In this episode of A Matter of Principals, AWSP Deputy Director Jack Arend sits down with Jenny Hunt, principal of Broadview Elementary in Oak Harbor, to explore how one school transformed its approach to reading, intervention, and student success.

Jenny shares how her team moved from overwhelmed and fragmented to focused and aligned—building a system where data drives instruction, staff share ownership, and every student is considered a Tier 1 learner first.

This conversation is a powerful example of the AWSP Leadership Framework in action—especially Criterion 3: Planning with Data, supported by strong systems (Criterion 5), culture (Criterion 1), and a relentless focus on closing gaps (Criterion 8).

You’ll hear:
• Why literacy is a civil right—and how to act on it
• How to lead change when your staff isn’t fully ready
• What it means to use data as a flashlight, not a hammer
• How to build a system that works without the principal in the room
• Why protecting Tier 1 instruction is essential

If you’re a school leader trying to move from initiative overload to clarity and impact—this episode will resonate.

Special Guest: Jenny Hunt.

00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:48 Senator Wellman's Legislative Insights
02:05 Special Education and Transportation Funding
03:30 Operational Costs and MSOC
04:58 Student Initiatives and EpiPen Legislation
07:41 Parents Bill of Rights and LGBTQ+ Support
09:18 Addressing Anti-Semitism and Student Safety
10:55 Support for Principals and School Leadership
15:36 Concluding Remarks and Appreciation

Special Guest: Sen. Lisa Wellman.

It seems like the winds are shifting on these bills by the hour, but there’s been one constant: we find ourselves between a rock and a hard place. Many of our principals and assistant principals across the state want us to keep pushing for 5085 to pass in its original form. On the other hand, we have some districts, superintendents, partners, and school boards in opposition and with varying levels of frustration. AWSP is one of the strongest principals’ associations in the country, and our strong partnership and relationships with our districts is the driving force behind that. We know that nothing happens in a school without trust and relationships, so we’ve engaged with our partners on a path forward. {If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together}

I want to be clear. Our state has phenomenal superintendents and districts who are exemplary in their support of their principals, from strong relationships and partnerships, robust contracts, clear and defined due process protocols, and provide as much support as possible coupled with reasonable expectations. And over the last few years, we’ve heard more and more appreciation, compassion, and support for our principals and assistant principals. We’re not the only voice in the room saying we need to do more to support our principals, but we don’t need the educational equivalent of thoughts and prayers; we need policies and change. We have many options for how to move forward, but doing nothing is not one of them. Let’s talk briefly about why I’m sitting here talking to this camera, and you’re wherever you are, watching or listening to me.

Podcast Principal Tips:

• Reflect, Reflect, and Reflect Again
• Student Voice
• Teacher Voice
• Transparent and honest communication with the school community
• Compliment with an "I" not an "E"

Nuggets to think about:

• How is your team calibrating?
• What's your admin team rhythm?
• How do you receive feedback?
• What helps prepare a leader to be a Principal?

Episode Links

• Native American Heritage Month
• Tribal Sovereignty Curriculum Resources
• Silas High School
• AWSP — The Association of Washington School Principals (AWSP) provides support, resources, and professional development for building leaders. Member please login to your account and visit the AWSP Online Learning (Path LMS) to watch the videos on the School Leader Paradigm.

Special Guest: Bernadette Ray.

Special Guest: Kamrica Ary-Turner.

Special Guests: Dan Habib and Samuel Habib.

Special Guest: James Layman.

Links:

• AWSL Website — The Association of Washington Student Leaders (AWSL) empowers students to lead and make positive change within their schools, communities, and themselves. AWSL designs and provide fun, hands-on programs for all ages that build school community, promote students as leaders and teach social responsibility for all ages.
• Bringing an MLK Presentation To You — We are proud to announce our 2022 Martin Luther King program, I AM | WE ARE, is available now for elementary, middle and high school students! Updated with a new keynote address for 2022, I AM | WE ARE is a ready-to-roll program designed for school assemblies and MLK Day events. It includes a keynote address, implementation guide, engagement questions and access to AWSL Director, James Layman all in a format that lets you customize a 20-30 minute assembly event that fits your school day. Engage your students across elementary or high school with the ideas of belonging and humanity.

