How do you bridge the K-12 world with the world of higher education? Yokiko Hayashi-Saguil from the Washington Student Achievement Council joins Dr. Scott Seaman to discuss how WSAC programs, tools, and resources can get more students college-bound students and what their financial aid options are. A must watch for high school principals and counselors. And for a follow-up, WSAC Executive Director Michael Meotti joins our Scott Friedman to talk more about all the programs, tools, and resources the Student Achievement Council provides, as well as what college applications look like in the age of COVID-19.
One unforeseen consequence of a statewide closure has been the massive forced push for all of us to engage in the virtual meeting space. We might have dabbled before in Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, and Microsoft Teams, but now we are all exceeding standard. AWSP is offering weekly Office Hours for members to engage with with the AWSP Executive Team and K-12 principals from all over the state. This is a wide open session of give and take, but more importantly, to hear our members (principals, assistant principals and other school leaders) share challenges, successes, and barriers they are facing as newly assigned digital leaders. It is so incredible to watch these natural and organic conversations take off each week that I find myself thinking, "Why didn't we do this sooner?"
AWSP supports OSPI’s and their workgroup’s guidance for grading. The guidelines are the right thing at the right time. They give districts a clear framework while maintaining the flexibility for districts to find the right solution for their students and community. The guidance was developed with input from a huge array of stakeholders, including our own Associate Directors Kurt Hatch, Gina Yonts, and Scott Friedman. The key message from OSPI and the guiding workgroup: do no harm.
Seniors across the state of Washington have been left without the opportunity to participate in many traditional celebrations including graduation. Our time during this webinar will focus on how we can collectively create create celebrations that students and families will remember.
My daughter was a 4.0 high school student with an impressive resume of accomplishments during her high school career. She went on to the University of Washington where she graduated with a 3.9 and two degrees in three years. While in high school, she tore herself apart studying and preparing for the SAT. As the testing date approached and her anxiety grew exponentially, I had to continually remind her that it's just one test, one indicator, one factor that colleges use for admissions, but certainly not the only indicator. That didn't matter. To her, because of such strong social pressures among her peers, the test was either the beginning of or the end of the world. "I'm forever labeled because of that score," she once said.
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