Graduation Equity Webinar Series

Free Equity Clock Hours

Sign up here for December clock hours 

2024-2025 Graduation Equity Webinars

  • January 8: Artificial Intelligence Hacks for Leadership Teams
  • February 12: Attendance Support for Students with Extended Absences
  • March 12: Peer Mentoring & Empowering Youth Voice
  • April 9: Alternative Learning Options
  • May 14: Teacher Strategies for Supporting Mental Health in the Classroom

Need Help?

Get personalized assistance from our team!

Contact Information

Kefi Andersen
Assistant Director of Early Warning Systems
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 behavior and belonging, early warning systems, school climate, youth voice, college readiness, staff wellness, 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.

Upcoming Webinar

Substance Use Prevention & Intervention Best Practices

December 11 | 10:00-11:30am

Are you concerned about youth substance misuse in schools? 

Adolescence is a time of growth and opportunity for students. Brain development is being fine-tuned, and our adolescents are finding their way. As adults setting the tone for their immediate environments in our schools, our care and actions can turn down the heat in substance use numbers and keep this issue from boiling over past our ability to support. According to Healthy Youth Survey results, the students smoking and vaping are some of the most likely students to have experiences Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and to need additional supports. In this webinar we’ll walk you through how to use data-informed decision making to set up prevention strategies and examples of timely interventions. You’ll learn about culturally respectful practices to address substance use and specific ways to support Native American youth. We’ll have resources to help you get started. Free Equity Clock Hours are available for participants.

Presenters

Resources

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:  The new link is posted here on the first day of each month. December Clock Hours 
  • 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 13, 2024 | Empowering Students & Families with Varying Immigration Status

Empowering Students & Families with Varying Immigration Status

The path to post-secondary education is not often linear. This is especially true for our Multilingual and Newcomer Students. Although not all multilingual learners may be undocumented or come from mixed status families, these social identities often intersect. There may be students you currently serve grappling with the complexities of their own immigration status or their families. Please join Dr. Vanessa Delgado and our Panelists in learning more about how to best support your students and families on their path to post-secondary education.

Presenters

Vanessa Delgado, Assistant Professor of Sociology, WSU Sarah Weiss, Director of College Access Initiatives, WSAC Virginia Morales, Assistant Director of Multilingual Education, OSPI
October 9, 2024 | Harassment, Intimidation, & Bullying: Preventative Classroom Behavior Support Strategies

Harassment, Intimidation, & Bullying: Preventative Classroom Behavior Support Strategies 

Do you know when and how to intervene when it comes to harassment, intimidation, and bullying? This month we’re sharing what you’ll need to know about intervention, reporting, prevention, and response when it comes to bullying in schools. We will take a deeper look at the resources that are available to you and how to collaborate with families and students in regards to safety and prevention. We will share current reporting requirements and different scenarios so you can be prepared. Free Equity Clock Hours are available for participants.  

Presenters 

Eric Landers, Associate Professor, Elementary and Special Education, Georgia Southern University  Briana Kelly, Assistant Director of Restorative Practices, OSPI  Garaline Tom, Student Safety and Belonging Program Specialist, OSPI Stacy Cho, HIB Compliance Coordinator & Truancy Officer, Student Title IX, HIB Coordinator/Nondiscrimination Officer, Issaquah School District  

Resources

September 11, 2024 | Designing Accessible Graduation Pathways for All Students

Designing Accessible Graduation Pathways for All Students

Washington’s graduation pathways have changed in the last few years to provide one diploma and a variety of ways to earn it. This month we’re sharing what you’ll need to know about graduation to keep the kids at your school on track for graduation and taken a deeper look at CTE and ways to make it more accessible for all students. We’ll talk about course equivalencies, credit flexibility for CTE courses, and ways schools can award credits on transcripts. We’ll be sharing with you lesson plans that can help CTE teachers increase inclusion and differentiate learning and talk through resources OSPI has developed in the Graduation Toolkit. Free Equity Clock Hours are available for participants.

