WA Scholars Event

Tomorrow, AWSP and the Higher Education Coordinating Board will be hosting the annual Washington Scholars ceremony and luncheon here in Olympia.

The morning session will begin at 9:45 in the chambers of the House of Representatives where friends, family and educators will join in recognition of their achievements. This is an award that is given by the state to three graduating seniors in each legislative district. Students are in the top 1 percent of their graduating classes and are selected based on their academic achievement, in addition to their leadership, community involvement and other extra-curricular activities.

The reward?

A four-year scholarship for tuition at any four-year public or private university in Washington state.

The Legislature started the program in 1981 as a way of honoring these kind of students. But it also helps ensure some of the state's best and brightest advance their education here in Washington. You can read more about the scholarship program here.

TVW will be covering the morning program live tomorrow. Our five morning interest sessions on the role of state government in lobbying, media/communications/the law and the Supreme Court will also be broadcast via the TVW Web site.

Then tomorrow at noon, the Scholars and their families will be joined by their legislators at a special luncheon at Saint Martin's University in Lacey. Gov. Gregoire and State Superintendent Terry Bergeson are among the honored guests speaking at the luncheon.

It should be a nice day for these students, their families and accompanying principals and teachers.

Deadline Nears for Special Circumstances Appeals

High school principals, heads up!

The deadline for filing special circumstance appeals for high school students who missed the math WASL is looming on the horizon. To be considered for the appeal, applications must be received by OSPI by Thursday, May 1. Supporting documentation can be filed after the deadline, but must be received by May 12.

You can download the appeals application here. Or go here to learn more about the special circumstances process.

According to OSPI:

"The appeal was created for students in their senior year who, because of 'special, unavoidable circumstances,' were unable to demonstrate their skills and knowledge on the high school WASL or another appropriate assessment. For example, OSPI has been alerted about numerous cases where students missed one or both days of the WASL because they were ill. Although that doesn’t guarantee an appeal will be approved, that special, unavoidable circumstance certainly qualifies as an appeal. In order for an appeal to be granted, documentation demonstrating that the student has the skills to meet standard must be provided.

Core 24

No, this does not have Kiefer Sutherland in it. (But that would be interesting!)

The "Core 24" is the short form for a new proposal by the State Board of Education to increase the minimum number of graduation credits from 19 to 24. The Meaningful High School Diploma project is one of the Board's major initiatives this year. In order to earn a diploma under the MHSD model:

"...every student will develop and follow a coherent personal plan of study that prepares them for the next step after high school- whether it's a trade, an apprenticeship program or college."

The increase would vary depending on the pathway -- work ready, college and work ready or college ready. Here's the comparison of work ready vs. work and college ready vs. college ready (differences in bold) and they each involve 24 credits:

WORK READY

• 4 credits of English
  
• 3 of mathematics
• 3 of science
• 3 of social studies
• 3 in career and technical ed
• 2 in art
• 1.5 in fitness
• .5 in health
• 4 elective credits

WORK & COLLEGE READY

• 4 credits of English
  
• 3 of mathematics
• 3 of science
• 3 of social studies
• 3 in career and technical ed
• 2 in world languages (the same language)
  
• 2 in art
• 1.5 in fitness
• .5 in health
• 2 elective credits

COLLEGE READY

• 4 credits of English
  
• 3 of mathematics
• 3 of science
• 3 of social studies
• 1 in career and technical ed
• 2 in world languages (the same language)
  
• 2 in art
• 1.5 in fitness
• .5 in health
• 4 elective credits

AWSP is working with its high school board on this issue and will be discussing it with the AWSP board later this week.

Do you support the overall concept and goal of the Core 24 proposal? What specific concerns do you have, if any, about the proposal?

It's Official!

Now the work really begins!

The revised K-8 mathematics standards were approved yesterday by the State Board of Education (SBE) in a brief, 40-minute session held at OSPI. Asa result, OSPI will now shift into professional development mode and begin the task of training the state's K-8 teachers before next fall. The state has already set in motion a professional development plan to ensure this happens.

This summer, OSPI, the ESDs and several of the state' s largest school districts will be hosting trainings to get teachers up to speed on the new standards. At the same time, OSPI is also moving forward with a curriculum review to support the revised standards. The agency has six months from the time the standards are approved to conduct the review and make recommendations to the SBE for three basic curricula for grades K-5 and three for grades 6-8. The review will begin in June and will involve a team of approximately 50 educators from around the state who were selected through a competitive process.

Are you an elementary principal? Have you heard about the summer mathematics trainings in your district or ESD?

National Board Certification Bonuses

Did you know that principals in Washington state who earned their National Board certification as teachers can now claim their state bonus as principals?

This year, the Legislature approved a bill that would allow teachers who become principals to take their $5,000 annual bonus with them into the principalship. The only catch? You must have been a teacher first -- you can't go back now as an administrator and earn the NBPTS certification in order to claim the bonus. This may be something the Legislature reviews in the next legislative cycle, according to AWSP's Director of Governmental Relations, Jerry Bender.

