Fact or Fiction?

In this episode of AWSP News, we discuss:

• two students selected to represent Washington in the United States Senate Youth Scholarship Program,
• the 2020 Summer Conference,
• the Visible Learning Plus Institute,
• a monthly checklist of things you need to be considering in the world of school safety,
• another edition of Fact or Fiction,
• a powerful way to use student voice,
• students who dread the Winter Break,
• the break as a time to reflect as the lead learner in your school, and
• a special shout out to 30-year rock star AWSP employee Annalee Braley.

Prefer to read the News? Check out the script.

Dr. Dana Anderson, Kim Fry, Abigail Westbrook and Kurt Hatch discuss policy, leadership and practice for positive discipline systems.

Ross Hunter, Secretary of the Department of Children, Youth and Families, swings by to talk about his department and how principals can support early learning.

It’s hard to believe it’s December already! The holidays are upon us. Where does the time go?

1. Technology Safety

No doubt there will be a lot of new technology coming into homes over the holidays. Check out and share the Connect Safely Guides. You’ll find both one-page Quick Guides and longer Parent Guides to help all adults understand many of the apps, sites, and technologies which they may be seeing or hearing about.

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2. National Bullying Prevention Center

As another gift to educators, the Pacer National Bullying Prevention Center Videos has over 100 short videos available for free. These can be used as staff refreshers. Many can also be used in the classroom with students. This is a resource which keeps on giving as new videos are frequently added.

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3. Suicide Prevention

Did you realize that the suicide rate is lowest in December. That’s good news! However, those rates rise after the New Year and into the spring. Check out the OSPI Suicide Prevention page. There you will find an excellent Model Plan Template to help build suicide prevention into your district and school comprehensive safety plan.

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4. Threat Assessment

As we know, Threat Assessment refers to a structured group process to evaluate the risk posed by a student or another person. It is done in response to an actual or perceived threat or concerning behavior. Through our 9 ESDs, WA is implementing the Salem-Keizer Threat Assessment Model. The model includes a site-assessment screening completed by a trained multi-disciplinary Level 1 team. If necessary, more comprehensive in-depth assessment and consultation is completed by a Level 2 multi-agency team. For general background information on threat assessment, checkout this link from the Secret Service.

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Have a safe and happy holiday season! Get ready for a safe and productive new year!

In this episode of AWSP News, we discuss:

• AWSP’s mission,
• advocacy with the Legislature,
• the Pay Gap survey,
• the staffing ratios for the prototypical school funding formula,
• Member Support Consultations,
• the AWSP Member Handbook,
• the WELL Summit,
• AWSP TV with Jill Patnode from Kaiser Permanente,
• the 2020 Summer Conference,
• great Trauma-Responsive resources, and
• nominating the principal or assistant principal for Principal of the Year.

In this episode of AWSP News we discuss:

• principal superheroes and superpowers,
• our October Principal Leadership Weekend,
• the principal or assistant principal of the year award,
• AWSL’s Advisor of the Year,
• Representative Laurie Dolan, our 2019 Torch of Leadership Award winner,
• Dr. Susan Enfield, Superintendent of Highline Public Schools, the inaugural winner of the Systems Changemaker award from Teach for America Washington,
• the 2020 Summer Conference, and
• a new version of last year's pay gap survey.

Prefer to read the news? Read the script.

November is a month of thanks. As we head toward the holiday season, a big thank you to everyone who participated in last month’s National Bullying Prevention month. Also, thank you to all who dropped, covered and held on for the Great ShakeOut on October 17th. Each of these activities help ensure that all our students and staff are safer at school.

1. Great ShakeOut Video Winners

Speaking of the Great ShakeOut, kudos to the 2019 ShakeOut Youth Video Contest winners!

1st Place Middle School, $500: Ryan Song, Auburn, Buena Vista Adventist School

2nd Place Middle School, $250: Eric Lind, Aberdeen, Miller Junior High

1st Place High School, $500: Samantha Robinson, Montesano, home schooled.

2nd Place High School, $250: Casey Rogers (and friends), Coupeville, Coupeville High School.

