WSPA this Week, September 16-20, 2024

Darrell Heisler • September 16, 2024

SUPPORT, ADVOCACY, AND PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR THE K-12 HUMAN RESOURCE PROFESSIONAL

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MESSAGE

Good morning everyone, we have a Draft of the agenda for our Annual Law Conference October 14-15, 2024, which will again be at the Double Tree Hilton at South Center in Tukwila, WA.  Registration for the Law conference is open so don't delay, sign-up now.  The WSPA registration link for the S-275 zoom workshop is also available at the link below.   


What's Happening Now:

  • Membership Renewal, Registration for the School Law Conference and Registration for the S-275 Workshop below.
  • We have been notified by one of our members that OSPI has stated that the Civil Rights training offered vis Vector Solutions (Safe Schools) does not meet the state's requirements for civil rights training for all employees.  I have contacted Vector Solutions to see what they know and can do to make sure the training meets our state's requirements.  Stay tuned as there will be more to come as I get the information.
  • PESB has asked us to make all HR folks aware of what they are doing in regards to the Paraeducator Fundamental Course of Study (FCS) and HB 1277 (effective date 6/6/2024).  Below is the information they would like to discuss. They are looking for HR folks to be part of a workgroup to cover the following topics.  The first Zoom meeting of this workgroup will be September 26, 2024 and if you are interested please let me know ASAP so I can get your name and information to K.O. Wilson at PESB


TOPICS

FCS Implementation                                     FCS Materials and Content                                  Exemptions for Districts

         Training time requirements                          Quality & Consistency                                         Explore appropriate criteria for exemptions

         In-person day(s) content                              Develop & distribute further FCS materials          Develop exemption process


         Reimbursement Processes                           Data Collection                                                     Other

         Expanding what reimbursement may cover   Feedback regarding fidelity of FCS                     

         Ensure funding to paras                               Consider how to best use this data


“Per the direction of HB 1277, the Paraboard will be working over the coming year to develop rules related to the implementation of the Fundamental Course of Study (FCS), as well as guidelines for school districts in providing the FCS to ensure all paraeducators receive quality training needed to engage with and support students. In this endeavor, the Paraboard wishes to bring together a diverse group of paraeducators and district implementors to provide feedback and input and be thought leaders in this work.


This workgroup will be held as a series of five meetings, all held on Zoom:

  • Sept. 26, 2024, 9am-12pm: Orientation
  • Oct, 24, 2024, 9am-12pm: Fundamental Course of Study (FCS) Content
  • Nov. 21, 2024, 9am-12pm: Consistency of the FCS
  • Dec. 12, 2024, 9am-12pm: Implementation of the FCS
  • Jan. 9, 2025, 9am-12pm: Exemption Processes of the FCS

 

This workgroup will be composed of 75% paraeducators and 25% district/ESD leadership to ensure paraeducator voices are visible and active in the co-creation of paraeducator policy. PESB will offer substitute reimbursement pay for paraeducators and stipends for all participants.

 

We invite you to nominate individual from your organization’s membership to participate in this series of meetings. After the staff collects all the nominees, PESB staff will choose the final workgroup to ensure maximum variation across demography, geography, and assigned roles, so please include those details in your list of recommended

 

At your earliest convenience, please send a list of interested from your membership, their contact information, and the details above to Dr. K.O. Wilson, Program Manager for Paraeducator Workforce Development.”



Membership Renewal: As of today, we are up to 650 members, If you want to get a discount on any of the trainings we offer please join.  Please reach out to Kaley VonVolkli (kvonvolkli@wasa-oly.org) to make that happen.  Here is a reminder that we are contracting with WASA again to manage our membership roster and payments.  Membership for 2025 (September 1, 2025 - August 31, 2026) will begin July 1, 2025 when renewal notices will be sent to you and/or your District.


2024-25 Membership Renewals: 

Below is information on the renewal process. For questions, please contact Kaley VonVolkli. 

 

July 1, 2024: Renewal Notices sent to districts with a deadline of August 31 to submit any membership changes for the upcoming 2024-25 school year. 

 *District Membership: Must have at least 10 members renewing or joining for 2024-25 SY to retain District Membership. 

 *Retiring Members: WSPA offers a retiree membership at $100/year. Please contact Kaley VonVolkli to join as a Retired Member. Eligible retirees may receive first year of retiree membership complimentary. Those with 5+ years of membership are eligible. 

 

August 15, 2024: WSPA begins making the membership changes in our database. 

