during
the 2009 legislative session.
According to AWSP Director of Governmental
Relations Jerry Bender, the senator has kept education
a top priority, even when the demands of a downward
economy made it difficult to do so.
He appreciates the challenges principals face, and has
championed legislation that provides what is needed to
carry our students and schools forward, explained Bender.
As a member of the Basic Education Funding Task
Force, Tom helped craft ESHB 2261, which ushers in a
new plan for the full funding of K-12 basic education in
Washington state. He also backed bills supporting the
states principal internship program and the Washington
State Leadership Academy.

Principals will play a vital role as we move forward


with education reform within the constraints of stagnant
revenues, said Tom, upon learning of the award. Very few
areas in education give us better leverage than making
sure every school has a great principal.
There is not a great school in Washington state
that does not also have a great principal; the two go
hand-in-hand, he added.
School building administrators in the 48th district
have noticed Toms hard work. Paul Luczak, principal of
Juanita Elementary (Lake Washington SD), remarked,
Sen. Tom is a bipartisan legislator who truly understands educational issues and has worked tirelessly for
education reform.
Tom just completed his first term in the Washington
State Senate after serving two terms in the House. He is the
vice chair for the operating budget on the Ways and Means
Committee and also serves on the Early Learning and K-12
Education Committee and the Judiciary Committee.
The senator will be honored with a formal recognition and award presentation at AWSPs next Legislation
Committee meeting, Oct. 6, in Seattle.
The Torch of Leadership Award is administered by
AWSP. Nominations for the award are submitted by members of AWSPs Legislation Committee, and final selection
is made by a panel of staff and committee members.

Watch an exclusive AWSP interview with


Sen. Rodney Tom and hear from AWSP
members who have hosted legislators
in their schools. Go to The Principals
Handbook at www.awsp.org, then click on
The Principal News.

the principal news |

fall 2009

19

Outdoor Learning

The Outdoor School


An outdoor residential experience
brings out something good in students.

I have
Martin E. Fortin, Jr.
Director of Outdoor Learning Centers
AWSP
fortin@awsp.org

been an advocate of using the outdoors as a laboratory for


learning my entire career in education. My opinion was most
likely formed in my Boy Scout days, and that opinion carried over to my approach as a
classroom science teacher.
Recently I received a report from a group that had visited the Cispus Learning Center.
In the report, the adviser relayed an evaluation from one of his students, a Naval Junior
ROTC cadet: I paid 60 bucks to take a two-hour bus ride, get yelled at, sleep in a haunted barracks, and do way too many push-ups. It was a perfect weekend. That statement
made me think that our greatest advocates are the students who live through the camp
life. The lasting effect of the residential experience affects the participant intellectually, emotionally, physically and socially.

I believe the individuals growth is best expressed when the student relates his or her own experience. Here is what
Josh Neitzel from Capital High School in Olympia shared with me:
Cispus has been part of two of the best experiences in my life, first as a camper and then as a counselor. In fact,
it was some of my experiences as a camperbeing able to connect with the fun of bonding with my classmates,
escaping the monotony of conventional schooling and spending time in the outdoorsthat made my experience as
a counselor that much greater. Remembering the magic of these things as a kid, and again seeing it in the campers
taking part in the exact same activities six years later, is moving in a way that only those who have been to camp
can fully understand. Theres something about camp that is truly unique. Im not sure if its the people, the facilities, the outdoor experience, but it just brings out something good in you. And all of this is coming from a relatively
privileged kid. Some people there had never had a chance to go camping, and they experienced things they had never
done before. The overwhelming love these kids have for this place just takes you over. These are normal kidsthey
hate school. But when they go to camp, things change. Learning becomes fun, and that alone makes the entire experience worthwhile.
Ethan Voon, another Capital High School student, best summed up the experience:
In the end, having the chance to enjoy Cispus camp life in this new way as a counselor was a great experience. We
got to have fun but, more importantly, I was able to help give the fifth graders a great time.
I am convinced that the residential camp experience has far-reaching benefits. Perhaps one of the best is to see the
emerging servants heart develop in our high school students. What better place than at outdoor school?

20

the principal news | fall 2009

AWSP
Annual Report 2008-09

Highlights of Another Great Year in the Principalship

The Association of Washington School Principals

Annual Report
200809
from the

Executive Director

Effective
leaders make
for effective
schools.

he success of
any professional
association is dependent
on the leadership of its
members. As I reflect
on this past year and
the evolution of the
Association of Washington School Principals,
I am in awe of the talent
of our Associations elected leaders. With
remarkable skill and insight, the members
and officers of the AWSP board and component boards masterfully set the values
and direction for our Association. Because
of these individuals who have donated their
time to lead us, AWSP is held in high regard
both by its members and by those outside
the Association.

Thats why the Association of


Washington School Principals is
dedicated to helping all administrators
develop, enhance and refine their
leadership abilities. This year, more
than 3,400 principals, assistant
principals, principal interns, teacher
leaders and central office administrators, from both public and private schools, were members of the
Association. Together, they stood at the forefront of academic progress
and school change.

The staff at AWSP takes their work personally.


They understand the research underscoring
a principals impact on student achievement.
They see the relationship between their own
work and successful schools, and they are
energized by being a part of AWSP. It is no
surprise that I so often receive compliments
on the actions of our staff.

In this Annual Report, we have organized our 2008-09 highlights around


the Associations six strategic goal areasAdvocacy, Principal Leadership, Member Services, Diversity and Cultural Competence, Student
Leadership and Outdoor Learning Centers. These six areas relate to the
work we do on behalf of our members and the one million students they
serve every school day.

As we move into next year, with the challenges


of more budget shortfalls, significant federal
and state legislative issues, and the continued
challenge of creating culturally and academically responsive schools, I am confident that
the principals of our state are in good hands
with their AWSP membership.

Gary Kipp
AWSP Executive Director

awsp annual report | 2008-2009

Our members benefit not just from professional developmentthe


primary focus of AWSPs missionbut also from professional support in
the form of mentoring, coaching and career counseling, administered by
the Association through various programs. Additionally, AWSP gives the
principalship an active voice in the Legislature and Congress, testifying
on behalf ofand in partnership withpracticing principals and assistant principals from around the state.

AWSP Board of
Directors

Administrators
of the Year
national finalist
Assistant Principal
of the Year

Mike ODonnell
Cle Elum-Roslyn High,
Cle Elum-Roslyn SD
President
Sue Corey
Central Kitsap SD

Past President
Charlene Milota
Spokane PS
High School
Principal of the Year

Aaron Leavell
Bremerton High,
Bremerton SD
President-Elect
Dave Balcom
Moses Lake SD

Budget Chair
Vicki Puckett
Northshore SD

Elementary Representatives

Sue Corey (Central Kitsap SD)

Jill Massa (Warden SD)

James Rudsit (Peninsula SD)
Middle Level Representatives

Karen Owen (North Thurston PS)

Thomas Schend (West Valley SD #208)

John Westerman (Eastmont SD)
High School Representatives

Phil Brockman (Seattle PS)

Boyd Keyser (Cle Elum-Roslyn SD)

Jennifer Shaw (Franklin Pierce SD)
Three-Year Component Board Representatives

Nancy Faaren (Olympia SD)

Diane Otterby (North Kitsap SD)

Karen Reid (Mukilteo SD)

national finalist
Middle Level
Principal of the Year

Christine Lynch
Shaw Middle,
Spokane PS

Distinguished
Principal of the Year

Bruce Cannard
Edison Elementary,
Kennewick SD

awsp annual report | 2008-2009

Notable Numbers in 2008-09

3,451
98
106
15
26
34
66
42
21
16
180
39
8
47
130

J uly

Number of AWSP members for the 2008-09 school year


(as of June 1, 2009).
Percentage of principals and assistant principals in
Washington state who are members of AWSP.
Total number of years experience in the principalship
within the AWSP executive staff.
Number of volunteer ambassadors who contacted
potential members for AWSP.
Number of assessor/mentors AWSP trained to
help principals and assistant principals, bringing the
Associations cadre of assessor/mentors to 68.

