Weekly special education and Section 504 resources from Abby Bowers, Capital Region ESD 113's Director of Special Programs.

“What campaigns are for is weeding out the people who, for one way or another, weren’t making it for the long haul.” ~ Calvin Trilling. Substitute the word “bills” for “people” and the current legislative process is summarized. As cut-offs happen, bills ‘die’ (with the caveat that any bill can be resurrected at the legislature’s will). They don’t make it for the long haul. Lobbying, (campaigning) is the primary vehicle for either ‘killing’ a bill or keeping it alive. That is why contact with legislators throughout the session is so critical.

Each week of this session has brought a slew of new bills, ideas, and conversation related to education funding and policy. In addition, there is an incredible amount of new information each week related to health and safety practices for reopening schools released by OSPI, the Department of Health, and the Governor’s Office. Hang in there and know that you are not alone with this onslaught of information. Reach out if you have questions or need clarification on anything.

Legislators propose policies and budget dollars. Sessions, also, often focus on main themes. This year’s focus issues are Budget, Covid–19, Equity (Racial and Police-related) and Climate issues. “Education” is woven throughout most of these, and often acts in one area have consequences in another. Thus, it’s tricky.

Weekly special education and Section 504 resources from Abby Bowers, Capital Region ESD 113's Director of Special Programs.

2020 was rough. Pretty sure I’m pointing out the obvious, but it feels good to acknowledge out loud and quite publicly that it was a tough year. What makes a year like 2020 even harder is when we find ourselves in leadership positions. As leaders, we are called to be strong, resilient, stoic, positive, and hopeful through all the peaks and valleys of leadership. During my time as a principal, I quickly learned that my physical, emotional, and spiritual health took a backseat to everyone else. I spent most of my days (and nights) monitoring, nurturing, and encouraging all those within my purview. I had no idea about the amount of mental health counseling I would be doing as a principal on a daily basis. Despite a super long learning curve about human behavior, I did quickly become an expert at internalizing all of my emotions, struggles, stresses, and anxiety in order to attempt to be a smiling, joyful, and positive face for everyone else. Well, guess what? That’s not healthy and is not realistic.

The first of five in the “P” series, this video targets one of the biggest barriers to inclusive education - mindset. This video will encourage you to reflect on your own assumptions about disability and start to take action to disrupt the ableist structures in education by taking a very important first step... presuming competence in all students.

Teachers and principals were happy to hear from Cispus, AWSL, and AWSP the last couple weeks. Our team delivered adventure backpacks to the teachers and principals pictured above: Dan Garry, teacher at Washington Elementary; Kira Duncan, teacher, and Shannon Richards, principal, at Oakville Elementary; and Amy Dunnagan, principal at Mossyrock Elementary. Other recipients include Wade Iseminger, teacher in Ocosta SD, and Todd Graves, principal in Ridgefield SD.

In this episode of AWSP News, we discuss some terrific professional development from world class inclusionary practices experts, tons of great free classes and resources for you to check out our Learning Management System, AWSL’s “I Am, We Are” Martin Luther King Day assembly, our Advocacy efforts and our Legislative Update newsletter, the 2021-22 Intern Grant Application, and a new collaborative workshop, “Turn Up The Volume On Student Voice.”

Week three of the legislative session ended today. We saw some of the first floor action this week with several critical bills passing the House and Senate floors. Both houses promised these “early action” bills. One of them is HB 1121, which is the graduation waiver bill. The other is SB 5044 which would add equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism to existing cultural competency standards and training for school board directors, district staff, and school staff on one of three state funded professional days.

Remember COVID? It is obviously not over yet. The depth, breadth, and duration of the pandemic is something that we had not experienced before. Now, there are hopeful signs among the dire statistics, and more and more schools will be reopening over the coming days, weeks and months. 2020 was a traumatic, tumultuous year. 2021 began that way, as well. There has been a lot of turmoil across the country. The January 6, 2021 saw a violent breach of the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. The National Terrorism Advisory System has noted increased and ongoing threats of violence across the country.

In 1866, The United States Congress enacted six segregated regiments which became four all-black regiment. They managed the western frontier after the Civil War. The four regiments were The 9th and 10th Calvary and the 24th and 25thInfantry. They were named “Buffalo Soldiers."

Weekly special education and Section 504 resources from Abby Bowers, Capital Region ESD 113's Director of Special Programs.

Hearings are being held every day and the challenge is to communicate one’s position within the one minute typically given to testify. Because of the limited time given for public testimony, constant phone and email correspondence with legislators remains critical this session.

I love February!! There are so many great things about this month that makes it special. February is the month of love, a new term, my daughter's birthday and It is finally starting to stay light a bit longer on my drive home. (YAHOO to all of them). February is a time for magical learning in the classroom when our students begin to hit their stride and "get it". All of our hard work is paying off and we are seeing the fruits of our labor. Each and every day educators are making a difference in the lives of students and staff. Your never ending belief in those you serve is a true game changer. You are an inspiration and your community is better off because you are taking care of the future. I hope you find this newsletter full of easy to use ideas to bring joy, laughter and support to your team. February celebrations seem to all revolve around food so you may want to purchase some Pepto-Bismol and monitor your daily steps. As always feel free to reach out to me if I can support your work. We are in this together no matter the distance between our zip codes.

I think something every adult needs to hear right now is that students are struggling. Just as teachers are most definitely overwhelmed with the new virtual learning process, Covid-19 has taken a toll on students as well. As a band kid, I can personally say that not getting to play in different music ensembles and concerts this year has been a huge bummer and gotten me down several times. I got so bored and lonely without music that I went as far as creating my blog, MusicandMentality, to educate others, even if it is from my desk at home. The same goes for just about most students with any activity. This all goes back to the importance of mental health. Covid-19 affects youth mental health and how schools and administrations should start thinking about putting in systems and plans to help all students within a community stigmatize mental health.

As the pandemic continues pressure-testing the system, many people are expressing concern about the possibility of a “lost generation”. The notion of learning loss has gained traction as a problem to be solved via new policies, procedures, and practices. Research firms are publishing reports citing precise calculations of learning loss. It’s become a central educational feature of the pandemic.

The new Washington Digital TeachKit offers educators over 20 guides to using educational technology tools ranging from Audacity to Zoom, curated by Washington State teacher librarians. With links to training resources, user communities, and lesson plans, this new professional learning guide is designed to meet Washington educators where they are -- providing both basic and advanced resources to help educators use the right tools to help learners whether they are learning from home or the classroom.

High-quality childcare and early learning experiences are essential for children and their families. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, finding care has been very difficult for many and the Legislature intends to address this issue through the Fair Start Act (HB 1213/SB 5237 which are companion bills).  The Fair Start Act, sponsored by both Rep. Tana Senn and Sen. Claire Wilson, establishes a new fund that would expand access to affordable childcare by increasing eligibility and decreasing copayments in the Working Connections Child Care Program and in the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program.

Here in Olympia, there seems to be a constant stream of bills that will eventually have hearings dropping each day. There are also budget discussions taking place for how and when districts will receive the second round of federal dollars for K–12 education along with how the state funding will continue to support schools. And, we are hearing from President Biden there might be a third round of funding from the federal government. The short version, I believe, is that funding will be stable for next school year. How that all gets sorted out, however, remains to be seen. An important concern we’ve shared with legislators is making sure the dollars driven to specific programs that are dependent upon enrollment numbers like levy equalization (LEA), learning assistance (LAP), skills centers, institutional education, special education, hi-cap, and more, stay steady as well.