September 16-20, 2024: Invoices will go out to districts for the 2024-25 SY. 


WSPA's Address:

WSPA

PO BOX 14459

TUMWATER, WA 98511


SAVE THE DATES!  THE TIME TO REGISTER IS NOW FOR THESE TRAININGS/EVENTS.



WSPA Leadership 2024-25

Jennifer Koskovich, Director of HR, Federal Way Public Schools, WSPA President: jkoskovich@fwps.org
Melissa Kreuder, ESD 112, Vancouver, WA: melissa.kreuder@esd112.org

Jane Stencel, Director of HR at East Valley SD Spokane; WSPA President 22-23; WSPA Professional Development Coordinator: stencelj@evsd.org 

Tara Santucci, Union Gap School District, WSPA Treasurer: tsantucci@uniongap.org

Traci Cox, Human Resource Coordinator, West Valley (Yakima) School District, WSPA Secretary: coxt@wvsd208.org

Darrell Heisler, Executive Director of WSPA: dheisler@wspa.net


Member Requests this week: WSPA board member Keri Hutchins is working with Dan Steele on WSPA's legislative priorities and she has put together a survey for members to fill out as we embark on this endeavor.  Please select this link to make your priorities known.



Funny of the week:  I don't know how to act my age, I've never been this old before!


 

UPCOMING EVENTS:


Have a great week everyone!

Darrell Heisler

WSPA Executive Director



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WSPA News to Know

WSPA Membership

                                                                               702+ members and counting...

Total Number of WSPA Members

646

Number of Entities Represented

271

Individual Memberships

358

District Memberships (10+ members)

20

REGION ESD'S NUMBER OF MEMBERS WELCOME to WSPA
1 Inland Empire ESD 101 47
2 Ipanco ESD 105, 123 &171 95
3 Lower Columbia River ESD 112 61
4 Puget Sound ESD 113 & 121 304
5 Olympic ESD 114 56
6 Northern Puget Sound ESD 189 76

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Member Requests

Sample Contracts & Salaries

A district is looking for sample contracts & salaries for the following positions:

  • Superintendent
  • Assistant Superintendent
  • Executive Director
  • Chief Operating Officer
  • Business Manager with CPA
  • Human Resources Director

Procurement Specialist


A colleague is wondering if anyone employs a procurement specialist, and if so, would you please share the job description, salary, and whether or not it is a represented position.

IEP Days

Substitute Resources

A district is wondering how other districts handle IEP days.  Does the teacher get a substitute for IEP preparation, meetings, etc., or do they get paid for an additional day for these activities?

A district is wondering if any other districts have a resource for Substitute Guidelines. 

  • Do they get paid for a certain number of hours?
  • Can they cover a class if they are willing rather than getting paid?
  • How long can you use a long-term substitute?

Partner News to Know

American Association of School Personnel Administrators

Unemployment Insurance: Sign up now for upcoming SOC code webinars

Learn more about Standard Occupational Classification codes on May 20 or June 3

Do you have questions about Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes? Sign up for one of our upcoming webinars!

All employers will be required to report SOC codes when they submit their quarterly tax reports starting with their fourth quarter 2022 report. At that time, you could get a penalty for incorrect SOC reporting. Reporting SOC codes is currently optional and is available only to single filers.

Upcoming webinars

If you have questions or want to learn more about using SOC codes, register for one of our free webinars.

  • Friday, May 20, at 11 to 11:45 a.m. - Register
  • Friday, June 3, at 11 to 11:45 a.m. - Register

During these webinars, we’ll talk about:

  • What are SOC codes?
  • When are SOC codes mandatory?
  • How to look up SOC codes.
  • How to add SOC codes with keyed or imported wage data.

Note: We will provide the same information in both webinars. However, questions could vary in each webinar, so you are welcome to sign up for both.

What is SOC?

SOC is a federal coding system that helps government agencies and private businesses compare occupational data.

In 2019, the Washington State Legislature passed a law requiring employers to report SOC codes in their quarterly reports for unemployment insurance.

Other resources on SOC

  • Watch this short video.
  • Try out the SOC code search tool. Under “Occupation Keyword Search” you can search by keyword, SOC code or industry.

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

2022 Legislative Report

Dan Steele, WASA Assistant Executive Director, Government Relations and WSPA Legislative Liaison has completed a 2022 End of Session Report and you can find it here.

 

The End of Session Reports includes full details of the 2022 Supplemental Operating Budget and the 2022 Supplemental Capital Budget, along with a comprehensive review of the many education-related bills the Legislature addressed this session.

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