NAESP/NASSP National Leaders


Conference Washington, D.C.
New Principals & Assistant Principals
Workshop Lacey
Summer Leadership Retreat Leavenworth

Number of professional development workshops held for


AWSP members and their staff statewide.
Number of different school districts represented on
AWSPs Board of Directors, Diversity Task Force and
elementary, middle and high school component boards.
Number of principals and assistant principals served
through AWSPs Assessing and Developing the
21st Century Principal program.

February

Number of principals and assistant principalsboth


new and veteranwho received support through AWSPs
Leadership Coaching Services.
Number of districts involved in the pilot year of the
Washington State Leadership Academy.
Number of interns who participated in the Washington
State-funded Internship Program administered through
AWSP.

Assistant Principals Leadership


Conference Vancouver

Number of members on the AWSP Facebook Group


(as of June 1, 2009).
Number of businesses participating in AWSPs
business partnership program.

NASSP Convention San Diego, CA

January

Number of members who received guidance from AWSP


regarding legal matters. Support ranged from answering
inquiries about instructional practice to responding to
more complex concerns over contracts or personnel isues.
Number of schools in Washington state trained in the
Raising Student Voice and Participation (RSVP) program.

AWSP/WSPEF Board Meeting SeaTac

awsp annual report | 2008-2009

Highlights of
a Great Year
August

ctober

S eptember

AWSP Executive Board


Planning Retreat Olympia

AWSP/WSPEF Board Meeting


Port Ludlow

2008

The AWSP Principals Conference


Spokane

2009
May

April
Washington Scholars Recognition and
Luncheon Olympia

J une
NAESP Convention New Orleans, LA
AWSP/WSPEF Board Meeting Redmond

WASA/AWSP Summer Conference Spokane


AWSP/WSPEF Board Meeting Spokane

awsp annual report | 2008-2009

Advocacy

AWSP and its members are a leading voice on statewide


K-12 education issues, including principal leadership.

Principal Leadership

AWSP aims to be the preferred provider of


professional learning opportunities for all members.

Conferences and Workshops


The 2009 session posed many
challenges for K-12 schools. But thanks
to the collective efforts of AWSP, the
Legislation Committee and several
members advocating on behalf of our
schools, legislation passed that will
support principals professional
development, maintain internship
opportunities and help advance our profession.
Scott Friedman, Assistant Principal, Lakeside High,
Nine Mile Falls SD / Chair, AWSP Legislation Committee

This year, nearly 1, 200 individuals from across the state


attended our conferences, including the Summer Leadership Retreat in Leavenworth, the AWSP Principals Conference in Spokane, the Assistant Principals Leadership
Conference in Vancouver and the WASA/AWSP Summer
Conference in Spokane.
In 2008-09, AWSP hosted 34 workshops designed to help
members develop and enhance their leadership skills.
Nearly 1,275 members were served by these events.

Highlights of 2008-09:
The Legislative Platform
The Associations legislative platform is established each
fall by the 27-member Legislation Committee. Comprised
of principals and assistant principals from around the
state, this group prioritizes AWSPs legislative efforts for
each session and identifies members who can speak to the
issues before committees and in stakeholder meetings.

Highlights of 2008-09:
Influenced legislation to include AWSP in the development
of the redefinition and funding of basic education and the
development of a dual-credit program policy.
Supported the passage of bills that clarified school employee misconduct, established online learning oversight,
and repealed, suspended and amended education statutes.
Maintained funding for the Washington State-Funded
Intern Program.
Maintained administrative responsibility for all aspects of
school operations, including school media.
Created the Torch of Leadership Awardto honor statelevel public servants who have demonstrated support of
principals and the principalship, and named Sen. Rodney
Tom the recipient of the 2009 Torch of Leadership Award.

There is not a great school in


Washington state that does not also
have a great principalthe two go hand
in hand.
Sen. Rodney Tom, 48th Leg.
District / Winner, 2009 AWSP Torch of
Leadership Award

awsp annual report | 2008-2009

Provided 180 interns with up to 32 release days through


the Washington State-Funded Intern Program.

This was an extraordinary training!


I have to rank it as the most useful and
valuable training I have had. The information I received was truly a gift.
Attendee Evaluation, March 2009,
Extraordinary Leadership Workshop

Led a Welcome to Your Internship workshop for more


than 100 interns starting their principal internship year.
Administered comprehensive, confidential and individualized leadership coaching to 21 new and veteran principals
and assistant principals.
Offered assessment and mentoring for 42 principals and
assistant principals, many at the start of their administrative careers, through the Assessing and Developing the
21st Century Principal Program.
Provided the 32 principals from schools in School
Improvement with 159 days of leadership development
support. This involved 45 hours of on-site confidential
principal consultation and professional development
programs for principals and their coaches.
Completed the pilot year for the Washington State
Leadership Academy, which included more than 40 hours
of professional development and 11 days of coaching for
each of the 16 districts involved, and finalized implementation planning for the Academys second cohort, which will
include 13 additional districts in the 2009-10 school year.

Member Services

AWSP strives to be the leading resource for members


in need of individualized support and information.

Diversity and
Cultural Competence

AWSP is committed to becoming a more diverse and


culturally competent organization.

A Support System for Members

The Diversity Task Force

In 2008-09, AWSP provided professional guidance and


legal support to 47 principals regarding legal issues. This
support ranged from answering informational inquiries
about instructional practice to responding to more
complex concerns over contracts or personnel issues.

Formed in 2006, the AWSP Diversity Task Force is an


advisory team of practicing principals and assistant
principals who aim to: collaborate with organizations
and individuals to increase the diversity of the principal
population; increase the involvement of minorities in
leadership positions of the Association; and infuse
the topic of cultural competence into pre-service and
in-service training for school leaders.

AWSP expanded The Principals Handbook, the membersonly section of www.awsp.org, with additional online
resources to help members problem-solve from anywhere,
at any time. The Association also launched an AWSP
Group Page on Facebook for social-networkers.

Highlights of 2008-09:
Maintained strong membership numbers. Ninety-eight
percent of all principals and assistant principals are
members of AWSPone of the highest rates in the nation!
Provided principal support for districts facing potential
teacher strikes.
Added new multimedia components to www.awsp.org,
including video, audio and other online features designed to
complement the content of The Principal News magazine.

When faced with the difficult task of


drafting a parent notification letter
about AYP, I contacted the AWSP office
for assistance. The staffalways eager
to support principalschampioned my
cause and helped me create a positive,
succinct letter, which I sent out the following day. AWSP membership encompasses more than legal services, professional development
and networking; it is the best value of any professional,
service or social organization Ive ever experienced.
Dwight Cooper, Principal, Reardan Elementary,
Reardan-Edwall SD

Provided research to members on topics including


professional development budgets, certification issues,
co-curricular programs and principal contracts.
Assisted regions with recognition of members who received
Association awards or were elected to office.