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2. Evan

“Evan” is another powerful video. If you have not yet seen this video from the Sandy Hook Promise, please watch and share. Staff will find this very useful as a conversation starter with students. This is probably more for secondary than elementary students, but all staff will find it discussion-worthy.

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3. HIB Policy Revisions

The newly revised HIB policy and procedures are now available on the WSSDA Featured Policies page. The revisions were called for in SB 5689. Please note that the HIB RCW number has changed; it’s now RCW 28A.600.477. And remember, there is a January 2020 board adoption deadline for districts to update to the new policy and procedure. In the meantime, our youth have done some great work on bullying prevention. Check out this story on the Seattle girls to be featured on the ‘Today Show’ for creating anti-bullying video game.

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4. Hazing

Hazing is an activity which has been called out for inclusion in HIB trainings as we move forward. Here are a couple of great starter resources, particularly for secondary schools:

• High School Resource Guide
• Stophazing.org
  
  

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5. Reunification Planning

Reunification Planning is a component of a comprehensive school safety plan. HB 1216 reminds us to be sure to have reunification plans in place. Here are some resources you might want to take a look at the Reunification link on our Safety Center web page.

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6. Go Kits

We’ve had some wild weather lately! Time to make sure that we all have Go Kits in place. They can be especially useful sheltering situations! Be sure that all your buses are winter-ready, and that your family notifications systems are in place.

Thank you again for all you do to keep our students and staff safe!

AWSP is redesigning our Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year program. Like with all the other changes in education, this is a necessary change for us as we strive to increase the visibility of the important role principals play in our P-16 system. The impact of highly effective principals matters, so let's share that impact with the world.

In the past, we selected a Principal of the Year (POY) for elementary, middle, and high schools, giving us three different "state" principals of the year. In addition to our three state POYs, we would have one or two Assistant Principals of the Year (APOY) (one elementary, one secondary). While most people around education (policymakers, legislators, reporters, etc) could all tell you the state Teacher of the Year, almost nobody could name one of our potential five winners.

That's just one reason we're changing the program. We'd love to explain all the reasons we’re changing our (A)POY, but it might be faster for you to read War and Peace. You think we’re kidding…

Here’s the short version for how we plant to recognize winners and a little about the reasoning.

• We’ll have one state principal of the year. Just like the Teacher of the Year and the Superintendent of the Year, there’s a single winner. This eliminates a ton of confusion around who really is the state POY. It amplifies and elevates the title.
• We’ll also have one state Assistant Principal of the Year. Same justification and reasoning.
• As long as we have enough qualified nominees and applicants, we’ll have a regional (A)POY at every ESD (again, like the other programs for teachers and superintendents). So every year, each ESD should be represented by an AP of the year and a principal of the year.

By narrowing the number of state level winners, our winner will enjoy the same spotlight and state-level name recognition as  the teacher and superintendent of the year. Having three state-level winners waters down the award a little and creates confusion. At the same time, selecting a regional winner gives more people significant recognition and increases the voice and representation from each region of the state. Now there’s the matter of the national programs, which all have different timelines and deadlines.

Even though we will recognize fewer state-level winners, we will still send back the same number of principals and assistant principals to Washington, D.C. for recognition.

• If our state level-winner is an NAESP member (National Association of Elementary School Principals), they will be our state’s representative for the National Distinguished Principal honor.
• If the state-level winner is an NASSP member (National Association of Secondary School Principals), they will be our state’s representative and eligible to win the National Principal of the Year Award (like Trevor Greene did in 2012).
• If the state-level winner is a member of NASSP, our judging panel will send the most deserving Regional/ESD Principal of the Year from the elementary level (NAESP member) as our state representative. Vice versa if the state-level winner is at the elementary level.
• We’ll mirror the process for national recognition for the Assistant Principal of the Year award.

Still with us? Here’s one more quick recap.

