 Welcome to the Office of System and School Improvement Newsletter!
June 2021
Gina Yonts, AWSP, Associate Director
School Improvement is an ongoing process; and the pandemic, although challenging, has not stopped districts and school leadership from continuing their improvement efforts. The pandemic has shown a light on the many historical inequities at play in our P–16 system—making the need for data literacy even more imperative. Districts across Washington state have taken advantage of remote learning experiences for their school leaders by providing professional learning to build data literacy skills through participation in the AWSP Data Literate School Leader series. The series, leaning heavily on the AWSP Leadership Framework, Theory of Action, and Cycles of Inquiry using the AWSP Evidence of Impact Tool has helped to build a leader’s skill set to effectively tackle school improvement based on their school’s data.
The focus on implementing Multi-Tiered Systems of Support in Washington also calls out that data is foundational if such a system is to be effective. Data literacy is a skill set critical, then, not only to improvement efforts but in realizing equity. However, we rarely take time to allow for the learning and curiosity needed to gain deep understanding among our school leaders. According to the AWSP Leadership Framework, to be proficient in data literacy, school leaders need to be able to analyze multiple data sets and build capacity among their staff, students, and stakeholders around access to data and its usage. Providing time and energy to build collective efficacy among school leaders is helpful in two ways: it builds leadership confidence in being able to reveal inequities in the system they are leading and develops leaders who can build capacity with data literacy among their staff and students. Continue reading this article...
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Armando Isais-Garcia, Migrant Health Program Supervisor, OSPI
School nurses perform an essential role that help nurture resilience in children and families alike. Nursing, much like SEL, has demonstrated improvements in outcomes such as improved attendance, behavior, management of personal health, lower probability of school failure, grade retention, and dropout.1 For migratory youth—as defined by Title I, Part C, Migrant Education—enduring unique family crises; such as frequent moves leading to unstable housing or homelessness, economic hardship, and immigration status, may be especially taxing on both their physical and mental health and often necessitate intervention. Read more on this important topic...
Melito Ramirez Named America's First "Recognizing Inspiring School Employees (RISE)" Awardee
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced the selection of Melito Ramirez, an intervention specialist at Walla Walla High School in Washington state, as the nation's first Recognizing Inspiring School Employees (RISE) awardee. This new honor, established by Congress in 2019, spotlights classified school employees' outstanding contributions to quality K–12 education in the United States.
Congratulations Melito and thank you for all you do for students!
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Improvement Science Summit
There is no shortage of research on school improvement but putting research into practice in school settings is not always easy. Improvement is highly contextual, requires a systems-level approach, and user-centered problem solving. Improvement Science offers practical strategies for identifying and refining contextual, job-embedded solutions to the problems facing our schools—solutions generated with the help of those closest to the problems.
Learn how Improvement Science strategies can address gaps in your learning system, promote continuous improvement, and re-energize the work of your teams by attending the Improvement Science Summit. Sessions will offer insight for both beginning and experienced participants seeking to better understand how improvement science supports the work of individual teachers, PLCs, Principals, and District Leadership Teams.
Foundational sessions will build on the core principles of Improvement Science and systems-level change through an iterated disciplined inquiry process. Attention to the key methods, tools, processes, and ideas of improvement science will be provided; including techniques for systems analysis to generate, test, refine, and scale change ideas in an educational setting.
For those possessing knowledge of Improvement Science Tools and methods, the summit will provide opportunities to learn from educational practitioners with experience leveraging improvement science to design and implement systems-level change.
Registration is Now Open!
Implementation Science Brochure
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Day of Learning: Essential Lessons for Teaching the Holocaust | Powell Professional Development Series 2021 | Holocaust Center for Humanity
Tuesday, June 29, 2021 | Zoom
Free clock hours for this opportunity!
- Focus on practical teaching strategies and resources
- Provide lessons and materials that teachers can implement in their classrooms
- Build on the Holocaust Center for Humanity's Best Practices
Register for one session or multiple. There are five sessions total. Teaching materials are geared toward grades 5 and up, unless otherwise specified.
Announcement: Open Doors Program Supervisor
On behalf of OSPI, we are pleased to announce that Mandy Paradise, M.Ed., has been identified for the Open Doors Program Supervisor position, starting July 1, 2021.
Mandy has 15 years of experience directly serving schools and students, much of which has been in youth development and student prevention-intervention services. For the last eight years, Mandy has been employed at the state-level doing program management and implementation related to behavioral health and social-emotional learning.
Mandy holds a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Washington and has extensive experience as a facilitator of several evidence-based programs for youth and young adults. Most recently, Mandy has served as OSPI’s Prevention-Intervention Program Supervisor where she worked with the Student Assistance Program—a statewide, school-based program managed through the ESDs.
We are happy to have an existing OSSI team member, Mandy Paradise, shift into the wonderful world of Open Doors Youth Reengagement.
iGrant Announcement
A new grant for Comprehensive Graduation Rate schools has launched from the Office of System and School Improvement. Look for FP 145 for this School Improvement related opportunity.
- FP 145 is a short-term, federally funded competitive grant for up to $20,000 in funding to support the priority goals of your school’s 2021—22 School Improvement Plan
- Application deadline: Thursday, June 17, 2021, at 5:00 pm
- All funds will need to be obligated by September 30, 2021
- Final claims due by December 15, 2021
We recommend interested schools connect with their district office to apply for this grant. If you have questions for OSPI, please send to Mary Adams.
For more information about OSSI iGrants, consult OSSI iGrants FAQs and Fact Sheet (2021–22) here or contact Mary Adams
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