Special Guest: Jenn David-Lang.

This taskforce was formed to help advise NAESP on issues related to racial equity in school communities, reveal schools’ common challenges and solutions, and support a peer-to-peer network of support for school leaders. The taskforce focuses on collecting information related to racial equity in schools, elevating relevant research, and determining how best NAESP can provide support to principals around these issues. Come join this discussion to learn more and share your thoughts with taskforce members, which will include:

• Dr. Kimbrelle Barbosa Lewis, Principal, Cordova Elementary School, Cordova, TN
• Dr. Cynthia J. Hammond, Principal, Westside Elementary, Houston County Schools, Perry, GA
• Denise Gamble, Retired Principal, Chicago, IL
• Annette Sanchez, Principal, Hampton-Moreno-Dugat Early Childhood Center, Beeville, TX
• Nancy Antoine, Principal, Bridgewater Elementary School, Northfield, Minnesota

Special Guests: Mikhail Cherniske and Nelly Evans.

Join us for a discussion with national inclusion experts and advocates. Speakers will include Dan Habib, Keith Jones, Dr. Lauren Katzman, LeDerick Horne, and Dr. Alfredo Artiles. No matter where you are in your inclusionary journey, this podcast will provide multiple entry points for engaging in, and expanding on, inclusion and inclusionary practices. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear form this incredible panel! Sponsored by the Inclusionary Practices Project grant from OSPI, this webinar is entirely free to anyone and everyone.

Special Guests: Alfredo J. Artiles, Dan Habib, Dr. Lauren Katzman, Keith Jones, LeDerick Horne, and Samuel Habib.

Labeled with a Learning Disability in third grade, LeDerick Horne defies any and all labels. He’s a dynamic spoken-word poet. A tireless advocate for all People with Disabilities. An inspiring motivational speaker. A bridge-builder between learners and leaders across the U.S. and around the world who serves as a role model for all races, genders, and generations. The grandson of one of New Jersey’s most prominent civil rights leaders, LeDerick uses his gift for spoken-word poetry as the gateway to larger discussions on equal opportunity, pride, self-determination and hope for People with Disabilities. His workshops, keynote speeches, and performances reach thousands of students, teachers, legislators, policy makers, business leaders, and service providers each year. He regularly addresses an array of academic, government, social, and business groups, including appearances at the White House, the United Nations, Harvard University, the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, and the State Departments of Education across the US. His work addresses the challenges of all disabilities, uniting the efforts of diverse groups in order to achieve substantive, systemic change. You can learn more about him and his work at www.lederick.com.

Special Guest: LeDerick Horne.

Dan Habib is the creator of the award-winning documentary films Including Samuel, Who Cares About Kelsey?, Mr. Connolly Has ALS and many other films on disability-related topics. Habib is a filmmaker at the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability.
His latest documentary, Intelligent Lives, examines our society’s narrow perceptions of intelligence. The Intelligent Lives project also contains four short films focusing on effective practices in transition for youth with disabilities from high school to higher education and employment.
Habib received the Champion of Human and Civil Rights Award from the National Education Association, and the Justice for All Grassroots Award from the American Association of People with Disabilities. In 2014, Habib was appointed by President Barack Obama to the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. Habib and his wife, Betsy, live in Concord, NH, with their sons Isaiah, 24, and Samuel, 21.

Special Guest: Dan Habib.

Keith Jones is the President and CEO of SoulTouchin’ Experiences, an organization aimed at bringing a perspective to the issues of access inclusion and empowerment, which affect him as well as others who are persons with a disability. To achieve this multicultural, cross-disability education and outreach efforts he collaborates and conducts trainings with the purpose of strengthening efforts to provide services and information for people with disabilities. The issues he tackles are wide ranging from immigration, criminal justice reform, health care and environmental justice just to name a few. Paralleling with his policy and social justice work Mr. Jones is a multi-talented artist who along with Leroy Moore and Rob Temple founded Krip Hop Nation which is an international collection of artists with disabilities. Krip Hop Nation is currently celebrating 13 years with the recent success of their title song for the Netflix documentary of the Paralympic Games, Rising Phoenix and its critical acclaimed sound track. Keith is an artist in residence teaching hip hop at Wild at Heart in Australia, and Calcutta and currently his art and policy work have combined under the publishing company Soulful Media Works, with the book; For You: Young Black Disabled Men.

