AWSP Blog

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

I know many schools have closed up the 2020-2021 school year, but we are still going strong in Kelso, Washington (my district). This month is a magical milestone month for our students, staff, and families it is important to celebrate, celebrate, and celebrate. I have no doubt you will find some simple and fun ideas to utilize this final month. Finish strong friends; you got this. I BELIEVE in you.

In this edition of AWSP News, we discuss wrapping up the craziest year in your professional career, what your school will look, sound, and feel like in the fall, the departure of Kurt Hatch, one of our Associate Directors, two new faces joining the AWSP/AWSL and Cispus family, AWSL’s Summer Leadership Series, choosing your own learning adventure in our Summer Conference, and using TPEP iGrant 664 funds to register anyone who evaluates teachers, an opportunity to share your story of how you have coped during the pandemic, and sharing your outdoor school plans for next year.

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

If you haven’t heard the news, Dr. Kurt Hatch, one of our Associate Directors, is moving on to another incredible professional opportunity. Starting June 1st, Kurt will be the Educational Administration Program Director and professor of practice at the University of Washington Tacoma. Although a direct loss for AWSP, it is an indirect win as Kurt will be shaping and preparing the next generation of school leaders at UW-T.

It is wonderful to know that schools will be fully open in the fall! It has taken a lot of hard work and dedication on everyone’s part to make it through the pandemic. None of us has come through unscathed, but hopefully, we have come through stronger.

To students and staff at Columbia Crest, their garden is not a way to get out of the classroom, it is a way to bring the classroom outside; or, perhaps, to bring the outside into the classroom.  Between helping a community save money and gain access to fresh produce, to helping students engage and apply their more traditional lessons, the Columbia Crest gardening program is helping to grow a healthier and happier community…and the kids really dig it.

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

In this this special edition of AWSP News, we discuss our role in the Inclusionary Practices Project, common language on what inclusion looks, feels, and acts like within a school context, the difference between inclusion, exclusion, integration, and segregation, what we learned along the way, and some incredible content, tool boxes, webinars, podcasts and more for school leaders and school teams to learn from and implement in their buildings.

The legislative session has concluded, the Governor has acted, and now as the show goes on, districts have to adjust. Clearly, the COVID virus, and Federal and state efforts to lessen the financial impacts on states, businesses, and individuals, came into play during this session.