Agencies and Committees
WFIS represents the interests of private schools on agency boards and working groups and serves as the official liaison organization for independent schools with OSPI and the Department of Early Learning.WFIS Agency and Committee News
Early Learning Advisory Council meeting in April
The April Early Learning Advisory Council (ELAC) meeting took place in Lacey on April 2. WFIS representations Chelle Downey-Magee attended and shares the details below:Feedback loop from previous meetings:Performance-based Contracting Standards—Stacey...
Puget Sound Regional High School Art Show Awards
On the evening of Wednesday March 20th students & their families, as well community arts organizers, high school educators and WA State college & university representatives, joined together to celebrate creativity and arts education at the Annual...
WFIS in meeting with Devos as 2020 Budget Proposal released
“Educators across the public and private divide are speaking out against the proposed budget summary which completely eliminates Title II funding for teacher training.”
School Notification bill passes Senate, now waits for House approval
Last week the Senate unanimously passed SB 5514 addressing notification of schools if there’s an emergency in their area. It requires first responder agencies to alert all public and private schools if there’s a situation in their vicinity that might make an...
What does building the “encouraging evidence” skill DO?
“What if we allowed students to believe that the Earth is the center of our solar system for another hour, or another day, or even another week as we guided them into a deeper inquiry about how this couldn’t be true?”
Chelle Downey-Magee, the WFIS Representative on ELAC, shares her recap of the February meeting.
Though virtual, the February 5 Early Learning Advisory Council, meeting was typical in presenters and topics covered. The scheduling of a virtual meeting was quite fortuitous, as it occurred on the second consecutive no-school-snow-day in our district and provided a welcome distraction and excuse not to shovel snow off the sidewalk.
Final ELAC Report of 2018
Chelle Downey-Magee is the WFIS Representative on ELAC, Washington's Early Learning Advisory Council. Her report on the final ELAC meeting of 2018 follows: The agenda for this meeting was quite forward looking--to the next legislative session, to...
Fall 2018 Constituency Group Leaders Meeting
On Friday October 26th, WFIS convened the Constituency Leader annual fall meeting. Directors from the different education and accrediting organizations met to get updated by WFIS and one another on the issues facing schools, exchange information, and...
WIAA crafts NEW reclassification amendment
The overarching principal that guided the discussion is that all of the schools that are members of the WIAA should be treated as just that—members of the WIAA. Private / public isn’t as important as supporting all of the athletes no matter where they attend school.
State Board of Ed Bulletin for Private School Enrollment and Staff Reporting
As of September 1, SBE staff have taken over the role that OSPI staff held for private school approvals and inquiries. State Board of Education staff will also be responding to inquiries sent to the private school email address (private.schools@k12.wa.us) and the...
About our work
WFIS representatives work with State Agencies, including the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), The Department of Early Learning (DEL), The Department of Health and others to advocate for the particular needs of private schools.
WFIS representatives at OSPI, DEL and on the State Board of Education communicate regularly with WFIS to help guide and change policy to reflect private school needs.
WFIS works directly with the executive directors of the accreditation organizations in Washington to protect the integrity of accreditation and our schools. We call these leaders “Constituency Leaders” and rely on their in depth understanding of their schools to guide WFIS’ policy decisions.
WFIS is in Olympia during the legislative session, building relationships with Legislators and their staff, collaborating with lobbying organizations with similar goals, as well as reading and contributing to legislation to be sure private schools are considered when law is crafted and when it is passed.