• 9 regional Principal of the Year winners, one from each ESD.
• 9 regional Assistant Principal of the Year winners, one from each ESD.
• 1 state Principal of the Year.
• 1 state Assistant Principal of the Year.
• 1 principal from the pool of 9 as the NAESP honoree for National Distinguished Principal.
• 1 principal from the pool of 9 as the NASSP contestant for National Principal of the Year.
• 1 assistant principal from the pool of 9 as the NAESP National Outstanding Assistant Principal Award honoree.
• 1 assistant principal from the pool of 9 as the NASSP National Assistant Principal of the Year contestant.

We have tremendous principals and assistant principals in Washington state. This new award structure preserves our recognition at the national level, increases the presence and recognition at the regional level, and greatly reduces confusion and improves the visibility and voice of our winner at the state level. It might be a little messy at first, but we’re excited about the new process and all the of great byproducts it will bring.

Our Roz Thompson sits down with Jill Patnode, Thriving Schools Program Manager for Kaiser Permanente of Washington, to talk about all the programs and resources KP provides to support schools and the people in them.

Resources

• WELL Summit
• KP Thriving Schools
• Kaiser Permanente Landscape of Mental Health in Schools Environmental Scan
• RISE Online: Increasing Student and Staff Resilience
• Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network
• OSPI MTSS Resources

For more information, contact: 

Jill Patnode
Thriving Schools Program Manager
Kaiser Permanente, Washington

In this episode of AWSP News, we discuss:

• the most trusted professional in all the country,
• our Facebook giveaway and this week’s winners,
• your Principal’s Advisory Council,
• enrollment for the School Employee Benefits Board,
• our first-ever WELL Summit,
• a part-time position opening up at AWSP,
• our Washington Principal Magazine, and
• next year’s Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year.

Prefer to read the news. Check out the script.

In this episode of AWSP News, we discuss:

• National Principals Month,
• A special message from Governor Jay Inslee,
• Our favorite contest of the year and the chance of winning a $25 Amazon gift card,
• Using social media to tell the story of your school,
• Our Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year Award,
• AWSP, WASA and ESD sponsored School Leader Paradigm and Leadership Framework trainings, and
• Resources provided by OSPI’s Safety Center.

Prefer to read the news? Check out the script. 

“It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste, or sex.”

Section I, Washington State Constitution

Protections for immigrant students, entitling them to a free public education, exist both in the Washington State Constitution and through the 1982 US Supreme Court decision - Plyer v. Doe.

School districts are charged with the duties of protecting students’ constitutional and statutory rights as well as ensuring a safe and orderly learning environment. Ensuring student safety at school, may require administrators to call upon law enforcement, child protective agencies and/or the county health department. All of these agencies have duties and responsibilities related to student safety and some of their roles and authority overlap. Given this overlap of responsibility, maintaining strong cooperative working relationships with these agencies is critical. 

In contrast, the work of immigration agents does not overlap with the work or duties of the school district. The immigration status of children or parents does not threaten school safety nor does it diminish the district’s obligation to educate the children residing within its borders.

WSSDA Model Policy 4310 and Model Policy/Procedure 3226

In December 2018, WSSDA revised model Policy 4310 – District Relationships with Law Enforcement and other Governmental Agencies and Model Policy and Procedure 3226 – Interviews and Interrogations of Students on School Premises. These policies were revised to help school districts comply with their constitutional duty to provide undocumented children with a free education, while also protecting their constitutional rights. 

Some school districts have already updated these policies. Regardless, as school leaders, it is important for you and your staff to know the district protocol should an immigration officer request admittance to your school or information on a student.  In other words, school district/building guidelines should be developed for “What to do if ICE shows up at your school.”

The WSSDA policy revisions also suggest the importance of a written memorandum of understanding (MOU), if a district engages the services of a Student Resource Officer (SRO), to clarify the district’s/school’s relationship with the SRO, including the SRO’s purpose, role, supervisory structure and limitations on access to students. 

Senate Bill 5497 – Keep Washington Working

At the close of the 2019 legislative session, Governor Inslee signed the Keep Washington Working Bill into law. The new law enhances public safety, promotes fairness to immigrants and protects the privacy and civil rights of all Washington residents.

State and local law enforcement agencies, school resource officers and security departments may not provide non-public information to federal immigration authorities for civil immigration enforcement unless required by law.

