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Educational gaps have persisted for decades. That question is not for debate. Another point that we need not waste valuable time discussing is the ever-widening gaps across the system with each passing day. We are starting to hear the term, “learning loss” bubble to the surface of educator conversations. Call it what you want. “Learning loss” to me is a nice way of saying “even wider gaps in achievement, access, opportunities, expectations, relationships, and hope.” That’s learning loss. Let’s call it what it is—most of our students are suffering massive unintended consequences of remote learning.

Today, October 27, is National Mentoring Day! 🎉 51������ would like to offer a well-deserved thank you to the amazing 230 51������ trained mentors! These mentors offer their support, guidance, friendship, expertise to over 125 new and newly assigned school leaders every year. 51������-trained mentors are truly “friends of 51������” as they deeply understand and are committed to impacting the effects of the principal churn rate in the state of Washington.

During October's Principals Month festivities, we asked members on Facebook, "What's one thing you wished people knew about your current reality as a principal?"  Stephanie Teel writes, "Right now, my job feels a lot like the title of an old Western: 'The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.'" Read more to find out why. (Thanks, Stephanie, for sharing!)

As the 2020 year continues to progress, we have the unusual vantage point for understanding an even broader meaning of inclusion. Across the world, we all experienced a form of isolation that was required in response to the pandemic and continues even now. Social distancing is something we all became intimately acquainted with. For our own safety and the safety of others we donned masks, restricted outings, and reduced gathering to those within our households. To equate social distancing to exclusion may seem over the top, but if you think about it, it has afforded everyone the experience of what many students with disabilities encounter daily in our brick and mortar schools and in truth, life, which is to be distanced in all ways. So how do we shift, in those ever-shifting sands of re-opening schools to ensure inclusion and inclusionary practices are a part of reimagining?

For many of our students, the realities are that many adults listen to them but do not hear them. Their perspectives, words, hopes, fears, and concerns often get chalked up as "kids being kids." As adults and people with positional power, we can foster and create spaces where students can be heard. It begins with the belief that their perspectives and stories matter. It's about moving beyond performative student engagement, where we ask questions but disregard their responses. It is about us as adults sitting in potential discomfort and recognizing students' agency and value speaking up and out.