Graduation Equity Webinar Series

Register now for 2023-24

The 2023-24 Graduation Equity Webinars Series has begun! Fill out the GATE Webinar Series Registration today to attend the upcoming monthly sessions. Focus themes this year include:

Aug-Nov: Behavior & Belonging
Dec-Feb: Wellness & Relationships
Mar-May: Transitions

Need Help?

Get personalized assistance from our team!

Contact Information

Kefi Andersen
System Improvement Program Supervisor Lead
360-790-1446

Graduation: A Team Effort (GATE) Equity Webinars are an hour and a half long and an opportunity to learn from people trying innovative approaches across the state. Webinar topics include attendance, early warning systems, school climate, youth voice, college readiness, and more.

The National Equity Project defines educational equity as each child receiving what they need to develop their full academic and social potential. This aligns with our mission at OSPI.

December 2023 Webinar

Organizational Wellness for Equity

December 13 | 10:00-11:30 am​

​What keeps staff members coming back year after year? What are the administrative moves that create a culture of wellness? If you’re looking for some fresh ideas on how to think about organizational wellness not just at an individual level but as a holistic experience, you’ll want to attend this webinar. We’re bringing you North Shore School District’s Rachel Madding to talk about what it takes to create a systems approach to wellness that’s grounded in educational equity. We’ll have a panel of practitioners to share examples of how this work has evolved in Central Kitsap School District and we’ll offer you intentional tools, resources, and structures to help you get started. Free Clock Hours are available.

  • Rachel Madding, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, North Shore School District
  • Andrea Bowman, Assistant Director of Student Services, Central Kitsap School District
  • ​Jeanne Beckon, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, Central Kitsap Schools​
  • Shane Baguyo, Wellness Manager, Seattle Public Schools
  • Bridget Underdahl, Mental Health Systems Program Supervisor Lead​, OSPI
  • Julee Christianson, Project AWARE Program Supervisor, OSPI
  • Jocelyn Núñez, Student Engagement & Support Program Supervisor, OSPI
  • Kefi Andersen, System Improvement Program Supervisor & Team Lead, OSPI
Registration & Clock Hours

Each session is free and includes up to 1.5 clock hours.

  • Sign up on Graduation Equity Webinar Registration for the series to join us live. You only have to register once to attend for the whole season, August – May of each school year.
  • Zoom will email you a confirmation email when you register with the option to add a calendar appointment. You'll also get a reminder email before the webinar with your personal link to join.
  • Register in pdEnroller each month for free Clock Hours: DECEMBER CLOCK HOUR Registration. The new link is posted on the first day of each month on our Graduation Equity Webinar Series webpage.
  • After the webinar, pdEnroller will send you an email link to a short evaluation survey. Complete and submit this survey.
  • Clock hours are awarded based on actual attendance time, after we have verified your attendance, within one week of the webinar. Clock hours are released to your transcript; you can print a copy from your pdEnroller account if needed.

If you miss the live webinar, you can still earn Clock Hours!

  • Register for the clock hours using the pdEnroller link for the month. If it is after the month of the original webinar, you will be registered after you have completed the survey.
  • Watch the video on our YouTube Channel.
  • Fill out our Feedback Survey. We check every two weeks to award Clock Hours for viewing on YouTube.
  • Note: We cannot offer clock hours for webinars that are more than 9 months past.

If you have any questions about this process, please contact Ronnie Larson on OSPI's Student Engagement and Support team.

Accommodations for Persons with Disabilities

We want to support your full participation. Our webinars have closed captioning available each month. To arrange other accommodations for persons with disabilities, please contact Kefi Andersen by email within 3 business days of this event. However, we will be better able to respond if you give us at least two weeks. The ADA does not require OSPI to take any action that would alter the nature of its programs or impose undue burden.

Feedback Survey

We care about continuous improvement. A lot of our best ideas came from our amazing audience. How can we improve our webinars? You can tell us what you thought of our latest webinar and which presenters you'd like to see. Choose the times and topics that work best for you: Webinar Feedback Survey.

Archives

Check out past webinars on OSPI's YouTube Channel. Subscribe by clicking the bell to get alerts when we post new videos.

November 8, 2023 | Tier II Solutions for Student Well-Being

Tier II Solutions for Student Well-being

Not all supports need to be offered to everyone, and not all supports have to be offered to individual students either. But what do group supports look like? Who offers them? How does that work with a school schedule? We want to share with you ideas on ways you can level up your tier II supports. Learn about the strategic team staffing that will provide greater access to resources. We’ll be hosting University of Washington’s Rachel Barret and her colleague Debra Limon to share some pro tips to inspire you. We’ll also have a panel of practitioners to share what this work looks like in Ocosta, and Burlington-Edison. Free Clock Hours are available through pdEnroller

Tier II Solutions Presentation

Tier II Solutions Resource Page

  • Debra Limon, Director, Tiered Tools
  • Nicholas French, Director of Teaching  & Learning & Special Services, Ocosta School District
  • Erika Aldridge, School Counselor, Burlington-Edison School District
  • Laycee Weier, School Social Worker, Richland School District
  • Nikki York, School Social Worker and Behavioral Health Program Supervisor, OSPI
  • Christian Stark, Behavioral Health & Suicide Prevention Program Supervisor, OSPI
  • Kefi Andersen, System Improvement Program Supervisor Lead, OSPI
October 11, 2023 | Restorative Practices