The Attorney General’s Office is charged with the responsibility of writing a model policy to address the new law. At this time, the AG’s office is reviewing the policy models developed by WSSDA and gathering input from stakeholders across the state. The model policy will be completed by May 21, 2020. 

Read the corresponding article, "Feeling the Impact: The Toll of Immigration in Schools" by Debbi Hardy and Gayle Mar Chun.

Debbi Hardy, Retired Director of Curriculum and Staff Development
Gayle Mar Chun, Retired Principal. 
Both are members of Strengthening Sanctuary, Olympia

“We wake up every day with the fear of being deported, of being separated from our families or having to leave the kids.”

In June 1982, the Supreme Court issued Plyler v. Doe, a landmark decision holding that states cannot constitutionally deny students a free public education on account of their immigration status. Federal courts have relied on Plyer v. Doeto prevent practices that would have a “chilling effect” on a student’s right to attend school. 

The Effect of New and Changing Policies

However, in the last couple of years, a number of policies and proposals have been implemented on a wide range of immigration enforcement issues such as border security, interior enforcement, tighter vetting on asylum hearings, exclusionary visas to certain groups of people, restricting temporary protected status/DACA, travel bans of certain countries, expansion of family separations, penalties for accessing public assistance, and most recently, proposed family detention centers without time limits. 

These policies can potentially impact 23 million non-citizens who live in the United States, as well as 12 million children who are predominantly U.S.-born.

What Research Has Shown Us

Immigration Research

Immigrant families including those with lawful status are experiencing resounding levels of fear due to continual changes in immigration policy, media attention to the national rhetoric, recent customs enforcement raids, and senseless mass shootings at targeted populations. One long-time resident explained that there are frequent, conflicting legal changes which create emotional havoc; they feel that at any moment they could be expelled from this country. Undocumented immigrants face the risk of deportation, including long-time residents.  Schools are feeling the impact of immigrant students fearing the worst: family separations. (View more at immigrationresearch.org)

Migration Policy

“The raids forced hundreds of Mississippi children to face what they feared most: coming home to an empty house and not knowing if they would ever see their mom or dad again… on their first day of school. Research tells us that children suffer long-term developmental harm to their health and well-being as a result of the trauma and instability caused by large-scale raids that separate them from parents and loved ones. Raids leave schools, childcare centers, and other providers scrambling to deal with the aftermath of these man-made disasters, and the fear created extends far beyond the individuals and families impacted.” (Read more at migrationpolicy.org)

Although schools, hospitals, and churches are designated as sensitive locations (safe spaces from immigration enforcement), many immigrant families are afraid to leave home to participate in everyday life activities.  Parents report that they stay indoors and rarely go outside. Children listen to the news. Students don’t participate in summer or extra-curricular programs. They often internalize the anxiety and bring it to school.

Kaiser Family Foundation

“One of our kindergarten teachers had a little boy who brought a suitcase with him to class for two days. He said, ‘I want to make sure I have my special things when they come to get me.’”  Kaiser Foundation has done extensive research of immigrant children reporting difficulty sleeping or eating, increased headaches or stomach aches, depression or anxiety, or being bullied. When students are fearful that their family is at risk, their learning is impacted. Living in a state of persistent stress leads to physical, psychological and emotional consequences affecting brain function in learning and reasoning. (Read more at kff.org)

Disturbing Trends

Within the ESD 113 service area, immigrant families and school personnel have shared these disturbing trends: 

• Dropping out of Head Start,
• Declining free/reduced lunch enrollment,
• Not seeking medical care or getting immunizations,
• Afraid of losing housing assistance,
• Not signing up for college bound opportunities,
• Not participating in afterschool or summer enrichment programs

The new federal Public Charge ruling widens the scope of impact…even for those with legal green card status.  Teachers, counselors, and administrators report that these fears have led to a form of toxic stress among these students. For many immigrant families, the increased fears are having significant negative effects on the short and long-term health and well-being of children. Fear and anxiety are affecting all immigrants, legal and undocumented. Even non-immigrant friends and peers worry about their classmates who just “move away.”