Highlights of 2008-09:
Contributed articles for each issue of The Principal News.
Continued to meet with the Multicultural Directors
Network.
Updated the Diversity Task Force Web page on the AWSP
Web site regularly with news and resources for cultural
competence.
Read Everyday Antiracism: Getting Real about Race in
Schools for the Task Forces 2008-09 book share.
Delivered presentations at professional development
events, including the the 2008 Principals Conference,
the 2009 Assistant Principals Leadership Conference
and the 2009 WASA/AWSP Summer Conference.
Increased the number of membership records with
ethnicity identified to 1,284.

As a new (or even veteran) principal, one is certain to


stumble into conversations and communications that are
eye-opening. Our children of every color, creed, background
and circumstance deserve to have adults in their lives
who will go the distance for their success, and who will
create and sustain connections with families that instill
hope and a sense of inspiration. This is
a challenge in itself, as often our leaders
have backgrounds that contrast with
the lives of their student populations.
To meet this challenge, it is critical that
principals learn to suspend assumptions
about families and communities on a
deep level.
Julie Perron, Ph.D., Principal, Grant Elementary,
Spokane PS

Maintained strategic partnerships with OSPI, the nine


ESDs, and other state and national associations, including
WASA, WSSDA, WSPTA, Partnership for Learning, State
Board of Education, NASSP and NAESP.

awsp annual report | 2008-2009

Student Leadership

AWSP provides high-quality student education


programs with an emphasis on student leadership.

Outdoor
Learning Centers

AWSP provides affordable learning centers to


support student achievement.

Leadership Programs for Students

AWSPs Outdoor Education Centers

This year, AWSP served more than 10,000 students, advisers


and principals through leadership camps, conferences
and workshops.

AWSP is the only principals association in the nation that


owns and operates two full-time, outdoor education centers:
Cispus in Randle and Chewelah Peak in Chewelah.

Involvement in AWSPs student leadership programs has allowed my students


to view leadership beyond the boundaries
of our school and community. Positive,
trained, student leaders can change
things in a school more quickly than anything I can do as a principal. Students
have connections and can make things
happen when given the opportunity.
Steve Quick, Principal, Oroville Jr./Sr. High, Oroville SD

Highlights of 2008-09:
Increased commitment to providing leadership opportunities
for underserved student populations. Enrollment increased
at both Deaf Teen Leadership Camp and La Cima, the summer
leadership camp for Latino youth.
Expanded adviser training opportunities to include
workshops at AWSPs Chewelah Peak and Cispus Learning
Centers, and added a custom coaching workshop to give
new advisers and leadership teachers one-on-one support in
curriculum development.
Facilitated retreats and workshops tailored to the needs
of Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR-UP) grant schools. Participants
representing the class of 2011 gained skills in goal setting,
self-improvement and group processall aimed at high
school and post-secondary success.
Continued implementation of Raising Student Voice and
Participation (RSVP), with more than 130 Washington state
schools now trained. RSVP provides a school improvement
template based on student leadership. Thanks to the success
of RSVP in our state, AWSP was again selected to facilitate
national training.

Highlights of 2008-09:
Completed the reroofing of Alder and Dogwood Dorms
at Cispus, along with porch covers financed by a donation
from the Cispus Workshop staff.
Participated in several statewide initiatives to promote
environmental education, including the Washington Green
Schools project, No Child Left Insidegrant program
though State Parks and OSPIs Sustainable Design Project.
Received honorable mention from the Washington State
Leadership and Assistance for Science Education Reform
(LASER) for contributions to science education.
Finished construction of Chewelah Peaks Flowery Trail
Pavilion, complete with bathroom and Challenge Course
storage unit, as well as an outdoor basketball court using
funds donated by the Student Leadership program.
Completed a new hiking trail connecting the Gold Pan
Trail with the Beaver Creek Trail at Chewelah Peak, using
volunteer labor. This trail is shorter with little elevation
change, which makes it more accessible for younger students and those not ready for the steeper trails.
Concluded work on the drainage and curbs for access to
Chewelah Peaks Dorm B (now called La Casa).

Being able to access a four-season,


affordable, first-class facility for all
kinds of activities is a definite plus.
Each year, my student leaders cant wait
to be a part of the summer leadership
camp program!

Bob Shacklett, Principal,


Okanogan High, Okanogan SD

The mission of the Association of Washington School Principals is to support


principals and the principalship in the education of all students.
AWSP 1021 8th Avenue SE Olympia, WA 98501

T: 800.562.6100

F: 360.357.7966

www.awsp.org

Difficult Times Call for

Student Leadership
In the face of challenges,
leadership is not the sole responsibility of the principal.

If

you feel your spirit has deteriorated over the past


year, you are not alone. As administrators, we are
facing discouraging times in education. Budgets have been
slashed, staffs have been cut, resources have been depleted
and our students and
families are reeling from
the economic downturn.
Luckily, we have access to
an endless source of inspiration and hope: students.
In times like these,
when both resources and
morale seem to hang in the
Thu Ament
balance, strong student
Henry Foss High
leadership can be a powerTacoma PS
tament@tacoma.k12.wa.us
ful factor in your own
effectiveness as a leader.
As we head into the 2009-10 academic yearmy third
year as principal of my alma mater, Henry Foss High in
Tacomaour school shares the same challenges as many
schools across Washington state. We are looking at the
loss of an assistant principal, a counselor and 11.8 teaching
FTEs. At Foss High, however, the challenges run even deeper.
In January of 2007, the Foss community suffered a
tragic shooting in one of the schools hallways, which
resulted in the death of one of our students. When I
stepped into the principalship in May 2007, I inherited
the ongoing difficulties that come with a tragedy of such
proportion. I entered a school climate void of student leadership and full of fear, anxiety and uncertainty. Falcon
Spirit was dwindling; assemblies had been canceled
due to misbehaviors prior to the tragedy. Through these
difficult times, however, what remained constant was the
strength and courage shown by staff and students.

As a new principal, the question I posed to myself was,


Where do I begin? My answer:
1) Conduct assessments of student groups and every staff
member through one-on-one interviews.
2) Develop a strategic plan to build trust and empower
staff and students.
3) Prioritize management duties, structure visibility and
relationship-building.
4) Develop a partnership with the Tacoma Police
Department and Tacoma Public Schools.
5) Analyze and utilize available resources within the
school district and the community.
6) Determine ways to increase student involvement and
Falcon Spirit.
To succeed in these areas, student leadership would be vital.
In March 2009, the anticipation of the criminal trial
for the 2007 shooting, along with the tsunami of the
economic downfall, had a profound effect on the staff,

students and community of Foss High. It was a critical


moment to empower student leadership. Having experienced a student lock-in as an assistant principal at
Spanaway Lake High, I knew what a structured leadership
opportunity could do for students. The time was right for a
leadership lock-in at Foss High.
(continued on pg. 31)

the principal news |

fall 2009

29

The Technology Leader


Your School Has Been Waiting For
Surprise: Its you!

Principal

Glenn Malone leads Wildwood Elementarya 600-student elementary school in


Puyallup, Washingtonwith a gusto for technology that puts him on the front
line of the growing movement toward technology-enriched teaching and learning. Hes a blogger (check out his blog,
Almost Monday, at almostmonday.blogspot.com), a keen devotee of Flickr, and a regular on Facebook and Ning. He likes
to Skype and gtalk when its time for Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP). And, hes got a customized news feed through
Google News. What advice does this tekkie have for other principals? Author Julia Fallon finds out.
JF: Is there a gap between
the way teachers and
students use technology
today and what you envision as a Classroom 2.0
or 21st-century learning
environment?

