Feeling Squeezed?

News from "the other" Washington: "Principals are squeezed from both sides."

OK, so this may not be a shocker to you, no matter which Washington you're from. But it's worth a read all the same.

When Washington Post columnist Robert McCartney recently spent time with principals of the year from the D.C. region, he asked them about their work and how it's changed over the years. Their answers, says McCartney, were "disturbing."

Chalk it up to micromanagement, NCLB, tight budgets, low morale, impatient parents, the pitfalls of the Internet and the looming threat of swine flu. Sound familiar?

McCartney marvels at the principals' high level of job satisfaction, despite the many demands they face, and concludes: The rest of us should be grateful that these valuable public servants are happy in their work, considering all the grief we're dumping on them.

An Experience Worth Fighting For

Here in Olympia, we've been hearing a rallying cry for AWSP's very own Cispus Learning Center.

When parents from Tumwater and Olympia learned their schools' annual student trips to Cispus could be the victim of district budget cuts, they took action. (Check out the "Save Cispus for Thurston County Students" page on Facebook.)

Recently, The Olympian and KIRO-TV ran stories about the parents' efforts to preserve the outdoor education programs. And today, we hear from The Olympian that the "Cispus school trips might survive." Turns out, the parents are making a difference by bringing this issue to the attention of their school boards and communities.

In Tumwater, the board will hear a proposal that the community be allowed to raise the $36,000 needed to continue the sixth-grade Cispus program next spring. In Olympia, parents have received welcome news: The amount they'll need to raise—$49,000—is about $21,000 less than what they originally expected.

According to Tumwater parent Raechel Laneer, the students' experience at Cispus is one that can't be replaced. (We agree.) Richard Louv would be proud.

Fight the swine...online?

The H1N1 virus is is expected to rear its ugly head again this fall—a prediction that has prompted a wave of outreach efforts to schools, administrators, parents and students. Among those efforts: publications, press releases, press conferences and...a video game?

That's right, if you need practice battling the swine flu virus on a worldwide scale, look no further than The Great Flu, a new online video game recently unveiled by Dutch researchers. Players have the power to stockpile vaccines, set up surveillance systems and (gulp!) shutter schools—all on a limited budget (at least that part is realistic!).

If you're looking for more practical tools for preparing for H1N1, Part Two, try the new communication toolkit from the Centers for Disease Control and the Department of Health and Human Services. This toolkit, designed to help school administrators better prepare for and respond to influenza outbreaks during the 2009-10 school year, includes action steps for schools, teachers and parents as well as template letters and a Q+A section.

Good Luck, Chris!

Today we're sending our good luck wishes to Christine Lynch, 2009 Washington State Middle Level Principal of the Year.

Chris is currently in Arlington, Virginia, where she is interviewing for the prestigious MetLife/NASSP National Principal of the Year Award. As a national finalist, she joins two other middle level principals and three high school principals in the interview process. In September, NASSP will annnounce one one middle level and one high school principal as the 2010 National Principals of the Year.

If it seems like Washington principals are on a hot streak lately, you're right! Chris is the fifth Washington state administrator to be a contender for a national principalship award since 2005. Earlier this year, Michael O'Donnell of Cle Elum-Roslyn High, Cle Elum-Roslyn School District, was named one of three finalists for the National Assistant Principal of the Year Award. In 2008, Stacey Locke from Eisenhower High, Yakima School District, was a finalist for the National High School Principal of the Year. In 2006, Springy Yamasaki of Skyridge Middle School, Camas School District, was named National Assistant Principal of the Year, and in 2005, Bellingham High’s Steve Clarke, Bellingham Public Schools, was a finalist for National Principal of the Year.

We couldn't be prouder of Chris and the rest of our AWSP members, who—whether in line for a national award or not—deserve a standing ovation.