February 20, 2014 ---Board Report
Kim Reykdal, AdvocacyCommitteeCo-Chair
- Professional Development: School Counselors will be professionally competent at the highest level.
Further develop/enhance advocacy presentation to be given at WSCA annual conference.
Actions:
* Kim & Nita adjusted WSCA Advocacy presentation to focus more on what counselors can do to advocate at their district & building levels in an effort to encourage a grass roots movement in counselor advocacy ahead of next session’s great budget debate….
Next Steps:
* Utilize feedback from presentation to determine how to improve presentation.
Further develop/enhance advocacy training to be given at WSCA Day on the Hill.
Actions:
* Kim adjusted format of 2014 Day on the Hill to offer a 3-hour training in the morning (clock hours were available for participants):
*Guest speakers were brought in from WSSDA, WEA, OSPI, League of Education Voters, Equity in Education Coalition, & Governor’s Office to talk about the role of their organization and how WSCA members might partner with them as fellow education advocates.
*Kim & Nita facilitated training about how to advocate with Legislators during the Day on the Hill.
Next Steps:
* Determine format for 2015 Day on the Hill ~ how can we ensure our members are ready to advocate in the “great budget debate” coming next session?
Educate Administrators (AWSP), Superintendents (WASA) and School Board Members (WSSDA) about the critical role School Counselors play in student achievement and growth.
Actions:
* Have agreed to develop a presentation with Mike Hubert at OSPI to give at this summer’s joint WASA/AWSP Conference.
Next Steps:
* Develop presentation and get accepted as a presenter for the conference.
- Advocacy & Recognition: School counselors will be seen as valued members of the educational community at the same level as other educational professionals.
Continue to build relationships with other education stakeholder groups, legislators/legislative staff.
Actions:
* Kim & Nita met with Amy, to draft an Advocacy Agenda and a Legislative Priorities document for this year’s session, which was given out during our Day on the Hill meetings.
* Kim met with Marcie Maxwell last fall in her new role as Senior Policy Advisor for Education to Governor Inslee. We discussed ways in which Counselors could engage in the upcoming session and education reform efforts.
* Kim, Andra Kelley-Batstone and DaniseAckelson (OSPI) spent almost 2 hours last fall reminding members of the Joint Taskforce for Career Education Opportunities about the critical K-12role Counselors play to helpstudents make a post-high school plan.
*Kim & Amy met with Reps. Tomiko-Santos & Walsh, and Deborah Porter (formerly from DSHS) to draft a strategy for pushing through a bill that would appropriate money for the analysis of already collected data on the effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s).
*A new Representative from Everett ~ Lillian Ortiz-Self ~ who is a School Counselor(!) visited our Day on the Hill. We’ve advocated on behalf of two of her bills already this session.
*Nita has reached out to National Board and Pro Cert candidates and Counselor Educators to create a bridge between that would result in the posting of their certification work to the Wa. St. CGCP Framework website.
*We worked with some Legislators (ie. Rep. Ortiz-Self, Rep. Haigh, Sen. Dammeier) on specific bill language and testified when appropriate. We engaged in bills influencing school counseling, including the need for dropout prevention, analysis of ACE’sdata, more funding for high school counselors in order to help students navigate a new 24-credit framework.
* Kim and Amy have attended Rep. Maxwell’s Education Stakeholders bi-monthly meetings, which bring together a large and varied number of different stakeholders in the K-20 continuum.
Next Steps:
* We MUST make inroads with the Principals (AWSP), Superintendents (WASA) and School Board Members (WSSDA) to get their buy-in for the importance of school counseling because any additional ALLOCATION we gain from our advocacy at the state level is NOT A MANDATE for districts to use the money in the way it was intended.
*Continue to find new ways to advocate for middle and elementary school counselors especially as all the current focus is on high school.
Continue to increase counselor participation in annual Day on the Hill.
Actions:
*18 School Counselors, 6 Grad Students, 2 Counselor Educators & 1 Legislative Liaison came this year, for 27 total participants, up from our total of 16 last year (a 69% increase!!!).
Next Steps:
*Recruit more School Counselors to participate in our 2015 DotH and increase our representation from around the state. Use the June OSPI Conference, WCHSCR Fall Counselor Workshops & email blasts to give out information & get counselors to sign up.
- Organizational Accountability & Service: School counselors across Washington State will have access to an effective, innovative professional organization with the highest standards.
The WSCA Government Relations Committee and Legislative Liaison will continue to advocate for our members in an ethical and fiscally responsible way.
Actions:
* See above?
Next Steps:
* Continue to schedule meetings with other key legislators and other stakeholder groups to broaden our outreach and influence.
*Continue to monitor and engage in issues of interest as needed.
*Look for opportunities to help work a bill through the process next year, as a warm-up for running our Counselor Evaluation Bill through….