AWSP Blog

We know there have been way more questions than answers as the entire P-16 education system has moved into this new reality of distance learning. And now that we’ve officially heard from our Governor that schools will remain closed through the end of the year, even more questions are surfacing. So, what about the Class of 2020? What about all of those year-end events for seniors to celebrate the end of their K-12 experience? What about the graduation ceremony itself...the cap, gown, and tassel toss?

At a special Board Meeting today, the State Board of Education adopted emergency rules that allow school districts to apply for greater flexibility in awarding a diploma to high school seniors impacted by closures.

We are quickly approaching the release of the State Board of Education (SBE) draft rules around the waiver process and potential graduation credit adjustments. According to the SBE timeline the draft is to be released on Wednesday, April 1st with the comment period ending Friday, April 3rd. This is a very quick turnaround and we want to make sure our collective voice is heard around the draft rules.

Passed this session, HB 1599 transforms the assessment expectations for graduation and how students can approach fulfilling requirements for earning a diploma. We know principals and districts are clamoring for more information, so we partnered with OPSI and the SBE to bring you two episodes of AWSP TV on this topic. First up is our episode with OSPI's Deputy Superintendent Dr. Michaela Miller (our returning champion).

In this episode of AWSP News, we discuss our new website, the Healthy Youth Survey, joining a Networked Improvement Community with a clip from Jason Smith, the Gender Odyssey Conference, cultural items for tribal students during graduation, a tip from Dr. Roz, UW's Leadership for Learning program, and high five and hug data.