Tahoma (AKA: Mt. Rainier) Photo by Katie Musial on Unsplash
Starting with a bit of hope...
May is Mental Health Month! Hope levels are positively correlated with overall wellbeing and mental health indicators like anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation (Healthy Youth Survey, 2018).
We invite you explore the validated Hope Scales. Versions for adults and children (ages 8-18) are freely available and help us understand our own and our students’ levels of hope. We can use the subscales for Agency (or Willpower) and Pathways to better understand our strengths and what we might need to build more muscles for, in order to increase hope. If you score highly on Agency but not so high on Pathways, it indicates you’re strong at being motivated to pursue a goal but might struggle with finding the pathway to get to the finish line; and vice versa.
Try it out for yourself! What does your hope score mean to you? How might it impact your practice? Does it reveal anything surprising to you?
Resources:
Children’s Hope Scale
Adult Hope Scale
Hope Rising Book
 Did you know the 2021 Healthy Youth Survey data were just released?
Having a trusted adult to turn to is correlated how hopeful students are! The chart above shows the connection between 6th-12th grade students' hope levels and whether they have an adult to turn to when they feel depressed. Do all of your students have a trusted adult they can talk to?
You can find more information about Washington students’ hope levels on the Healthy Youth Survey website! This factsheet is just the beginning. Under the Survey Results tab, use the QxQ to go on a data dive.
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.
OSPI's Guidance Bulletin to support districts in developing and adopting a comprehensive school counseling program has been released!
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.
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
Now Available for Review & Feedback! The school practitioner program alignment tool is 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.
We need your input!
Let us know what kind of supports you need to align your Comprehensive School Counseling Program with the WA Social-Emotional Learning Standards with this TWO-MINUTE survey.
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
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We are looking forward to TWO big statewide virtual comprehensive school counseling professional learning events this year with our partners at Hatching Results.
You may access the recording from 3/24 and register for the upcoming session on 5/24 at the links below. Registering and attending the live virtual sessions can earn you 1.5 free clock hours each!
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 Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
Want to share yours?
Works in progress, initial drafts, and final products are ALL welcomed!
Click the button below to submit your plan!
 We are thrilled to announce that the School Counseling team has launched a new Comprehensive School Program Plan website! Content on the new site includes:
- Required CSCP components
- SSB 5030 implementation details and timeline
- Upcoming CSCP professional development opportunities and past webinar content and resources
- SSB 5030 guidance & policy, procedure, and plan TEMPLATES!
We welcome any feedback to ensure our resources continue to serve you well!
 Wednesday, May 11 | 10:00 am – 11:30am
- Learn about the high leverage supports you might offer to the aspiring athletes at your school from Marcus Trufant
- Preview data sources and systemic strategies that support student pathways to careers, college, and beyond
- Get familiar with strategic partnerships and ways a school or community based organization might set one up
- Connect with resources to support your partnerships
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
May 18th: Legislative Updates: Possible Impacts in the Realm of Career and College Readiness
Join the OSPI-WSAC team on May 18, 2022 from 9-10:30am for the last of 5 Wednesday Webinars.
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.
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.
Join this special Open Doors opportunity to receive a high-level summary of Washington State’s high school graduation requirements. This webinar will be especially useful for Open Doors programs that offer a high school diploma pathway.
This Webinar Will:
- Review Graduation Pathways
- Review the importance of the High School and Beyond Plan (HSBP) and required components
- Provide an overview of the Graduation Requirement Waiver (GREW)
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Provide graduation resources for staff supporting students towards graduation
If you have any special requests or content to focus on in this webinar, please email our Open Doors Program Specialist here.
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is launching a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Professional Learning Network designed for educational service district (ESD), district, State-Tribal Education Compact School (STEC), and charter school educators. The SEL Professional Learning Network will provide SEL-related learning opportunities including webinars, peer-to-peer exchange series, individualized support, and more.
OSPI has developed a brief survey to better understand the SEL-related professional learning needs in Washington to inform the activities and support of the Network. For the purposes of this survey, “local educational agency (LEA)” will be used universally to reference ESDs, districts, STECs, and charter schools. The survey will be open until May 6, 2022.
We encourage you to consult with colleagues in your district who are working on or interested in SEL as you consider your responses. Please answer this survey as a representative of your district.
SEL Professional Learning Network Needs Survey 2022
Thank you for your time. If you have any questions or concerns about the survey or the SEL Professional Learning Network, please contact Debra Parker at 360-972-4074 or the OSPI SEL Team at sel@k12.wa.us
Photo by Simone Secci on Unsplash
 Year two of Share Our Voices, Hear Our Stories continues May 4, 2022!
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What is Share Our Voices, Hear Our Stories?
Share Our Voices, Hear Our Stories gives Native parents, families, elders, and students a chance to share thoughts, ideas, and stories with each other and statewide organizations. This is an opportunity for connection between eachother, respected leaders and elders, and to inform the direction of Native education in our state and region.
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When will the Share Our Voices, Hear Our Stories webinar be held?
The next session will be on May 4th from 6:00pm-7:15pm
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Registration Information:
Please share this event with your communities, and register to join the next session at https://bit.ly/SOVHOSmay22.
WSAC wants to hear from you! Share your thoughts and experiences around Financial Aid Advising Day!
Financial Aid Advising Day (FAAD) is an opportunity to provide every high school senior and their family equitable access to the key resources and knowledge to complete the financial aid application process.
Please consider completing this survey to share what Financial Aid Advising Day activities you may have hosted in the winter/spring of 2022. Even if you were unable to offer a Financial Aid Advising Day, WSAC would still like to learn about your experience.
The Department Of Health (DOH) is launching a statewide online assessment for youth, ages 12 to 17, to inform the next iteration of the You Can campaign and to better understand attitudes towards substance use; explore how they are coping with stress, anxiety, boredom, and loneliness; and gauge awareness of the resources available to support those who are struggling.
They are actively recruiting participants!
Here is the information:
Who: 12- to 17-year-olds in Washington State. The assessment will be offered in English and Spanish.
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What: The assessment will be conducted using an online discussion board. Youth that qualify will be asked to go online several times to complete five to six activities over several weeks. Each activity will take on average 15 minutes to complete.
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When: April and May 2022
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Compensation: Youth that qualify and actively take part will receive a gift card for up to $150 for their time and effort.
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Additional information: Participation is voluntary and responses will be kept confidential.
How you can help: Please distribute the attached flyers in locations where youth, and parents or legal guardians of youth, will see them. Encourage them to:
- Scan the QR code on the flyer, or
- Call 559.226.3100 and reference “Washington Teens Talk,” or
- Visit the project intake survey to learn more and see if they qualify.
Please reach out to Nikki Meline from Department of Health if you have any questions or need more information.
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