How You Can Help

It may seem overwhelming for one individual or school to make a difference for these students. What immigrant families have said is they want trusting relationships and a welcoming environment from school communities… front office professionals, playground assistants, teachers, counselors, nurses, and administrators.  Families need extra reassurance that their children are safe in this climate. Listed below are some ideas for consideration.  

• “Everyone Belongs” - Be public about ensuring the well-being of all students… in classrooms, halls, assemblies, staff lounge, even the bus.
• Show empathy and support. Be an informed advocate. Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization advancing policy solutions for low-income people.
  
• Take advantage of teachable moments to create compassion among all students
• K-12 Immigration Booklist available from Olympia Timberland Library.
  
• Free Teaching Tolerance Pocket Guide: “Speak Up at School: Respond to Everyday Stereotypes and Bias” (Contact Teaching Tolerance for free print copies)
• Identify a staff member as a bilingual school/community navigator
• Share available school forms/letters in represented languages
• Take advantage of an instant interpreter service such as Language Links
• Invite families to a “Skyward Overview/Sign Up” (where someone can explain school registration, absences, grading, homework, fees) or “School Website Overview” (bus routes, menu, events calendar, volunteer opportunities)
• Encourage scholarship opportunities such as WASFA and College Bound scholarship 
• Partner with community resources that serve immigrant families for “Know Your Rights” or “Family Safety Plan” workshops:
• NW Immigrant Rights Project 
• WA Immigrant Solidarity Network
• Create a schoolwide protocol to protect students if customs officials come to school
• Access free materials from Teaching Tolerance Project: Booklet “Responding to Hate and Bias at School: A Guide for Administrators, Counselors and Teachers” (Contact Teaching Tolerance for free print copies) \
• Booklet: “Best Practices for Serving English Language Learners and Their Families”(Contact Teaching Tolerance for free print copies)

While all children need a physically and emotionally safe school environment with supportive adults, immigrant children also need adults who understand their fears and the toll it takes on their learning. 

Read more about WSSDA Model Policy and Senate Bill 5497 in this corresponding blog post.

Article by: Debbi Hardy, Retired Director of Curriculum and Staff Development and Gayle Mar Chun, Retired Principal. (Both are members of Strengthening Sanctuary, Olympia)

 

Most of our school-aged children have parents that work. These schedules can make it challenging for parents to find quality before/after school care for their children. They often look to schools to provide quality programs. In the attached article by Dr. Helen Wang, read how some of our Washington State Elementary schools are providing unique experiences for their students.

Bring the best enrichment to every child

By Dr. Helen Wang

CEO and co-founder of 6crickets Inc.

August 16, 2019

American parents work 2,000 hours per year, but their children are in school for only 1000 hours [1]. So after-school and summer time is half of K-12 education. This out-of-school-time has been painful for parents. A 2016 report by the Center for American Progress suggests "misaligned school schedules cost the U.S. economy $55 billion in lost productivity annually: First, they result in lower levels of full-time employment among women with elementary-school-age children… Second, the economy loses productivity due to school closings. When school is closed, many parents have to take time off from work in order to care for their children. When parents simply can't miss work to be there after school or on a staff training day, some children are left unsupervised. This puts them at an increased risk for sedentary screen time, poor food choices and high-risk social behavior.” [2] A decade of research and evaluation studies, as well as large-scale, rigorously conducted syntheses looking across many research and evaluation studies, confirms that children and youth who participate in afterschool programs can reap a host of positive benefits in a number of interrelated outcome areas—academic, social/emotional, prevention, and health and wellness [3]. 

A robust and quality after-school program not only offers extended care and homework help, it should also provide enrichment. Some pioneering schools have brought incredibly creative, fun, and engaging after-school enrichment classes to their students right on campus where students already are. For example, children can access leading-edge technologies, learn 3D modeling and printing, perform creative storytelling using virtual reality, build their confidence and public speaking skills through theatre performances, gain engineering skills and foster creativity from traditional carpentry, learn cooking and sewing, master modern, digital-age engineering like Minecraft programming and robot building, learn life lessons and build character from martial arts, board games, and sports, be immersed in music and art,  learn the dance moves from classical to tap dancing to break dancing, rewalk the history and its impact on technical inventions from the journey of Marco Polo or WWII, and more! 