The original bill, Senate Bill 6930, sponsored by Sen. Rodney Tom (D-Medina), died last session but the idea was recouped in the final budget. Unlike the National Board bonus for teachers, the principal provision is not yet in statute. The bill was considered a way of encouraging teachers who earned the bonus and certification to consider next steps into school administration.

There are approximately 16 principals in Washington state who are affected by this new proviso.

Leadership Academy

Here's a new Web site to check out when you have a moment: The Washington State Leadership Academy has a new site with some preliminary information about the new venture.

The WSLA was created by last year's Legislature as part of an effort to further enhance leadership in school administrators. AWSP and WASA serve as the co-administrators of the group, in conjunction with a design team of practicing principals and superintendents from around the state. Former Bellingham Supt. Dale Kinsley is the executive director.

Do you have questions about the WSLA? Let us know.

Thanks, USDA!

This item falls under the header "You're Not Serious, Are You?"

The folks in Texas have apparently struck gold (or would that be green?) when it comes to resolving the school lunch/childhood obesity struggle and healthy snacks. The solution?

Frozen Pickle Pops. Think Otter Pops with a gherkin twist.

Yes, it's the tastiest treat sweeping schoolyards everywhere. Frozen pickle juice in a handy to-go package!

You'll be glad to know the USDA has approved the PickleSickle --frozen pickle juice pops -- for distribution in public AND private schools (see their proud stamp of endorsement on the logo above at left). And don't worry! Booster clubs can get in on this action, too... Check out this Washington Post story about it, complete with a video of one lucky student taste tester!

Mmmmm!

Elementary Honor Society

Elementary principals, listen up! There's a new program designed to help elementary schools recognize younger students for outstanding academic success.

The National Association of Elementary School Principals announced this week the creation of a new National Elementary Honor Society (NEHS). The new group is the result of a partnership between NAESP and its sister organization, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, which administers the National Honor Society and National Junior Honor Society programs. Currently, there are more than one million students represented in the 50 states, D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam who participate in the NHS and NJHS, plus 536 chapters overseas.

Under the new agreement, any school containing grades 4-6 can establish a National Elementary Honor Society chapter. For more information or to start an application for your school, visit the NEHS Web site.

Advocacy Resources

As a school administrator, keeping pace with state legislation is tough enough. The federal stuff? Even more so. But two online resources bubbled to the surface this week at the NAESP Convention in Nashville:

• THOMAS - The Library of Congress' official Web site contains a staggering number of resources and data. Looking for federal bills or resolutions? There's specific resources for teachers, too.
  
• LEAD - NAESP's Leading Educators' Advocacy Dashboard gives you all the tools you need to write your Congressional representatives -- or the media in their legislative district -- about issues affecting K-12 education. Their online advocacy service provides legislative updates, information on key bills and links to local and national media outlets. You can sign up for regular updates on the issues from this site, too. Just go to the NAESP homepage and click on the LEAD icon on the list on the right-hand side of the page.

Do you have a favorite online advocacy resource you'd like to share?

SchoolTube -- Not YouTube!

Are your students interested in new technology, but you'd like to find a more positive outlet for their files than YouTube? Want a new way to jazz up those old morning announcements?

Be sure to check out SchoolTube, a safe and fun alternative to the other video sharing Web site. All videos loaded to the site must have the approval of an adult within the school -- be it a teacher, administrator, advisors, etc. The site is free and provides a nice and easy outlet for schools that want to encourage students' (appropriate) use of new media.

Differentiated Leadership

We're all familiar with the term, "differentiated instruction," but what about "differentiated leadership"?

This morning in Nashville, Minnesota leadership consultant Jane Kise made the case for differentiated leadership based on eight personality types she and her business partner, Beth Russell, have identified eight personality preferences and 16 personality types that can be identified and used to adapt school leadership as well as classroom instruction. Here are the four she covered in the session today:

• Extraversion or Intraversion: How are you energized? Do you gain energy through action and interaction, or though reflection and solitude?
• Sensing or INtuition: How do you gather information? Do you gather information with your senses or through connections and hunches?
• Thinking or feeling: How do you make decisions? Based on logic and principles or values?
• Judging or Perceiving? How do you approach life? Do you plan your work and work your plan or do you stay open and let things happen?

These tendencies are "hardwired" into each of us, Kise said. While she conceded some of this sounds like a lot of common sense, she can also offer example after example of situations where the school principal lead by their own personality preferences, which put off teachers, parents or other administrators who had opposite preferences. Most teachers--especially elementary teachers--are "feeling" types, whereas most principals are "thinking" types. She put things in perspective when she likened it to Singapore math. Singapore math works for so many people (especially those who are math phobic) because it appeals to both thinkers and feelers. Said Kise:

Be a better leader by knowing your personality preferences and those of your staff and students. The successful leader knows what their style is and tries to look for the other side to balance things out."

Politics Far From Usual

Today's keynote speakers were the national political duo James Carville and Mary Matalin. While many people scratch their heads in wonder over their red state/blue state relationship, it quickly became clear why these two work so well together: they have razor-sharp wits and sincere respect for one another. As a result, attendees at today's NAESP afternoon keynote session were not disappointed.

