EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MESSAGE

Hello everyone! 

With the Annual conference only one month away, I am looking to our tradition of honoring all WSPA retirees.  If you or someone you know is planning on retiring sometime during the 22-23 school year, please fill our this form and let me know so we can honor you/them properly.  The TWIO Week Three is here for your reading pleasure!  WSPA and OSPI are offering 2 FREE workshops in February, one on preparing for an HR audit February 7 from 9 to 11 via Zoom, and the other on Certification February 14, from 9 to 11 via Zoom.  Please encourage your teaching and learning department to attend the Certification webinar so they get the latest on the NEW requirements for certification renewal starting July 1, 2023.  Yes, they are FREE, but you must click on each link and sign up to take part.  On February 15, we have a webinar on Evaluation and Non-Renewal in partnership with Porter Foster Rorick and WSPA.  The cost for that webinar is $50 and it will run from 9 to 11 on Zoom as well.  Registration for our Annual Conference is FULL and at this time we are starting a wait list for those who are still interested in attending.  The Title IX training offered the day before the Annual Conference on February 26 from 9 to 4 is a stand alone in-person workshop and can be purchased separately.  There is still room for participants in that workshop, but filling up fast.

We have partnered with OSPI to get out the information on the NEW requirements in (HB 1426) specifying minimum continuing education requirements for administrator and teacher certificate renewals that focus on equity-based school and classroom practices starting July 1, 2023. We currently have a FREE webinar scheduled February 14, 2023 which will be open to everyone and a session scheduled during our Annual Conference to get members more information.  This does NOT affect certificate holders who need to renew by June 30, 2023 unless of course they miss the deadline.  Look for more information coming out from OSPI on this bill and forward it to all administrators and other certificate holders due for renewal on or after July 1, 2023.

Due to high demand, we added an additional day of training for our Bargaining 201 Workshop with Porter Foster Rorick on February 1, 2023.  Here are the details:  "Porter Foster Rorick and Washington School Personnel Association are pleased to announce the addition of another date for our Bargaining 201 curriculum on February 1, 2023, as a part of the 21st Century Bargaining Skills Workshop series. All the other details for the 201 workshop (content, price, location and time) remain the same for the February 1 date. An updated flyer can be found at the link above and on our website.

If you are on our waiting list for the Bargaining 201 workshop on January 24 or 31, please let us know if you would like to attend on February 1 and you will be given priority access. If you are currently registered to attend Bargaining 201 on January 24 or 31, you have the option of retaining your seat on one of those dates or changing to the February 1 date. Opening up seats on January 24 or 31 will allow us to accommodate people on our waiting list who are hoping to attend Bargaining 101 and 201 on back-to-back days.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call any of our staff at (206) 622-0203 or reply to info@pfrwa.com.

Reminders:

Member Request this week:

I am still looking for board policies that a District has concerning hotel room accommodations when attending out of town workshops.  Examples: Conference must be at least 50 miles from the district...  If you have a board policy addressing costs/cost savings when attending out of town conferences, please email them to me:  admin@wspa.net

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• January 23, 24, 30, & 31, 2023 - Bargaining Workshops (registration open)
• February 7, 2023 - HR Audit
• February 14, 2023 - Certification
• February 15, 2023 - Evaluation and Non-Renewal
• February 26 - March 1, 2023 - Annual Conference - Silver Cloud Hotel - Tacoma
• March TBD, 2023 - Worker's Compensation Series
• March 9, 2023 - Reductions in Force
• March 14, 2023 - Career Fair - Spokane Convention Center (registration is open)
• March 23, 2023 - Bargaining Workshop (registration is open)
• March 28, 2023 - Career Fair - Greater Tacoma Convention Center (registration is open)

DRAFT Topics for the Annual Conference

• Calculating Salary & Benefits by Union Group
  
• Legislative Update
  
• Recruiting and Retention
  
• Surviving the Acronym Puzzle
  
• Certification Requirements
  
• Dealing with Conflict
  
• Grievances, Demand to Bargain
  
• Working with Labor Unions
  
• Special Education
  
• Drug Free Business
  
• Educator Equity Tool
  
• Working with School Boards
  
• Workforce Secondary Trauma Initiative
  
• Investigations & Reasonable Suspicion
  
• Fitness for Duty
  
• Paraeducator Law Updates
  
• E-certification Tool
• ADA & Accommodations
• Retirement Information
  
• Balancing your Workload
  
• RIFS - What is happening out there?
  
• HELP & SHRM - What are they all about?
  
• Public Records Requests
  
• Electronic Records
  
• HR and Payroll Team Collaboration
  
• HR & District's Strategic Plan Alignment

Funny for the week: "Sunday and Monday are in a fight, who wins?......Sunday of course, Monday is a weekday"

Have a great week everyone!

Darrell Heisler

WSPA Executive Director