Why wouldn’t any school want such vibrant after-school enrichment programs? Surely the schools that provide such access give their children more learning opportunities and advantages. 

The key hurdles are the complexity of the operations for staffing and curriculum design and the cost of affording these enrichment classes. Indeed, this is an area where we have seen a significant equity gap. Affluent schools and families can afford these enrichment classes, but underprivileged ones cannot. From 6crickets’ school research work, we estimate 70% of American schools not having any enrichment classes offered. With as many as 1000 hours per year of no school and no parents for many students, this is a key contributing factor to the student achievement gap.

Nevertheless, we have seen a beautiful approach emerging from some pioneering schools in our Washington state like Green Lake Elementary (Seattle), Ridgecrest Elementary (Shoreline), Lockwood Elementary (Woodinville) as well as many throughout the nation, such as  Worthington Schools of Ohio, Del Mar Union School District, and Yu Ming Charter School. To reduce the complexity of operations, these schools tap into local education businesses and invite expert teachers to teach after school enrichment classes right on school campus where students are. This approach creates a win-win-win ecosystem for the local community. Schools win because they no longer need to worry about staffing and curriculum design, but safely outsource them to the topic experts. It boosts education businesses and strengthens the local economy. Families and students win when the best enrichment is brought to them right at school. 

To help bridge the equity gap, we see a creative approach from these pioneering schools and districts: schools or districts receive revenue through the management process of afters-school enrichment, which can in turn be budgeted for scholarships to support underprivileged students to also access enrichment. This is a particularly effective self-sustaining model at the district level with a larger pool of families where revenue received throughout the district can be redistributed to families in need. Thanks to the support of the scholarships with this approach, Worthington Schools of Ohio has enabled twice as many students with free or reduced-priced lunch to attend summer camps.

To further simplify the overall management process, there are now software tools like 6crickets that target the exact afterschool enrichment management scenario to significantly streamline operations with online registrations, parent reviews to ensure program quality organically, real-time rosters and attendance for districts, schools, and vendors respectively to ensure student safety, automatic payment to vendors to simplify billing, and revenue collection capabilities to create scholarships. 

While the out-of-school-time problem of 1000 hours per child per year may be daunting, it is exciting to see the innovative approaches taking place in our school communities. With these new ideas and technological advances, you can start bringing the best enrichment to your students today!

Bio of the author: 

Dr. Helen Wang received her Ph.D. in Computer Science from UC Berkeley in 2001 and B.S. in Computer Science from UT Austin in 1995. Helen is a renowned computer scientist. She co-founded 6crickets Inc. in 2014 with the passion and mission of bringing the best enrichment to every child, leveraging the power of technologies. 6crickets Inc. is backed by National Science Foundation to bring advanced technologies, quality, efficiency, safety, and equity to the space of out-of-school-time. Helen has led 6crickets to support hundreds of schools and districts and thousands of activity providers throughout 30 states of the United States with their enrichment programs. Prior to 6crickets, Helen founded and managed Microsoft Research’s security and privacy research group and was a Principal Researcher. She led her team to invent and deploy technologies that have touched every web user and developer’s life. She also mentored more than 30 Ph.D. students for their dissertation research, who have all become professors at top universities or leaders in high-tech companies.

1. National Bullying Prevention Month

   Kick off the year and make a special effort to engage your entire school community in bullying prevention and intervention this month! Wednesday, October 23 is Unity Day – wear orange!
   

   
   For more bullying prevention resources, check these links:

   • Stopbullying.gov
   • The International Bullying Prevention Association (IBPA)  (Conference: Nov. 7-9)
   • MA Aggression Reduction Center
   • Cyberbullying Research Center
   • A Student CreatedAnti-Bullying Video

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2. The Great Washington ShakeOut

    October 17^that 10:17 am. An earthquake drill is now required by law, and the Great ShakeOut is the perfect opportunity to practice ‘drop, cover, and hold on’. Even if you “drop, cover and hold on” on a different day, please register for ShakeOut.  