Special Guest: Keith Jones.

Alfredo J. Artiles is Lee L. Jacks Professor of Education at Stanford University and Director of the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education. His interdisciplinary scholarship examines the dual nature of disability as an object of protection and a tool of stratification. He aims to understand how responses to disability intersections with race, language, gender and social class advance or hinder educational opportunities for disparate groups of students.

Special Guest: Alfredo J. Artiles.

Lauren Katzman, EdD. is the Executive Director of the Urban Collaborative and Associate Research Professor at Arizona State University. She is also an adjunct professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Prior to this work, she served as the Assistant to the Superintendent for Special Education Services for the Newark Public Schools and the Executive director of special education in the New York City Department of Education. In both of these positions, she developed and led significant reform efforts, increasing academic achievement, inclusive educational and experiential options, reliable data management, and statutory/regulatory compliance. She worked to develop strong interdisciplinary partnerships between districts, states, universities, advocacy groups, and communities to build the foundation for deep and sustaining systemic reforms. Prior to these two high-level and demanding school district leadership positions, Dr. Katzman served as Associate Professor of Special Education at Boston University and co-authored the book Effective Inclusive Schools: Effective Inclusive Schools: Designing Successful Schoolwide Programs with Dr. Thomas Hehir, former Director of the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education. She was also a special education teacher for 14 years in St. Louis, New Jersey, and New York City and has conducted program evaluations of the special education services for the District of Columbia Public Schools, the state of Massachusetts, Ithaca Public Schools, and the New York City Department of Education.

Special Guest: Dr. Lauren Katzman.

Since 2017, Glenna Gallo is the Assistant Superintendent of Special Education in the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) in Washington and the Past-President of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE). Prior to that, she spent seven years as the State Director of Special Education for the Utah State Board of Education (USBE), following work as a classroom teacher and administrator. She has over 25 years of public education experience teaching students with disabilities and adults, and 15 years of experience in state-level educational leadership with expertise in the improvement planning, management, and monitoring of public special education programs. Glenna has a B.S and an M.S in Special Education, a special education teacher and administrative license, endorsements as a Program Administrator, Principal, and Superintendent, and an M.B.A.

During her work in Washington state, special education programs were allocated an additional $155 million dollars for state special education programs, $25 million dollars for statewide inclusionary practices, $12 million dollars for paraeducator training, and $60,000 to reduce the use of restraint and isolation, revised the historical funding allocation formula to a two-tier system that considers inclusion, and revised the state high needs risk pool process to alleviate burden on school districts. Collaboration is a priority for her work, and collaborative efforts are infused within all state efforts regarding students with disabilities.

Glenna feels strongly that application of the intent of IDEA requirements results in increased student outcomes for students with disabilities and works with school and district administrators, special education staff, advocates, and parents of students with disabilities at the LEA, State, and national levels to review research, current student achievement, and compliance data to ensure state and local efforts are addressing instructional issues that impact results for students with disabilities.

Special Guest: Glenna Gallo.

Growing up as the oldest of five children in a small town in rural Arkansas, Phyllis understood early on in life the principle of service. As an educational consultant, Phyllis provides school districts with professional development training in improving instructional practices and curriculum alignment.

If you are interested in participating in our next WELL Summit, visit http://www.awsp.org/professional-learning/training-conferences/well-summit

Special Guest: Dr. Phyllis Donatto.

Representative Dolan is an excellent communicator who values the work of all educators and who knows the success of our schools and districts is tied to the quality of our principals. She reaches out to work closely with AWSP on legislation that impacts our work such as school safety, teacher and principal evaluation, high school graduation requirements, civics education, and more. She Is always willing to speak with groups of principals and with our high school student finalists for the U.S. Senate Youth Scholarship.