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As spring draws near and the sun appears again on a regular schedule, we hope you are all feeling a sense of renewal and optimism. Marking two years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic is an incredible milestone.
It's a great time to recognize our individual and collective resilience - we've overcome previously unimaginable challenges. Thank you for supporting our students, our colleagues, and everyone you touch in our communities.
In the spring of 2021, the Washington state legislature passed SSB 5030. This bill requires districts to develop a comprehensive school counseling program (CSCP) that aligns with the American School Counseling Association (ASCA) national model of best practices.Â
OSPI's Guidance Bulletin to support districts in developing and adopting a comprehensive school counseling program has been released!Â
Throughout the year, you'll find tools and opportunities for professional development in this newsletter that will support your work to develop and implement your district's program.Â
Photo by Dawid Małecki on Unsplash
This tool is designed to assist districts in engaging in an intentional assessment and evaluation of their current and desired school counseling program elements, and help guide the creation of district-level CSCPs, as required by SSB 5030
COMING SOON! A school-level self-assessment template designed to assist school staff involved in school counseling program implementation to assess and evaluate their current and desired school counseling program elements and gauge alignment to the district-level CSCP.
We are confident and excited that these self-assessment tools will not only provide a starting-point in the creation of your district's Comprehensive School Counseling Program plans, but will also serve as ongoing tools for school-level school counseling program planning and evaluation.
CSCP Professional Learning - Save the Date(s)
We are looking forward to TWO big statewide virtual comprehensive school counseling professional learning events this year with our partners at Hatching Results. Please hold these dates on your calendar if you would like to attend. As soon as we have more information about registration, we will share it here!
March 24, 2022 - 10-11:30AM - Register Here
May 24, 2022 - 1-2:30PM - Registration Info Coming Soon
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash
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Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash
University of Washington DO-IT Scholars Program
The University of Washington DO-IT Scholars Program is recruiting high school students with disabilities in WA who want to go to college!
The program is free, provides technology to participants such as laptops and assistive technology, and a summer study opportunity to learn about college. The program is especially hoping to recruit students from rural areas in Washington, BIPOC students, students in foster care, and students from intersecting marginalized backgrounds.Â
Please visit the link for more information, and reach out for help with applications and requests for application deadline extensions.
Dena Simmons has said, "No one really learns well when teachers are stressed and burned out, which is why I say a stressed and burned out teaching force is an equity issue. If we believe in equity and if we want our students to do well, we have to ensure our educators are doing well too."
It's hard to strike the right balance as educators are asked to go above and beyond and also embrace self-care. How can we set up our systems so that educators know that they're valued?
We're bringing you social justice educator Dwayne Reed to talk about his ideas on how our schools can authentically in engage educator and staff wellness. We'll also have with us Maike & Associates and Highline Public Schools to talk about the supports they've innovated for educator care in Washington.
Register here for the series, streamed virtually the second Wednesday of each month from 10:00-11:30am during the school year.
Each session is free and includes up to 1.5 clock hours.
Recordings of past GATE Equity Webinars can be found on OSPI's YouTube page.
2021-22 OSPI - WSAC Webinar Series
March 16: High School and Beyond Planning: Strategies to Increase Student, Staff, Family, and Community Engagement
Join the OSPI-WSAC team on March 16, 2022 from 9-10:30am for the 4th of 5 Wednesday Webinars.Â
Learn about current practices and resources around HSBP implementation and engagement; Individualized Education Program (IEP) alignment; and how GEAR UP connects with HSBP. Current presenters include:
- Wahkiakum High School
- Seattle Public Schools
- OSPI
- Washington’s Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP)
These webinars are designed for school counselors, career counselors/specialists, college access support staff, and and any other interested staff to provide cutting edge career and college readiness resources and information, and highlight promising and best practices happening in schools.Â
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.
Here is a snapshot of several of the hundreds of bills we're tracking at OSPI. The legislature appreciates hearing from educators about these issues. If you'd like to advocate for your community by testifying in person or in writing, please find the instructions here and, as always, consider contacting your local representatives directly.
(If you're interested in tracking all of the behavioral health bills, the UW SMART Center Bill Tracker Dashboard is a great resource!)
HB1659 – Making higher education more affordable and accessible for students by bridging the gap between cost and need to reduce barriers, improve opportunity, and advance economic securityÂ
SHB1664Â - Prototypical school funding model updates to increase funding for social, emotional, and physical health staffing
HB1687 – Enhancing the college bound scholarship program by increasing opportunities for students to attend community and technical collegesÂ
SHB1800 – Increasing access to behavioral health services for minorsÂ
HB2078 – Establishing the outdoor school for all programÂ
Tracking these bills does not necessarily mean we support their passage. We actively work with the legislature to provide information and context about the impact of bills that affect schools and students.
Thank you for joining us here!Â
If you have suggestions for future topics or resources to share, always feel free email them to us.
Yours in service,
Brittni & MeganÂ
brittni.thompson@k12.wa.us (Secondary)
megan.lapalm@k12.wa.us (Elementary)
Kim, Megan, and Brittni enjoying a quick break during the National School Counseling Leadership Conference in San Diego - February 2022
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