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Layla Jasper, Associate Director, AWSL
Mar 09, 2022
At AWSL, we are hearing the same feedback from students, teachers, and administrators across the state. There is tension at school. There are tough moments to move through in the classroom, leaving teachers and administrators feeling underprepared and students feeling unseen and frustrated.
"Hot moments," a sudden eruption of conflict or tension in the classroom, can bring up an array of big emotions for people. Often, these occur when a student says something politically charged, may exhibit bias(es), or would be considered a microaggression. This moment can bring on feelings of uncertainty for everyone involved. You may not know how to move through it to interrupt harmful comments or behavior without escalating the situation even further.
It may be tempting to let it go and not “make a big deal out of it,” however, as students voiced in our Student Voice Groups, not doing anything opens the door to even more harmful behavior. So, what can you do? Read on for five strategies to consider when faced with a Hot Moment in the classroom.
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Roz Thompson, Governmental Relations & Advocacy Director, AWSP
Mar 08, 2022
The state DOH published an update to the Requirements and Guidance to Mitigate COVID–19 Transmission in K–12 Schools, Child Care, Early Learning, Youth Development, and Day Camp Programs document today. These updated school health and safety requirements take effect March 12 to coincide with the lifting of general indoor masking requirements. DOH is releasing it today to help people plan for this transition.
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David Morrill, Communications & Technology Director, AWSP
Mar 07, 2022
Our job jar is currently down. We apologize for the inconvenience. For now, please search for or post a job on WASA's Career Connection site. Our IT support company is working with the job jar vendor to restore functionality as quickly as possible, but we don't have an ETA at the moment.
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Roz Thompson, Governmental Relations & Advocacy Director, AWSP
Mar 04, 2022
It was budget week in the Legislature as both House and Senate Democrats released their supplemental operating budgets. Both budget bills had hearings within hours of their release on Monday, and both were amended within days of these hearings. Budget negotiators from both chambers will now seek to reconcile differences and come to a final budget before “sine die” (the last day of the session), scheduled for March 10.
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Abby Bowers, Director of Special Programs, Capital Region ESD 113
Mar 04, 2022
These emails are sent out weekly to leaders in special education and Section 504. Each email contains tips and resources on a variety of topics that are meant to keep you informed and up-to-date.
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Sue Anderson & Katie Taylor, Office of Educator Effectiveness, OSPI
Mar 04, 2022
At the beginning of the 2021–22 school year, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) released revised Student Growth Rubrics for schools and districts for their optional use this year. The revised rubrics capture key learnings from the past ten years of student growth goals as part of the evaluation process and are informed by feedback from schools that elected to pilot the revised rubrics this year.
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Fred Yancey, The Nexus Group LLC
Mar 04, 2022
The legislative clock continues to count down. The Senate is dealing with 85 bills while the House has 65 on their calendar for possible action. March 4th is the last day to consider opposite house bills. Both chambers then retreat into cloaked meetings to negotiate bills differences. While these negotiations are going on, any upcoming committee agendas will generally be scheduled work sessions to set direction for the interim and next session. That’s assuming they meet.
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Mike Donlin, Program Supervisor, School Safety Center, OSPI
Mar 01, 2022
The Legislature used these words to underscore the importance of safety planning when it first required districts and schools to develop and maintain safety plans twenty years ago in 2002. Two things jump out at me when I read this. First, the foundational importance of ensuring a safe learning environment. That safe environment includes physical, psychological, emotional, and educational safety. And second, the environment is safe for all. All.
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Dameon Brown, Professional Learning Service Specialist, AWSP
Feb 28, 2022
I started as the Professional Learning Service Specialist on January 10th. I greatly appreciated the warm, welcoming atmosphere and the camaraderie of the entire staff, which was completely foreign to me compared to my previous careers. The real gem here is the actual work. It is challenging and a complete uphill trek, but we are determined and focused. We support principals throughout their whole leadership journey, from aspiring to retiring.
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Abby Bowers | Director of Special Programs | Capital Region ESD 113
Feb 25, 2022
These emails are sent out weekly to leaders in special education and Section 504.. Each email contains tips and resources on a variety of topics that are meant to keep you informed and up-to-date.