GM: Huge gap. And


at its core, the gap is
all about pedagogy.
Technology Integration Manager,
Educational Technology Department, OSPI
We train teachers to
julia.fallon@k12.wa.us
prepare and deliver
mini-lectures that
speak more to the expert knowledge of the teacher, and
his or her ability to integrate academic standards and
specific elements of curricula, than they do to their
efficacy as a delivery mechanism for learning. The good
news is that most teachers really try to individualize
instruction and bring in whatever will help kids reach
the learning target. But theres a barrier when it comes
to technology integration. Because integrating the
real-world stuffglobally connected collaborative study,
digital technologies and the Web 2.0 toolkittakes a lot
more time and preparation. It takes the right teacher
education program plus ongoing training, which is in
short supply. And, of course, all of this must occur while
teachers and school management are struggling with
the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) provisions of No
Child Left Behind.

Julia Fallon

30

the principal news | fall 2009

JF: Tell us about your approach to the professional development dimension of technology integration. How do you
determine what will work and what you can sustain?
GM: Dont spend a dime on technology unless you plan
to spend at least 25 percent of it on professional development. Start with the best teachers you can find and give
them tools and training. Ive often found that those who
want the tech stuff arent always the best, most respected
users and advocates for technology integration. Heres the
best possible scenario: Start with great teachers who know
how to bring something new into the learning environment; they will be your best advocates for tech integration.
Train and outfit the classrooms, then line up a tech team
that you meet with regularly. Set priorities; develop a
three-year strategic plan. Think ahead and think smart
about the stuff you already have and underuse.

Delicious (www.delicious.com) is a social bookmarking


service. Users tag and save favorite Web pages that they
share with others.
Facebook (www.facebook.com) is a social networking
site through which users build a community of friends
with whom they interact.
Flickr (www.flickr.com) is a photo-sharing site.
JF: Do you have a piece of advice for another principal
considering a committed move to 21st-century teaching
and learning?
GM: You cant wait any longer. Admit your shortcomings and dive in. Start small. Open a Facebook account
and follow it. Create a blog and post somethinganythingonce a day for a year. Set up a Flickr account
and publish some school pictures. Share a Delicious
account with a colleague and check in with each other
every week. Set up a Google News account and follow
key words that come from district initiatives. I do not
accept the excuse that I dont have time. I dont have
enough time not to use these tools. Your kids deserve
to have you lead by example. And, it starts with your
own use of the technology.

Ning (www.ning.com) makes it possible to create your


own social network site around personal interests.

Principals should boost their own productivity with technology and remove barriers for their staff and students.
We should be powerful promoters of access to real-world
technologies and the Internet. Check out Leader Talk
(www.leadertalk.org), an EdWeek site where I and a
growing number of principals and superintendents post
practical ideas and talk about field-level issues. You
cant miss the keen interest in high-quality instruction
enriched by 21st-century technologies. Glenn Malone

Difficult Times Call for Student Leadership


(continued from pg. 29)

Given our recent struggles, it was important to make


the inaugural lock-in something memorable for staff and
students. The planning committee settled on a Disney
theme to inspire students in the areas of character, teamwork and leadership. Student leaders collaborated with
teachers and administrators to plan the event for primarily freshman, sophomores and juniors, to build capacity
among the ranks. The lock-in, which began at 8 p.m., was
a 12-hour event of workshops, activity rooms, games and
inspirational speakers.
I contributed to the Disney theme by appearing
as Captain Jack Sparrow from the movie Pirates of the
Caribbean during the kick-off. My message to students
that night was: You are all here for a reason. We believe in
you and your leadership potential. Your purpose is to build
on that leadership. You can help spread what you learn
from the lock-in to other students throughout the school.
Students got to know kids they hadnt met before. By
the end of the lock-in, they were one group versus small

pockets, said Steven Lee, ASB vice president and a lead


event coordinator. I hope it helps spread Falcon Pride
and improves school spirit and community.
Students plan to make the leadership lock-in an annual
event at Foss High, which means that, every year, we will
offer both a catalyst for uniting students from varying
groups and an environment where they can develop their
leadership skills. With strong student leadership comes a
stronger school, even in the most challenging times.

See an overview of Thu Aments


work with student leadership.
Go to The Principals Handbook at
www.awsp.org, then click on The Principal
News for a visual account of Aments
success at Foss High.

the principal news |

fall 2009

31

PR for Principals
Communicating about Food Allergies at School
A healthy partnership with parents goes a long way.

Most

principals tell us that life-threatening food allergies are on the


rise. Lets consider peanuts for starters. According to
the Food Allergy Initiative, the number of U.S. children
with peanut allergies doubled between 1997 and 2002.
Studies in the United Kingdom and Canada also showed
a high rate of peanut allergy in school-aged children.
But peanuts arent the only problem. Kids can have
serious allergies to products containing eggs, milk,
tree nuts, soy, fish and more. Just this past October, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported
that in 2007, approximately 3 million U.S. children and
teenagers under age 18 were reported to have a food or
digestive allergy in the past year, compared to just over
2.3 million in 1997.
Teamwork between principals, teachers, parents and
friends is vital to keeping children with food allergies
safe at school. And communication is key to establishing and maintaining this team.
Start with a food allergy policy.
Many schools and states have already adopted policies/
guidelines based on best practices.
Experts with the Food Allergy Initiative
(www.faiusa.org) recommend the following key
components for an effective food allergy policy:

Medical management. Your school should


have an Individualized Health Care Plan and an
Individualized Emergency Care Plan for every student with a life-threatening food allergy.

Risk reduction. Guidelines should be in place to


protect food-allergic children from exposure to
allergens during the school day, during before- and
after-school programs.

Communication and implementation. The roles of


parents, staff and students in preventing exposure
to allergens should be clearly defined, and there
should be clear-cut policies and procedures for
reporting life-threatening allergic reactions.
Establish communication and responsibilities early.
Whenever possible, the principal and school nurse
should meet with parents of students with severe food
allergies before the first day of school to address concerns and determine the action plan.
To get ready for the meeting, learn from the
School Guidelines for Managing Students with Food
Allergies (www.foodallergy.org/school/guidelines/
SchoolGuidelines.pdf). This document, which was developed by a consortium of education associations and
allergy experts, defines the responsibilities of the family,
the school and the food-allergic student.
For example, parents should teach the child how to
avoid unsafe foods and recognize allergic reactions.
The child should not trade food with others and not eat
anything with unknown ingredients. School staff should
know about and follow applicable federal laws including
ADA, IDEA, Section 504 and FERPA and any state laws or
district policies that apply.

By Carol Mowen, APR, NSPRA Senior Associate


Reprinted with permission from the copyrighted article, Communicating about Food Allergies at School, PRincipal Communicator,
published by the National School Public Relations Association, 15948 Derwood Rd., Rockville, MD 20855; www.nspra.org;
301.519.0496. No other reprints allowed without written permission from NSPRA.

