Family Events & Resources
Advocacy
How to Support WA Charter Public Schools
2022 Advocacy Workshop Resources
- How to Find Your Legislator
- Legislative Committees
- How to Find a Bill by Number
- I’m Just a Bill | Schoolhouse Rock! | Disney Shorts
- How to Be an Advocate
- Write a testimonial
- Plan to email, call, tweet legislators about your issue
- Do this as a group to get more collective action
- Sign-up to testify when there is a bill you support
- Receive action alerts and updates from WA Charters
Understanding WA Charter Public Schools
High School, College, and Career
High School & Beyond Plan – Ready Washington
How to Pay for College
- Paying for College Presentation
- Paying for College Resources
- Tuition Costs
- Scholarships and Grants
- Student Loans
- Running Start, AP, CHS, and IB
- Preparing for College
HBCU College Tour Experience (spring break 2025)
- Register here: flyer
- Learn more: The BE project website
Navigating K-12 Education
Special Education
Difference Between a 504 and IEP
- Section 504 (of the Rehabilitation Act)
- Anti-discrimination law
- Definition of student with a disability is broad (any mental or physical impairment that substantially limits a major life activity)
- Section 504 Plans generally list accommodations a student needs in school.
- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”)
- Special education law
- Definition of child with a disability is more specific
- IEPs (Individualized Education Programs) include areas of “Specially Designed Instruction” in addition to accommodations, related services, etc..
What Every Parent Needs to Know – Protecting the Educational Rights of Students with Disabilities
Tips and Tools for Families – Prior Written Notice (PWN)
IEP/504 Back to School with OEO
Office of the Education Ombuds
What is OEO?
- The Office of the Education Ombuds (OEO) was founded by the state legislature in 2006 to support families in Washington state.
- OEO’s Mission: We work with families, communities, and schools to address problems together so that every student can fully participate and thrive in Washington’s K-12 public schools.
- What is OEO EnglishwithSubtitle 02 11 2018 1
- Free, Confidential & Independent Resource
- Individual support with information and informal conflict resolution
- Training and Outreach
- Policy Work
Meet OEO (Intro to the Office of the Education Ombuds)
How to Contact OEO
- Website
- Toll Free Phone: 1-866-297-2597 (interpreter services available)
- Facebook en Español (Spanish)
Preventing Summer Learning Loss
What is Summer Learning Loss?
What do our students lose over a summer?
Due to a lack of quality learning over the summer, students lose ground. On average, the impact is:
- 2.6 months of math loss
- 2 months of reading loss
- 1 month of learning is lost
- 6 wks. of re-learning old material in the fall
To not lose academic ground, students should do academic work for 2-3 hrs. per week to keep on track from June to September.
Summer 2024 Resources
Pierce County Area
Seattle Area
Spokane Area
-
- 90+ Project
- Bloom
- Boy Scouts
- Boys and Girls Club
- Camp Fire
- Camp Lutherhaven
- Cat Tales
- Girl Scouts
- Northeast Youth Center (NEYC)
- Relational Riding Academy
- Skyhawks
- Spokane Gymnastics
- Spokane Parks and Recreation
- Spokane Valley Parks and Recreation
- Spokane Valley Summer Theater
- Spokane Youth Sports (SYSA)
- YMCA INW
Preparing for the New School Year
School and Child Care Immunizations Information for Families
Ways to best support your scholar’s education
- Your involvement helps support your scholar to make greater achievement. Set a timer weekly to check-in with your scholar on how they are doing and utilize any tools that your school supplies (PowerSchool, Google Classroom or connecting with teachers to get outstanding work info).
Building a relationship with your scholars’ teachers
- Your teacher is the best connection to where your scholar is in their learning journey.
- Be Proactive at the beginning of the school year in getting to know your teachers, school, and office staff. Email introduction is a good start, make sure there is a reply and hold the school accountable for replies.
- Sharing information that can be helpful in the teacher getting to know your child: learning styles, barriers (anxiety, poor experiences in the past, etc).
- Make sure to reach out to them if somethings not going well or you have questions (email for record)
Organizing
- Put days off and events in your calendar under a different color for school stuff.
- Have a family calendar that everyone can see to know what is going on.
- The best organizing options are the ones that work for your student. The way you organize may not work for your student- let them lead on this.
- Support good attendance by trying to schedule appointments outside of school time if possible.
Reading
- Help your student to become an active reader. Ask them to tell you about what they read and get details from them. This is important in reading comprehension. Letting older kids read to younger kids builds both of their skills.
- Ensure your kids are reading at least 20 mins per day at home (the type of reading does not matter- graphic novels, magazines, online articles, or chapter books). Knowing your child’s reading level is important and helps you know if they are on track.
- Importance of reading and early learning
- Reading and the school to prison pipeline
Teenage Brain Development
- Teen Brain: Behavior, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
- Adolescence and the Transition to Middle School
Back to school transition and anxiety about school starting