 Let's Go, November!
 Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash
Thank YOU for everything you're doing to support the students in our communities right now. We know it is such hard work and hope you'll all have time to unplug and rest this season.
During challenging times, what brings you hope?
The research about practicing gratitude is solid and November seems like a fine time to try it out. Our world is not simple or easy - even in the best of times. How might gratitude and hope help bring a little light to your world?
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We aim to please and want to know what you need!
Please take a few minutes to answer our quick survey. Your response will help us understand what types of resources will be most helpful for you.
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
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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 next set of these tools is in the following section.
In our ongoing effort each month to share relevant resources related to comprehensive school counseling program (SSB5030) implementation, we hope these links and tools are helpful.
This month, we've received a lot of questions about how to help school and district administrators understand the school counseling role. There are several approaches to take, but like all things, we have to consider our personal mindset before going into a potentially tough conversation.
How might you express your ability and willingness to be a team player in finding solutions and evolving the role of the school counselor in your setting?
Can you use your solution-focused skills to acknowledge the struggle with re-aligning job duties and offer small, step-wise changes that are mutually beneficial? What approach has worked in the past and how might that approach also apply to school counseling role conversations?
Consider the "warm demander" framework and it might benefit the conversation. The evolution of the school counseling role to match our new legislation in Washington will take time. The warm demander approach is based on coaching, communication, trust, and investment.
ASCA's Annual Administrative Conference Form will guide you through an annual conversation with your principal about your yearly goals and school counseling roles.
The relationship between school counselors and principals is critical to a positive school climate - and there's research to back that up! NOSCA's Principal-Counselor Relationship Toolkit, offers multiple protocols to engage in productive conversations - building relationships and programming simultaneously.
Join your region's school counseling and social work networking events!
Some of the regional ESD offices are hosting school counseling and social work networking events throughout the school year. See below for your region's registration link.
ESD 101 (Spokane)
ESD 105 (Yakima)
ESD 112 (Vancouver)
ESD 114 (Bremerton)
ESD 121 (Renton)
ESD 123 (Tri-Cities)
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Photo by Omar Flores 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:
Mental Health & Suicide Prevention with Olympia School District
Some upcoming topics include: 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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 2021-22 OSPI - WSAC Webinar Series
November 17: 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.
Hatching Results Elementary Counseling Institute
Join Crisis Connections for upcoming trainings on Suicide Screening & Referral, Compassion Fatigue Prevention and Recovery, De-Escalation, Suicide Prevention, and Suicide Assessment, Intervention, and Treatment. Some courses are free, some are available for a fee.
Did you know?
Every five years, school nurses, school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers are required to complete a minimum of three hours of suicide prevention training for certificate renewal. Training must be completed through a PESB-approved suicide prevention course or a Department of Health (DOH) approved program.
Find a list of approved suicide prevention trainings here.
Join the Kaiser Permanente webinar series all about school staff well-being. Share with your colleagues and join as a team!
Learn about creating a culture of well-being along with 'deep-dive' sessions about secondary trauma, mental health, stress management, and more.
Improve Staff & Students' Mental Health with Gratitude
 Click here to learn about 13 of the most popular gratitude exercises and activities from PositivePsychology.com and take the 30-day Gratitude Challenge ~ do something every day to practice gratitude throughout November!
Proactive Supports for Students, Staff, & Families
 Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) implementation is a team approach. Working together in a data-driven environment, informed by community needs and resources can help school staff feel more supported and effective at delivering instruction and intervention.
Explore the Washington MTSS Framework
Trauma-Informed MTSS Training by SC4MTSS
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...YOU!
We are so grateful for all of you and the critical work you do to support students, staff, families and your community!
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)
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