Matalin and Carville's professional experience read like a who's who of 20th (and 21st) century politics and mass media. Bush I, Bush II; Bill and Hillary Clinton; Meet the Press; Fox News and on and on. She's an unapologetic conservative and he's an unabashed liberal. They have two school-age daughters and now look at education through the lens of a parent rather than as campaign strategists and consultants. Speaking to the audience today, Matalin noted:

"You [principals] are at the epicenter of the most political issue of all political issues...There is nothing more important in the lives of families than what you do."

Carville and Matalin took turns addressing the audience, both exchanging friendly fire with one another while sharing their thoughts on the 2008 presidential races, politics and their own relationship. Carville likened the Democratic ticket to a game of blackjack or "21". Obama, Carville said, holds cards that amount to 20 and Hillary is holding at 15. In the world of gambling stats, Obama has the better hand, he said. But stay tuned -- both he and Carville said this race is unprecedented in American history. Both predicted a busy fall leading up to the election.

It was hard to keep up with the verbal barrage, but here are some of my favorite quips from today:

• Matalin on the question of her bi-partisan marriage: "You know how this works: He has selective husband thinking and I tell him I'm out of estrogen and have a gun!"
• Carville on the D ticket: "On the D side, we like to say we have the Mamma and Obama."
• Matalin on the 2008 campaign: "It is good for all of us...to watch the horserace. No matter who is elected, it will be a fascinating presidency."
• Carville on the campaigns: "The theater of the whole thing is just staggering...You can't keep your eyes off this thing."
• Matalin on Hillary: "I can relate to a Yankee who has a big-mouth Southern husband who doesn't know when to shut up..."
• Carville on education: "The impact as a human being of their first educational experience stays with that person for the rest of their lives...They're going to take these experiences with them deep into their lives."

I'm not even going to try to capture the stories they told about one another -- how they met, their fallout after a November appearance on Meet the Press. But it's clear both are passionate about each other, their families and the American political system. This session gave everyone a little something to chew on and laugh about.

News about NAESP

Have you noticed NAESP's new logo? The national office rolled out its new look this weekend in conjunction with the 87th annual convention. The Association also rolled out two major publications:

• Visions 2021: Transformations in Leading, Learning and Community.
• Leading Learning Communities: Standards for What Principals Should Know and Be Able to Do (second ed.)

Both are available for purchase on the NAESP Web site; a free copy of Leading Learning will be distributed to NAESP members this fall.

Howdy From Nashville, TN!

Greetings from the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Resort!

The NAESP Convention is off to a fine start, with sessions covering an array of interests. Content strands include:

• Adult Learning
• Community Engagement
• Data & Decision-Making
• Expanding the Continuum of Learning
• Leadership/Distributed Leadership
• Student Learning
• Vision

Today I had the chance to attend two sessions. The first was world renown psychologist Dr. Jack Singer, who wrote attendees a prescription for three heaping teaspoons positive rational self-talk, optimism and laughter daily to beat back the stress of everyday life. Singer noted that children laugh about 300 times a day. Adults? Just 17 times. "You need to let that little child in you out," Singer advised. "You need to laugh!" The good doctor helped the audience work toward that goal with a warm, funny presentation.

The second, Diane Hodges, also focused on the positive. Hodges, a former secondary and elementary school principal, has parlayed her passion for staff morale into a successful consulting business. Frankly, it was hard to keep up with her -- the ideas were coming fast and furious during her presentation. I included some of those tips in my article for the NAESP Convention Newsletter.

Good News For People Who are Sick of Bad News

On the dropout front...

In the wake of the report issued yesterday by America's Promise Alliance pegging the national dropout rate at 50 percent comes this story about the Clover Park School District in Lakewood. Thanks to a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation -- one of the underwriters of the APA's dropout study -- Clover Park High was able to restructure itself and keep students with the same teachers for all four years.

The payoff? A 30 percent + drop in the dropout rate , or, more positively expressed as a 30 percent increase in diplomas granted. According to John Seaton, principal, Clover Park High:

"You've got a relationship that is so tight with those kids that they're willing to share their life with you," Seaton explained. "So you can become part of the solution for their problems."

Food Allergy Guidelines

Here's something school principals should review and share with their staffs...

On Monday, OSPI released its Food Allergy Guidelines, created in conjunction with the Food Allergy Advisory Committee, a group comprised of parents, school nutritionists, nurses, administrators and pupil transportation staff. In 2007, the Legislature appropriated $45,000 OSPI to convene a workgroup to finalize draft guidelines and develop school food allergy guidelines and policies for districts to implement beginning in 2008-09.

The guide includes recommendations, forms and procedures school personnel need to anticipate and respond to situations involving students with these potentially life-threatening issues. The publication also includes a complete reference of all related Washington state laws and federal regulations.

According to the Food Allergy and Anphylaxis Network (FAAN), about 12 million people in the U.S have food allergies; 3 million of them are children. Eight foods account for 90 percent of all food-allergic reactions in the U.S.: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (e.g., walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans), wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish. You can read additional facts about food allergies here.

Let us know if your school has implemented any particular procedures or practices that have helped students become more aware of food allergies or better manage them schoolwide.