32

the principal news | fall 2009

Be sure to consider the individual needs of each


child and how the school staff might accommodate
those needs. No student is excluded from any activity
(including eating in the cafeteria or participating in
field trips) because of a food allergy.
Use available resources.
The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network created an extensive tool kit for school principals and
teachers (www.foodallergy.org/school/toolkit.html).
Materials include tips, resources and discussion guides,
such as a customizable Food Allergy 101 presentation.
The Food Allergy Initiative Web site
(www.faiusa.org) includes a sample letter about
peanut allergies for principals. The site also includes
detailed information about other types of food allergies, tips for food service professionals and resources
for parents.

Use these tips to get started with


your action plan for students with
food allergies:

Communicate with a core team about how to


work with the parents and student to establish a
prevention plan. The team should include a school
nurse, counselor, school food service rep and the
school principal.

Take threats or harassment against an allergic


child seriously.

Make sure your schools parent group addresses


allergy-related issues at one of its meetings.

Include items about food allergies in your school


newsletter and on your Web site.

Be sure staffers who interact with the student regularly


understand the food allergy, recognize symptoms and
know what to do in an emergency.
Source: School Guidelines for Managing Students
with Food Allergies (available at www.foodallergy.org)

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SAVE THE DATE

the principal news |

fall 2009

33

honor roll
featuring

Steve Mullin

Our quarterly profile of educational


leadership in Washington state.

My hometown is
Seattle
But the place I like to visit most is
Anywhere warm and tropical with palm
trees and affordable golf courses.
What was your favorite subject in school?
In high school, history. I majored in
American Studies in college and then got
my masters at the Evans School of Public
Affairs at the University of Washington.
What makes you interested in education?

Steve Mullin is president of the Washington Roundtable,


a non-profit, public policy organization comprised of chief
executives representing major private sector employers
throughout Washington state. Members of the Washington
Roundtable engage in and lend their expertise to important
public policy issues, including those related to K-12
education. In September, Steve became a member of the
Washington State Principals Education Foundation Board.

34

the principal news | fall 2009

From a big-picture perspective, the clear


cause-and-effect relationship between the
quality of our education system and the
future prosperity of our region. From a
micro-perspective, the impact public
education has on individual youth. It is
always motivating to visit schools and meet
students. In the past few weeks I have met
some great young people at Lincoln High
School in Tacoma and Aviation High School
in Highline.
If you could change one thing about schools
in Washington state, what would it be?
Elevate teaching as a profession so that
the best and brightest are rewarded for
their effective efforts to accelerate
student achievement.

What concerns you most about todays schools?

Describe a teachable moment in your life.

The inability to act nimbly and innovate to prepare


students to succeed, particularly in math and science.

Years ago, I was asked to create a new organization that


eventually became Partnership for Learning. I got lots of
good advice from smart people, but much of it was
conflicting. That paralyzed me at bit. Finally a friend
suggested that I sit down and use my best judgment to
draft a work plan, instead of spending months seeking
consensus from people with very different views. Folks
generally bought off on it. I learned that, as a friend often
says, in the absence of structure, any structure will do.

What excites you the most about todays schools?


There is increasing traction for the idea that we will
have to buck the status quo in education and do some
things dramatically different to accelerate student
achievement, particularly in math and science.
What issues, education-related and otherwise, are you
most passionate about?
I think I am most passionate about education issues
related to closing the achievement gap. I also care
deeply about improving Washingtons business climate.
I cant see how we can really make progress long term
on education, transportation or other key issues
without ensuring that Washington is an attractive
place to run a business.
How has your professional work with the Washington
Roundtable influenced your view of education?
Working with our states largest employers, I see the
day-to-day struggles of companies that would like to stay
in Washington and hire local residents, but are forced to
look elsewhere due to the lack of qualified candidates. By
2014, 77 percent of new job openings in Washington
state that pay a family wage will be held by workers who
have had education or training beyond high school. This
means that preparing all students to be college- and
work-ready isnt just a social or moral imperativeits an
economic imperative.

What book or magazine is on your coffee table/


nightstand right now?
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. However, the book I am
actually reading is Shantaram. I buy a lot of non-fiction,
but end up reading mostly fiction.
What would you be doing if you were not president
of the Washington Roundtable?
Many years ago I did an interest inventory with a career
counselor. It indicated that I was drawn to social justice
causes. Perhaps I would be running a social service
non-profit.
You will be joining the Washington School Principals
Education Foundation Board this year. What are you
most looking forward to in this new role?
Learning firsthand about the challenges principals
face. Also getting the chance to work with some really
great people.

the principal news |

fall 2009

35

Book Reports
Polar Dream author Helen Thayer will be a keynote speaker at
The AWSP Principals Conference, Oct. 18-20, in Yakima. Dont miss it!

Polar Dream
By Helen Thayer
Publisher: NewSage Press
(2002)
ISBN: 0-939165-45-7
186 pages
Reviewed by Marilyn Boerke,
Principal, Liberty Middle
School, Camas SD
Polar Dream chronicles the
first solo expedition by a
woman to the Magnetic North
Pole, completed by Helen Thayer (and her dog) in 1988 at
age 50. During her 27-day, 364-mile journey, Thayer faced
sub-zero temperatures, rough and cracking ice, fierce
Arctic storms, frostbite, hunger and menacing polar
bears while pulling a six-foot-long sled loaded with 160
pounds of gear and supplies. With the exception of radio
contact to report her progress, she had no interaction
with humans at all.
Thayer undertook this journey after spending her life
as an outdoor enthusiast and international athletic competitor. Researching for the journey, she was surprised to
find how little information had been written about Arctic
expeditions, so she kept a journal and took photos documenting landscape, wildlife, weather and temperatures
to be shared with students upon her return in a program
entitled Adventure Classroom.
Reading of her trek, I paused often to reflect on
parallels with our journey as school administrators. The
Magnetic North Pole cannot be defined as a dot on a map
but is an elusive target in constant motion, sometimes

36

the principal news | fall 2009

moving more than a hundred miles in a single day. One


might equate that moving target with educational standards over which many things exert influence. Another
parallel: Thayers eventual realization that trying to control her surroundings when faced with polar bears and
ice splitting beneath her would drain her energy, leaving
nothing to spare when situations arose over which she
did have control. She acknowledged that, while difficult,
one sometimes needs to give up control and trust ones
instinctsa lesson we might all take to heart.
Whether confronted by polar bears and ice or students
and staff, preparation, practice and confidence will lead
to success. While we may sometimes feel we are on a solo
expedition, having a support system in place is critical.
Thayer learned to accept what she had and feel grateful
rather than wish she had more. Acceptance and gratitude
allow us to deal with problems and channel energy into
moving ahead. In these sometimes troubling times,
our students deserve our unflagging commitment and
guidance. Onward!

The Element:
How Finding Your Passion
Changes Everything
By Ken Robinson, Ph.D.,
and Lou Aronica
Publisher: Viking Penguin (2009)
ISBN: 978-0-670-02047-8
274 pages
Reviewed by Diane Ball, Assistant
Principal, Cedarcrest Middle
School, Marysville SD
Author Ken Robinson refers to
the element as a point where an individuals work and
natural strengths come together and result in success.

