 Welcome, Autumn!
Photo of Mount Baker by Toan Chu on Unsplash
We've been hearing incredible stories of recovery and re-engagement from our connections in the field. It's immensely challenging work.
We hope you're finding your groove and finding time to take care of yourselves.
In the spring of 2021, the Washington state legislature passed SSB 5030. This bill requires districts to develop a comprehensive school counseling program that aligns with the American School Counseling Association (ASCA) national model.
We will be releasing guidance to school districts to help them develop these programs in the next couple months. We've also shipped copies of the ASCA national model and the model implementation guide to every district office in the state to support this process.
Throughout the year, you'll find tools and opportunities for professional development in this newsletter that will support your work to build your national model "muscles". The first set of these tools is in the next section.
In our ongoing effort each month to share relevant resources related to comprehensive school counseling program (SSB5030) implementation, these links may help in working with your leadership team and staff around the school counselor's role in supporting the implementation of 504 plans and IEPs - a topic we've recently received some questions about.
Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash
OSPI's Monthly GATE Equity Webinars
Graduation: A Team Effort (GATE) Equity webinars help growth-minded educators and education advocates to learn from Washington districts that are closing opportunity gaps.
This month's topic is: Culturally Responsive Positive Behavior & Supports with Dr. Ruthie Payno-Simmons Clover Park School District
Some upcoming topics include: Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, College Readiness and Transition, Mentoring & Hope, Youth Voice, Educator Wellbeing, and School Re-engagement
Register here for the series, streamed virtually the second Wednesday of each month from 10:00-11:30am during the school year.
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PreK-3rd - Social Emotional Learning Pathways Tool
OSPI is excited to announce the Social Emotional Learning Pathways!
The document crosswalks the Washington Social Emotional Learning standards, the Washington State Early Learning and Development Guidelines and Teaching Strategies GOLD® Objectives for Development & Learning; examining each of the six Social Emotional Learning (SEL) standards through a continuum of development from birth through third grade.
You'll find each SEL standard with a description, information on why these SEL skills are important, and suggestions for educators, caregivers, family members, and administrators to support the development of these skills in children. Several reflection questions then invite readers to take a moment to consider their own social emotional strengths, as well as better understanding which areas they, themselves, could grow.
Consider using the SEL Pathways tool in your personal work, in PLC collaboration time, and in SEL awareness-raising activities.
 UPDATED REGISTRATION LINK!
2021-22 OSPI - WSAC Webinar Series
Next Up: Mental Health and Hope in Career and College Planning
Join the OSPI-WSAC team on November 17, 2021 from 9-10:30am for the 2nd of 5 Wednesday Webinars. These webinars are for to school counselors, career counselors/specialists and college access support staff, and designed to provide cutting edge career and college readiness resources and information and highlight promising and best practices happening in schools.
The Nov. 17th webinar focus will be: Students’ Mental Health: Instilling Hope and Increasing Engagement Through Career and College Planning
Register here for the 2021-22 series. Staff interested in clock hours will be given an opportunity to request a link to the pdEnroller event that corresponds to each webinar.
American School Counselor Association - ASCA@Home
SEL Conference
Join other school counseling professionals for two days of inspirational keynote sessions, informative breakout sessions, in-depth looks at hot topics in the school counseling profession and networking opportunities, all from the comfort of your home!
Watch live December 2nd & 3rd, 2021 or stream sessions any time through March 31, 2022. $99 for ASCA members; $249 for non-members.
Register and find out more information here.
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US Presidential Scholars Nominations are Open!
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is seeking nominations for the 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholars Award Program.
This nomination process is for students who might not otherwise be nominated through the additional U.S. Presidential Scholars recognition processes for recognizing excellence solely on the basis of Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and/or American College Test (ACT) exam results, or for excellence in the Fine Arts.
The memo linked here provides instructions and links to the nomination forms to assist high schools in submitting this year’s nominations for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, for both the overall achievement and CTE awards.
Nominations are due to OSPI by 5pm on Friday, October 15, 2021.
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How to Make This Hard Transition Back to School With Your Students
The Berkeley Greater Good Magazine offers suggestions for making this year a successful transition back to the school building.
Three things they suggest to create a supportive environment for everyone:
- Focus on staff well-being
- Prioritize students’ mental health and SEL
- Foster a sense of belonging at school
Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash
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Want to dig into your school or district's mental health support system?
The SHAPE System - School Health Assessment and Performance Evaluation - from the National Center for School Mental Health is a FREE online evaluation tool. It helps you understand how your system is performing right now AND offers resources to help you improve. We like to think of it as a formative assessment more than an evaluation.
You can also access their excellent resources and webinars to support your practice.
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Substance Abuse Prevention and Intervention Grants Available
iGrants Form Package 761
Readiness to Implement LifeSkills Grant
iGrants Form Package 962
- Allows schools, districts and/or ESDs to analyze local Healthy Youth Survey data to identify substance use prevention and intervention needs
- Explore the Botvin LifeSkills Middle School Training to see if it’s a good fit for them.
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Thank you for reading! If you have suggestions for future topics or resources to share, please email them to us.
Megan & Kim
megan.lapalm@k12.wa.us (Elementary)
kim.reykdal@k12.wa.us (Secondary)
(Enjoy this pre-COVID photo of us from our "Self-Care Cabin" at Camp OSSI-WANA, Halloween 2019. We were the designated 'Camp Counselors, complete with walkie-talkies and whistles, of course.)
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