Presenters

Candace Conroy, Director of K-12 Curriculum & Instruction, AGC Education Foundation Alexandra Toney, Program Improvement Supervisor, OSPI Maria Muto, Secondary Counseling Program Supervisor, OSPI Stanley Weaver, CTE Program Supervisor, OSPI Kefi Andersen, Assistant Director of Early Warning Systems, OSPI

Resources

August 14, 2024 | Living into Your Values with School Culture

Living into Your Values with School Culture

Meet Dr. Chuck Salina who served as the “turnaround” principal at Sunnyside High School. Chuck works with schools across the state and has co-designed and implemented the ‘Leadership Network’ with OSPI. He and his colleagues created rapid growth in Sunnyside’s graduation rate and raised morale among administrators, teachers, and students. In this webinar, he explains how to deepen leadership behaviors that demonstrate living your values through concrete actions that create a powerful school culture. A culture where adults and students connect to school, build powerful relationships, and envision their future. Dr. Salina has co-authored two books about his time at Sunnyside with Dr. Suzann Girtz, and Joanie Eppinga, Powerless to Powerful and Transforming Schools Through Systems Change. Sunnyside School District will share how they’ve been living the change in a culture for learning and how it’s impacted the way they plan and lead. 

May 8, 2024 | Orientation Practices to Boost Connection

Orientation Practices to Boost Connection

Transitions can be some of the most stressful times in life because they mess with our routines, our expectations, but most of all our relationships. We had Henterson Carlisle, the Northwest Director for the Center for High School Success discuss how he has coached many school teams working to welcome rising eighth graders to ninth grade and seen a wide variety of orientation models. We also had Grandview School District talk about how they are centering connection in their orientation practices. 

Presenters

April 10, 2024 | Systems & Interventions for Attendance & Reengagement

Systems & Interventions for Attendance & Reengagement

Do we have influence over who goes to school? Yes, we do! And Tier 1 strategies can help create the kind of school culture that encourages a sense of belonging, connectedness, and fun. We’re bringing you experience from attendance coach, Shelby Lockhart. You’ll learn from Selah and Federal Way Schools districts about their strategies to increase attendance including a focus on Tier 1 supports. We’ll have resources to support your attendance efforts. Free Equity Clock Hours are available.  

Presenters

Shelby Lockhart, Teaching & Learning Program Manager, ESD 105 Joel Starr, Assistant Principal at Selah High School Cienai Wright-Wilkins, Executive Director of Equity, Federal Way Public Schools
March 13, 2024 | Financial Literacy & Asset-based Engagement

Financial Literacy & Asset-based Engagement

Personal finances impact our lives every day. We know that finances play an integral part in how we live our lives, how we relate to others, and the opportunities we have. How can we talk to students about finances? When is the best time? In this webinar we are bringing you Carly Urban, a leading researcher on financial education from Montana State University to share strategies for how students can avoid financial pitfalls, the impacts financial education has on students of color, and the role of course requirements. We also have a panel of financial education professionals to share how they’re implementing financial education strategies in schools and with the community, including specific strategies for migrant and English learners, what it looks like in Auburn School District, and cultural shifts in how we talk about money and ways you can support a healthy relationship with finances. Free Clock Hours are available.

Presenters

  • Carly Urban, Professor of Economics at Montana State University, Research Fellow at the Institute for Labor Economics
  • Minda Michelle Mattox, Community Relations, South Seattle & South King County WSECU
  • Julie DeBolt, Executive Director of Student Learning, Auburn School District
  • Ashley McGirt, Founder & CEO, Therapy Fund Foundation
February 14, 2024 | Easing Transitions

Easing Transitions

We all go through transitions and they can be some of the most challenging times of our lives. We know that changing schools is a particularly stressful time. We want to share with you some strategies to make transitions more comfortable so you can offer timely support that sets the groundwork for a sense of inclusion and belonging. We’re bringing you Rashad Norris, to help outline the system supports you can have in place and a panel representing various student groups to share with you strategies that are particularly helpful for those student groups. Free Clock Hours are available. 

Presenters

  • Rashad Norris, Founder and President of Relevant Engagement, Director of Community Engagement at Highline College
  • Annie Blackledge, Assistant Director of Policy, OSPI
  • Ada Daniels, Lead Institutional Schools Prog Supervisor, OSPI 
  • Melissa Rilette Burnce, McKinny Vento Training Supervisor, OSPI  
  • Jalayna Watkins, Developmental Disabilities Region 1 Children’s Transitional Coordinator and Liaison, Developmental Disabilities Agency 
  • Amanda Rodriguez, Educational Advocate Coordinator, ESD 105