He describes the journey of several individuals, including The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, hip-hop poet
Black Ice, professional ballerina and choreographer
Gillian Lynne and musician Mick Fleetwood, as they
achieved success working in their element.
In The Element: How Finding Your Passion
Changes Everything, Robinson identifies sources that
empower individuals to uncover and develop talents.
Among them:

Mentors in our schools and workplaces who help us


recognize and encourage talents, serve as facilitators and stretch us past our own perceived limits
Support groups or tribes of trust where we are
validated, inspired and challenged to achieve
higher levels of success
A positive attitude and outlook for life
Unwavering perseverance and determination
to overcome obstacles
The author also pinpoints challenges that
hinder us from finding our natural talents. Those
challenges include:

Personal, social and cultural constraints


The fear of being different
A narrow definition of intelligence measured by
standardized tests

An education system that was designed to meet the


needs of the Industrial Revolution and follows
a hierarchy of subjects where creativity ranks low
In schools, Robinson advocates creating classroom
environments that foster creativity, designing diversified instruction that enables all students to experience
success, and encouraging students to follow their
passions regardless of what the crowd thinks.
This book reminds us of the importance of recognizing multiple intelligences, supporting individual
growth and developing creative problem-solving skills
through effective instruction to prepare students to
meet the challenges of the workplace of tomorrow.

The Leader In Me:


How Schools and Parents Around
the World Are Inspiring Greatness,
One Child at a Time
By Stephen Covey
Publisher: Free Press (2008)
ISBN: 987-1-4391-0326-5
248 pages
Reviewed by Sue Lennick, Principal,
University Elementary,
Central Valley SD
We only get one chance to prepare our
students for a future that none of us can possibly predict. What
are we going to do with that one chance?
The Leader In Me provides an inspiring model for teaching
personal leadership to all ageseven students as young as five
years old. It is based on a well-structured framework that follows
author Stephen Coveys leadership philosophy. The book shares
successes that actual schools have had incorporating Coveys 7
Habits of Highly Effective People into their curricula. The positive results documented by these schools include an increase in
student achievement, a decrease in student discipline problems,
a major shift in student attitudes and behaviors, and more positive approaches to problem solving and student engagement.
Capturing how the seven habits can be a part of any school
culture, The Leader in Me is designed to be integrated into a
schools core curriculum and everyday languagethereby avoiding the mindset that it is just one more thing teachers and
administrators have to do. Covey offers thorough step-by-step
guidelines of how schools have implemented the leadership
program. (With its focus on increasing parental involvement,
the parent piece was exceptionally appealing for me.) To complement the books program, Covey provides a wealth of doable
ideas and accessible resourceslessons, visuals and a Web site.
The Leader in Me program is capable of supplementing an
existing character education program or standing on its own.
I believe this book has great potential in assisting principals,
teachers, students and parents to better prepare our young
people for leadership in the 21st century. The Leader In Me demonstrates how Coveys ageless life principles can have a profound
impact on every facet of life, and provides compelling evidence
that one is never too young or too old to become a real leader.

the principal news |

fall 2009

37

The Leader in Me
by Stephen R. Covey

38

the principal news | fall 2009

Polar Dream
by Helen Thayer

The Element
by Ken Robinson

Managing the

Unsolvable Problem
Polarity management helps leaders
make the most of the see-saw effect.

At

some point, every leader faces it: A crisis


brought on by what appears to be an unsolvable
problem of opposing personalities, perspectives or ideas.
Are you facing an unsolvable problem, even as your
staff and students are celebrating a great achievement
in your school? If you have been moving either slowly or
rapidly toward improvement and you find yourself in the
new territory of breakthrough results, the unexpected
side effect may be disharmony among the very people who
have journeyed with you
to this new and foreign
place called success.
The stakes suddenly
become very high as
each player steps up to
own the achievement and
his or her role in it.
At Pioneer Elementary
in the Auburn School
Debra Gary
District, we faced a crisis
Pioneer Elementary
as we broke through
Auburn SD
dgary@auburn.wednet.edu
the barriers of poverty
(average 70 percent),
mobility (average 30 percent) and English language learners (average 35 percent) to close the achievement gap in
reading on the 4th grade WASL. As the staff recognized
the need to be on the same page, we strove to achieve a
clearer vision and more cooperation. Our work, however,
generated a conflict we had not anticipateda conflict
revolving around the challenges of reduced autonomy and
the consequences of performance-based accountability. If
not addressed, these issues had the potential to create an
unsolvable problem.
After grappling with this conflict, we consulted with The
Center for Courage and Renewal (www.couragerenewal.org)
and learned about polarity management, a remarkable
tool for any organization facing the forces of change.

Think of polarity management this way: On any given


team, there will be a variety of talents coexisting and
continuously balancing against one another. It is like an
old-fashioned teeter-totter where one person pushes off
the ground as the other person releases and comes down
from their high vantage point. Sometimes they meet in
the middle in perfect balance, but then the see-saw begins
again as one side rides high and the other rides low. What
fun would it be to remain stationary? The exhilaration
comes in part from the movement caused by the person
pushing off on the opposite end from you.
Barry Johnsons book, Polarity Management:
Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems, provides a framework for effective polarity management.
In this book, Johnson clearly lays out the early warning
signs of imbalance in an organization as well as the
action steps needed to correct problematic language.
This framework gave me, as the leader, the neutral and
immediately applicable device of polarity management
to work through our issues.
Using this device, the Pioneer Elementary staff agreed
on the key polarities that would move things forward:

Holding a common vision and making room for


respectful disagreement
Centralized decision making and collaborative
decision making
Focusing on tasks and strengthening relationships
Challenge (expecting people to improve) and support
(honoring and celebrating whats good now)
As a team, we learned to distinguish between a conflict
to solve and a conflict to manage. We identified the patterns that led to solutions. And, together, we came to
appreciate the exhilaration of success, from either side
of the teeter-totter.

the principal news |

fall 2009

39

Cultural
Competency:
It Takes a Village
In one school, parents are helping put the districts vision into action.
On July 7, 2009, an article in The Seattle Times noted that, in seven Seattle-area school districts, the majority of
the student body is made up of ethnic minorities. In this article, AWSP Diversity Task Force member Rebekah Kim
shares how one of those districts is addressing this issue with its administrators, teachers and staff.

In

the Highline School District, we have worked to


create a cultural competency vision that meets
the needs of all students and staff:
Cultural competency is the willingness and ability
of every individual within the Highline educational
system to become aware of ones cultural identity, to
embrace the knowledge of other cultures and infuse
this awareness at all levels of the educational system
in order to improve the quality of education.

The journey toward this three- to five-year vision


began with the belief that cultural competency must start
with the administrative team empowering
district leaders with the
training, self-awareness
and tools to support
critical work at the building level. Driven by this
belief, the administrative
team took an assessment
to determine the needs of
Rebekah Kim
our district and the areas
Marvista Elementary
Highline SD
requiring the most focus.
kimry@hsd401.org
As a team, administrators launched into their
self-awareness work with a book study based on Beverly
Tatums Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in
the Cafeteria?
During the first year, our trainings focused on white
privilege, stereotypes and ways our students perceive their
educational experience. The following year, we built upon
our awareness by increasing our knowledge of the communities in which we work. Members of Latino, East African,
African-American, Native American and low-income com-

munities participated in presentations and student and


parent panel discussions.
While administrators were being trained, our staff
members were bringing this work into their own buildings. At Marvista Elementary, we focused on increasing
our relevance to the school community. At first, we
partnered with another local school for trainings. As the
significance of this work evolved, we created a cultural
competency committee to plan our own staff trainings. In
our most recent work, we sought to gain more perspectives
from parents of our students of color. We hosted a parent
panel, during which staff listened and interacted as parents shared their familys passion for education.
After the panel, staff had an opportunity to share their
feelings. The summative feeling was that all parents value
the same things for our children: respect and a good education. The task before us is to determine how we give our
students an accessible and quality education as we work
to understand their learning styles and how we differentiate instruction to meet the changing and varying needs in
each classroom.
Our goals for the upcoming school year include becoming more aware of cultural norms so staff will be better
equipped for dealing with student and family communications. Additionally, we plan to do more research to gauge
parents perception of our treatment of minorities as well
as parents comfort level in the school setting at science
fairs, PTSA meetings and other family events. As a school
and district, we will focus on infusing this work into how
we design instruction. We will work toward understanding the culture and learning style of each student while
maintaining high expectations for all students.
As we continue our work in creating a system of
accountability, we will keep a lens on cultural competency
across all content areas.

the principal news |

fall 2009

41

Board Highlights
June 2009
Association of Washington
School Principals
Board minutes were approved for the April 23, 2009 meeting.

