CC#112: Advocacy in DC w/ Principals Heath Henderson (Skelly Elem) and Kurt Seiler (Independence HS)

This episode of Cool Coffee w/ Kansas Principals features principals Heath Henderson of Skelly Elementary School in El Dorado, Kansas and Kurt Seiler of Independence High School in Independence, Kansas sharing their recent advocacy trip to Washington, DC. They highlight the importance of genuine connections with policymakers, the impact of advocacy on education, and their personal experiences touring the Capitol and meeting with officials. Principals Henderson, Seiler, and host, Rick Sola, also discuss their 2026 principals of the year award for the state of Kansas and the honor it has been to receive such an recognition. Connect with the guests: Heath Henderson (mailto:[email protected]) Kurt Seiler (mailto:[email protected]) Contact host Principal Rick Sola: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected],)  or [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) The mission of the Kansas Principals Association (https://www.ksprincipals.org/o/kpa) , an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE (https://www.ksprincipals.org/o/kpa) . Provide Cool Coffee feedback! Click HERE (https://forms.gle/nSVj4nNw1Yn74WVu8) to share thoughts and suggestions--including guests to have on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee (https://coolcoffee.podbean.com/) episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals (https://x.com/KPACoolCoffee) ; @KPACoolCoffee (https://x.com/KPACoolCoffee) Facebook: KSPrincipals (  / ksprincipals  ) Contact host Principal Rick Sola: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected],)  or [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])   Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the Principals 01:00 Reflections on the Washington, DC Trip 05:44 Key Advocacy Topics Discussed 10:34 Engagement with Elected Officials 18:10 Personal Experiences and Recognition 27:35 Looking Ahead: Future Opportunities   EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Rick Sola (00:01.707) Hello and welcome to Cool Coffee. I am here today with Principal Heath Henderson from Skelly Elementary School in El Dorado, Kansas, USD 490. Heath? Heath Henderson (00:13.102) Hello, hello. Rick Sola (00:14.529) There you are. And then also principal Kurt Seiler of Independence High School, USD 446. Welcome, Kurt. Kurt Seiler (00:23.464) Thanks, Rick. Thanks for having us on here. Rick Sola (00:25.993) and both of whom were just named recently, 2026 Principal of the Year, in their respective level. Congrats and welcome to both of you. And we'll talk more about that here in a bit. But you guys just got back from Washington, DC. We're recording this on February 23rd. And you just took a visit to the nation's capital. And I saw a lot of pictures being put out by KPA. It looked like a really good time. I was able to hear a little bit about it last Friday at our board meeting. would love for you to be able to share a lot more about the trip here, but how did it go? You went to Washington, DC. How was it? Heath Henderson (01:04.514) Well, I thought it went pretty fantastic. I think the structure of our organization and the streamlining of the message of what we're trying to advocate for was very, very impactful. And it was eye-opening to me, my first time visiting this conference and having that opportunity. And I'll let Kurt say something here, too. Kurt Seiler (01:31.858) Yeah, I mean, it far exceeded my expectations. I had heard from, you know, Rick Rivera, who was the then ASSP state rep before me of how beneficial it was to go on these advocacy trips. But I really had no idea of, you know, the level at which we were going to be given the respect. mean, we had two, Representative Schmidt and Representative Mann were in the hearing with Pam Bondi that day, and they stepped out of that hearing to sit down to talk with us. And I just thought that that was pretty cool that they would give us the respect to step out of a hearing of that magnitude to sit down to have our voices heard. you know, the whole trip just far exceeded my expectations and being not only in the Capitol, but being in the tunnels that go under the Capitol that connect the Senate and the representatives and being taken by staffers in the tunnels, it just, the whole thing was very humbling and it was a great experience. Heath Henderson (02:41.068) And then to kind of piggyback on that, I don't think people realize the scope and of the size of what's happening in the Capitol every day. and thinking specifically about the size of the staff for the senators and the reps and the information that they're given. and so that ability to really get in front of them with a streamlined message of the importance of public education and specifically a...