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3. School Safety Planning Tip

   It’s now officially Fall. As leaves come down, and as you prepare for cooler – colder – days, look around your campus. Do a check of your signage, your sight lines, and other natural or man-made features around your campus which might impact your overall school and campus safety.

   In the meantime, encourage everyone that if they see something, say something!

   Need help developing your plan? Contact the School Safety Center or visit the REMS TA Center web site.

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4. Halloween

   On a fun note, Halloween is coming! The CDC has provided some Halloween Health and Safety Tips for us all.

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5. School Safety Center

   And as a final FYI, as part of the overall OSPI agency website redo, the School Safety Center is also being updated. You will see the changes, but if there are resources you do not see, just let us know.

In this episode of AWSP News, we discuss:

• our School Leaders Collaborative,
• AWSP-hosted WELL Summit,
• Kaiser Permanente,
• Washington State’s new Teacher of the Year for 2020,
• APLN, the 2020 legislative session,
• our Political Action Committee,
• and our tribute to the Mariners during this year’s Summer Conference.

Prefer to read? Check out the script.

The Office of the Education Ombuds (OEO) and Rooted in Rights have partnered to create 6 student voice videos highlighting students with disabilities’ experiences in Washington’s public K-12 schools, as part of the One Out of Five: Disability History and Pride Project, an educational resource for teachers and students. We will publish the videos to the OEO YouTube Channel and host resources on our webpage. Join the discussion on disability awareness and inclusion on Twitter and use the hashtap #OneOutOfFiveDisabilityProject.

We encourage you to share this resource with anyone who may be interested.

Project Overview, Lesson Plans, and Resources are located on the OEO Webpage or Shared Google Drive.

Student Voice Video Release Dates:

Sept. 10, 2019

• One Out of Five - Anna’s Story English Captions
• One Out of Five - Anna’s Story Spanish Captions

Sept. 17, 2019

• One Out of FIve - Charlotte's Story English Captions
• One Out of Five - Charlotte’s Story Spanish Captions

Sept. 23, 2019

• *Facebook Watch Party to celebrate Deaf Awareness Week with Julian and Allexa from RIR 7-8 p.m.
• One Out of Five - Julian’s Story English Captions
• One Out of Five - Julian’s Story Spanish Captions

Oct. 1, 2019

• One Out of Five - Kenassa’s Story English Captions
• One Out of Five - Kenassa’s Story Spanish Captions

Oct. 8, 2019

• *Facebook Watch Party with Kenassa, Warren and Charlotte with Clark and Rachel from RIR 7-8 p.m.
• One Out of Five - Warren’s Story English Captions 
• One Out of Five - Warren’s Story Spanish Captions

Oct. 15, 2019

• One Out of Five - Angelina’s Story English Captions
• One Out of Five - Angelina’s Story Spanish Captions

If you have questions about the videos or outreach plan, please contact Stephanie Palmquist or (206) 639.5067. We welcome your feedback.

Q: Are elementaries required to have formal student councils?
 
A: There is no legal requirement to create a formal student body organization for elementary. The WAC states that if you have 7th grade or above, then you must create a student council structure.

In lieu of official student decision making, the principal can act as the ASB President and Treasurer if there are ASB needs.
 
WAC 392-138-011 Formation of associated student bodies required.
The formation of an associated student body shall be mandatory and a prerequisite whenever one or more students of a school district engage in money-raising activities with the approval and at the direction or under the supervision of the district:  Provided, That the board of directors of a school district may act, or delegate the authority to an employee(s) of the district to act, as the associated student body governing body for any school facility within the district containing no grade higher than the sixth grade.
 
I am very biased about the idea of including students when we can find proper ways. I think teaching our students to find their voice and to represent the voices of others is an absolutely necessary social-emotional learning opportunity. I would use opportunities for learning how to budget, spending funds, legal requirements putting on event, and reflecting on their success to teach our kids how to work with groups. I think it is an awesome opportunity to work on campus culture and behavioral/emotional safety (tackling bullying).
 
AWSL has resources available on inclusion of elementary students in a variety of student leader structures that can best meet the culture/climate of the building.