The Board accepted Dave Balcoms resignation from


the position of president-elect due to his upcoming
transfer to the district office.

The Board approved a motion to accept the WASSP


nomination of Phil Brockman as AWSP president for
2009-10. The Board then approved a motion to accept
the AWMLP nomination of John Westerman as AWSP
president-elect for 2009-10. The new officers will begin
their terms July 1.

The Board passed a motion to approve a one-year


extension (to 2011) for the contract of Gary Kipp as
AWSP executive director.

Maury Nollette, AWSPs financial advisor, provided the


annual review of the AWSP investment accounts. The
Board passed a motion to approve a change in bond
fund management.

The Board heard a status report on the AWSP budget


as of May 31, 2009.

The Board passed a motion to accept the proposed


2009-10 budget on an interim basis, with final approval to take place at the fall meeting, Sept. 24.

Liaisons to the State Board of Education and OSPI


reported on current events and projects.
Goal 1: Advocacy

The Board received an update on the AWSP legislative platform. Highlights were provided on legislation
passed during the 2009 session that affects education
and AWSP programs.

The AWSP Torch of Leadership Award will be presented to Sen. Rodney Tom (D), 48th Legislative District.

42

the principal news | fall 2009

Goal 3: Member Services


Total membership as of June 3, 2009 was 3,456. It is
anticipated that next year will usher in a decrease in
membership due to positions being eliminated.

It was reported that the AWSP receptionist was laid off
due to budget reductions.

The Communications and Business Partnership


Report was provided for April-June 2009.

The Board passed a motion to revise the AWSP


Conflict of Interest Policy G-1 to add the statement:
This policy is to be annually reviewed with the
Board of Directors.
VEBA Update
Dave Bouge, AWSP representative to the VEBA Board
of Trustees for seven years, was thanked for his
service; Gordon Grassi will be his replacement. Paula
Bond is the other AWSP representative to the board.

The VEBA Trust State Report was presented. It was


reported Meritain Health will be the new third-party
administrator as of July 1, 2009.
AWSP Board Direction for 2009-10

Board members provided input for review and discussion at the annual executive leadership planning
session in August.
Next AWSP Board meeting
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Renaissance Seattle Hotel

Washington School Principals


Education Foundation
Board minutes were approved for the April 24, 2009 meeting.

The Board received the budget report as of May 31,


2009 for The Principal Leadership Center and
approved a motion to accept an amended budget for
2009 as presented.

Budget reports to date were provided for the Student


Leadership program and the Cispus and Chewelah
Peak Learning Centers.
Goal 2: Principal Leadership

Program updates were provided for the:


State-Funded Principal Internship program
Principal certification program
Principal assessor-mentor program (state funding
was eliminated)
Leadership coaching services
AWSP partnership with OSPI on the School
Improvement Assistance program
New Principals and Assistant Principals Workshop
Principals Summer Leadership Retreat
Washington State Leadership Academy
Goal 5: Student Leadership Programs
The Board received a summary of Student Leadership
programs and activities.

Chewelah Peak Learning Center activities were highlighted. Work continues on construction and landscaping. As part of an annual training exercise, a group of
firefighters built a new trail at CPLC.

Washington will likely be a pilot state for the National


Board Certification for Principals, and 13 active principals have been invited to help develop this program.

Charlene Milota will replace Colleen Nelson in the


board position of an AWSP past president. Colleen was
thanked for her two years of service on the Board.

John Pehrson was honored for his service to the


Association. He was the first non-principal to join the
Foundation Board. He also facilitated the development
of AWSPs strategic plan.
Next WSPEF Board meeting:
Friday, September 25, 2009
Renaissance Seattle Hotel

It was reported Susan Fortin conducted a train the


trainer RSVP workshop at the National Association of
Student Councils Conference in Denver. The state delegation to the conference was the smallest in 18 years.
Goal 6: Outdoor Learning Centers

Highlights of recent activities were provided for


Cispus Learning Center. It was reported some larger
school districts will not be participating in the coming year due to budget reductions.

For the April 2009 Board Report,


please visit The Principals
Handbook at www.awsp.org, then
click on The Principal News.

the principal news |

fall 2009

43

Component News
The AWSP component boards meet quarterly during the school year to discuss issues related to elementary,
middle and high school instruction. Check the AWSP Web site if you are interested in attending a meeting,
or contact the AWSP office for further information.

Elementary School Principals


Association of Washington (ESPAW)

Association of Washington
Middle Level Principals (AWMLP)

AWMLP executive committee members for 2009-10 are:


The ESPAW executive committee members for 2009-10 are: The
John Westerman, president; principal, Eastmont
Jill Massa, president; principal, Warden Elementary,
Warden SD
Jim Rudsit, past president; principal, Purdy
Elementary, Peninsula SD
Rex Larson, president-elect; principal, Gause
Elementary, Washougal SD
Brian Pickard, treasurer; principal, South Colby
Elementary, South Kitsap SD
Sherry Adams, East Side vice president; principal,
Cottonwood Elementary, West Valley SD
Marcia Boyd, West Side vice president; John Rogers
Elementary, Seattle SD
Dwight Cooper, NAESP representative; principal,
Reardan Elementary, Reardan-Edwall SD
Karen Reid, AWSP representative; principal, Serene
Lake Elementary, Mukilteo SD
ESPAWs focus for the 2009-10 school year is leadership in difficult times. As a part of that focus, the
board will:
Participate in a book study of Ten Traits of Highly
Effective Teachers: How to Hire, Coach and Mentor
Successful Teachers by Elaine McEwan.
Address and discuss the topic of facilitating effective staff meetings and professional development at
each board meeting.
Explore stress reduction for principals with guest
speakers and activities at board meetings throughout the year.
Election of new officers for the ESPAW board will take
place in the fall.
The ESPAW Resource Committee, led by Lynn Jorgenson, principal, Breidabilk Elementary, North Kitsap
SD, and Jennifer Rose, principal, Medina Elementary,
Bellevue SD, will focus on creating math resources for
principals across the state.