Restorative Practices

Restorative practices offer opportunities for transformational positive school climate and alternatives to traditional disciplinary action. Individuals within a community are most capable of sustaining change when they feel engaged and can develop a sense of belonging. Restorative practices which focus on resolving conflict, repairing harm, and healing relationships through a foundation of integrated and preventative social emotional strategies, have been shown to prevent bullying and reduce disciplinary incidents in school. Presented by Briana Kelly, the OSPI Assistant Director of Restorative Practices and Student Discipline, we are bringing you Dr. Lori Lynass, the Executive Director of Sound Supports, to talk about the advice she shares with school staff about implementing restorative practices. She will be joined by our practitioner panel from the Franklin Pierce School District to talk about their experiences as restorative justice facilitators.

Dr. Lori Lynass, Executive Director, Sound Supports Briana Kelly, Assistant Director of Restorative Practices & Student Discipline, OSPI Meghan Fagerberg Gonzalez, Teacher & Restorative Justice Facilitator, Franklin Pierce School District Junior (Rene) Alvarez, Teacher & Restorative Justice Facilitator, Franklin Pierce School District

September 13, 2023 | Family Engagement Best Practices

Family Engagement Best Practices

The most crucial contribution to a child's success in school and in life is to support their education. Research demonstrates that parental attitudes and ideas about education, independent of household income or level of education, can have a significant impact on children's academic success. The ideal family-school involvement strategy goes beyond information sharing and frequent newsletters and email blasts. Instead, family-school involvement is an ongoing partnership that includes open communication that honors family voice, mutual understanding, the development of trust, and fostering culturally responsive family partnerships. When it's effective, family-school engagement welcomes community relationships and input, bringing in community-based organizations, families, caregivers, and school teams that all share a commitment to ensuring that students have the best experiences and outcomes possible. We’re bringing you Dr. Trise Moore, the President & Senior Consultant for The Family Outreach & Engagement Network to talk about the advice she shares with schools to craft authentic connections to families. We’ll also have practitioners with us to talk about their experiences in the Auburn and Highline School Districts. Free Clock Hours are available.

Presenters

  • Dr. Trise Moore, President & Senior Consultant, The Family Outreach & Engagement Network
  • Dixie Grunenfelder, Executive Director, Student Engagement & Support, OSPI
  • Isaiah Johnson, Executive Director of Equity & Family Engagement, Auburn School District
  • Lolita O’Donnell, Director of Family & Community Partnerships, Highline School District
  • Kefi Andersen, System Improvement Program Supervisor Lead, Student Engagement & Support, OSPI
August 9, 2023 | Setting Up Your School & Classroom for Belonging

Setting Up Your School & Classroom for Belonging

The start of a new school year is a chance to reset. We want students to feel seen, engaged, curious, and challenged. What routines will help students feel welcome? What rituals honor the values of your school? We’ll learn from Nick Yoder from the American Institute of Research (AIR) about a framework for positive school climate and the practices that will help you start the year as a community builder. We’ll also have master teacher, Sally Anvari, an Evergreen State College Field Supervisor, with us to share her moves on setting up her classroom and the practices that she uses in the first weeks of schools to create a classroom culture of kindness and belonging.

Presenters

  • Nick Yoder, Principal Policy & Technical Assistance Consultant, American Institute of Research (AIR)
  • Tammy Bolen, SEL Program Supervisor Lead, OSPI
  • Sam Mintz, School Climate Transformation Grant Program Supervisor, OSPI
  • Sally Anvari, Field Supervisor & Teaching Artist, Master in Teaching Program, The Evergreen State College
  • Jocelyn Núñez S., MPA, MSW, Student Engagement & Support Administrative Program Specialist, OSPI
May 10, 2023 | The Power of Youth Co-Design

The Power of Youth Co-Design

“Nothing about us without us.” What would it look like to curate a program that extends beyond a consultation process? Youth co-design is a process that shares the development of a program with the students who will be impacted by it. Instead of consulting students, they are involved as curators, equals, and experts of their own lives. Co-design is not a new idea. It is rooted in the principles of participatory design. In Youth Co-design, there is a share of power, you prioritize relationships, use participatory means, and build capacity. We are bringing you Sam Martin to talk about youth co-design and the importance of youth voices in their learning process.

April 12, 2023 | Partnerships for Culturally Relevant Learning

Partnerships for Culturally Relevant Learning

We all have blind spots. Partnerships can be an asset to reaching students where educators may not be as knowledgeable about the student’s culture. Culturally relevant learning focuses on multiple aspects of student achievement. It supports students in upholding their cultural identities and develop critical perspectives that challenge inequities in society. Dr. Martina Whelshula will talk about how culturally relevant learning works in the context of a multi-tiered system of support. Social emotional health and intergenerational historical trauma are also discussed.

Presenters