44

the principal news | fall 2009

Junior High, Eastmont SD


Karen Owen, past president; principal, Nisqually
Middle, North Thurston PS
Randy Heath, president-elect; principal, Coweeman
Middle, Kelso SD
Dave Bouge, vice president; principal, Bowdish
Middle, Central Valley SD
Diane Otterby, AWSP three-year representative;
assistant principal, Poulsbo Middle, North Kitsap SD
Marilyn Boerke, NASSP coordinator; principal,
Liberty Middle, Camas SD
Diane Ball, director representative; assistant
principal, Cedarcrest Middle, Marysville SD
New members who joined the AWMLP Board in
2008-09 include:
Marilyn Boerke, St. Helens regional director;
principal, Liberty Middle, Camas SD
Sheila Gerrish, Sno-Isle regional director;
principal, Cedarcrest Middle, Marysville SD
Derek Forbes, Northwest regional director;
principal, Mount Baker Junior High, Mount Baker SD
Whitney Meissner, Olympic regional director;
principal, Chimacum Middle/High, Chimacum SD
Tim Gordon, Kingco North regional director;
principal, Kenmore Junior High, Northshore SD
Kim Whitworth, Seattle regional director;
principal, Eckstein Middle, Seattle PS
The AWMLP Board of Directors will focus its professional development activities on a group reading of
Fair Isnt Always Equal: Assessing and Grading in the
Differentiated Classroom by Rick Wormeli, delving
into the latest research and common sense thinking
that teachers and administrators seek when it comes
to assessment and grading in differentiated classes.
AWMLP President John Westerman, President-elect
Randy Heath and NASSP Coordinator Marilyn Boerke
attended the NASSP/NAESP National Leaders Confer-

ence in Washington, D.C. in July and spoke with members of the Washington state congressional delegation
regarding key issues that impact the principalship.
Outstanding middle level principals and assistant
principals are recognized annually in each of AWMLPs
15 regions statewide. The 2008-09 Regional Principals
and Assistant Principals of the Year will be recognized
at the AWMLP luncheon during the 2009 AWSP Principals Conference in Yakima. AWMLP regional directors
coordinate selection of the Regional Distinguished Principals and Regional Distinguished Assistant Principals
using a process determined by each individual region. If
you are interested in nominating a colleague for recognition, please contact the regional director for your area.
Questions? Call the AWSP office (800.562.6100) for additional information.

Washington Association of
Secondary School Principals (WASSP)

The WASSP executive committee members for 2009-10 are:


Jennifer Shaw, president; principal, Franklin Pierce
High, Franklin Pierce SD
Phil Brockman, past president; principal, Ballard
High, Seattle PS
Carole Meyer, president-elect; principal, John R.
Rogers High, Spokane PS
Ken Schutz, NASSP coordinator; principal, Odessa
High, Odessa SD
Nancy Faaren, AWSP three-year representative;
principal, Capital High, Olympia SD
Mark Marshall, at-large representative; Thomas
Jefferson High, Federal Way PS
Jennifer Shaw, principal, Franklin Pierce High, Franklin Pierce SD, and Ken Schutz, principal, Odessa High,
Odessa SD, attended the NASSP/NAESP National Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C. in July.
The WASSP Rep Council has spent a significant amount
of time studying and providing input to the State Board
of Education on CORE 24. Regional high school principals
have been invited to attend the Rep Council professional
development sessions on CORE 24.
Last year, the WASSP Rep Council read Robert Marzanos
School Leadership that Works: From Research to Results
and attended a June McREL workshop on balanced leadership to help principals develop their leadership skills.

The WASSP Rep Council thanks the following individuals:


For completing his term as NASSP Region 7 director:
Jeff Miller, principal, East Valley High, East ValleySpokane SD
For completing his term as Rep Council at-large representative: Ted Howard, principal, Garfield High, Seattle PS
For completing their terms as league representatives
to the Rep Council:
Beth Daneker, principal, Lake Quinault High, Pacific 1B
Karen Larsen, principal, White Pass Junior/Senior
High, Central 2B
Kristine Brynildsen-Smith, principal,
Archbishop Murphy High, Cascade 1A/2A
Mark Marney, principal, Eastmont High,
Columbia Basin 3A/4A
Kevin Lusk, principal, Prosser High, CWAC 2A
Aaron Leavell, principal, Bremerton High,
Olympia 2A/3A
John Polm, principal, Jenkins High,
Great Northern 1A

Algebraic Thinking (AT) provides comprehensive and ongoing


professional development with on grade level middle school
mathematics instruction. The goal is to raise the achievements
and confidence of students who have struggled in mathematics
to become highly competitive in mathematics.
The Key Elements to Mathematics Success (KEMS) is a
combination of supplemental lessons and professional
development designed to enhance student understanding
of concepts that are essential to 6th and 7th grade
mathematics.
The Key Elements to Algebra Success (KEAS) is a set of
supplemental lessons reinforced by professional development,
designed to enhance student understanding of essential
algebra concepts.
The Key Elements to Classroom Management Success
(KECMS) is a workshop focused on maximizing student
performance through motivation, respect, discipline and
organization. This interactive one or two day workshop
supports teachers in managing their classes by focusing on
areas including classroom characteristics, psychology of the
struggling learner, rules and procedures, time management
and planning.

the principal news |

fall 2009

45

FROM THE awsp Executive Director

Quotes and Questions


As

usual , my verbosity got away from me, leaving my managing editor the task of paring down my original
5,000 words to a mere 500. Heres what was leftsome quotes and questions for you to consider.

Educators equate professionalism with autonomygetting to use their own judgment, to exercise discretion, to determine
the conditions of their own work in classrooms and schools. In fact, professionalism outside of education is exactly the
opposite of this definition. Professionals gain their social authority not be exercising autonomy, but by subscribing to an
externally validated body of knowledge, by agreeing to have their discretion limited by that knowledge, and by facing
sanctions if they operate outside that body of knowledge. Richard Elmore
If principals are to work with their teachers to help them redefine professionalism in teaching and understand the externally
validated body of knowledge, when will they do that?
If the threat of death does not motivate people who are ill, what on earth is going to motivate teachers to change? The answer has to be deep engagement with other colleagues and
with mentors in exploring, refining and improving their practice as well as setting up an
environment in which this not only can happen but is encouraged, rewarded and pressed
to happen. Michael Fullan
The Seahawks had hundreds of hours together for deep engagement with other colleagues
prior to their first game on Sept. 13. How many hours did you have with your teachers before
the first day of school?

Gary Kipp

It is not national legislation demanding that all students learn or the adoption of rigorous
standards that will transform schools. In fact, in many schools the effort to raise standards and have tougher high-stakes assessments will not contribute to the creation of
a stretch culture, but will instead contribute to a culture of learned hopelessness for
students and staff alike. In other schools the standards movement will be used as a catalyst to help students achieve at
higher levels. The staff of some schools will look for external solutions, waiting for the state to change legislation, the
district to provide more resources, or the parents to send more capable students to their schools. They will look out the
window for solutions. In other schools the staff will work together collaboratively to develop their collective capacity to
meet the needs of their students. They will look in the mirror for solutions. Ultimately, what will make the difference is
not the standards themselves, but the self-efficacy of the stafftheir belief that it is within their sphere of influence to
impact student achievement in a positive way. Richard DuFour
What does it say about our system that some districts can find no other time to devote to building collective self-efficacy than
to take it out of the precious few school days we set aside for learning in our country?
Executive Director
AWSP
gary@awsp.org

Quality teaching requires strong professional learning communities. Collegial interchange, not isolation, must become
the norm for teachers. Communities of learning can no longer be considered utopian; they must become the building blocks
that establish a new foundation for American schools. National Commission on Teaching, 2003
As our legislators and the Quality Education Council enact ESHB 2261 to redefine basic education, will they pay attention to this
statement? How can we establish collaboration as a building block for Americas schools if no time is budgeted for it in
what the state considers basic education?

More online! Hear Gary Kipps thoughts on these and other quotes and questions!
Go to The Principals Handbook at www.awsp.org, then click on The Principal News.

46

the principal news | fall 2009

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