WFIS attended the September Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) meeting in Spokane on September 19-20, 2024. TJ Romano, the Spokane Diocese’s new Director of Catholic Education, joined us on Friday. WFIS Executive Director Suzie Hanson, on behalf of private school educators, and Jan Marie Brown, the State Board of Education’s private school representative, provided public comments on two issues.
The first issue addressed was the lack of private school representation on the PESB. This exclusion leads to decisions that can negatively impact teachers and schools. Our example of this negative impact was the second issue addressed: the decision to leave private school organizations off the list of those allowed to offer teacher equity training. Had a private school teacher been on the PESB, there may have been clarity on the value of allowing teachers access to these clock hours through private school professional development.
One of the pandemic’s most significant lessons was the power of collaboration among different educational and state agency sectors. During the pandemic, OSPI, SBE, and WFIS worked together to ensure students could safely return to in-person learning by following the best health and safety practices. This experience illuminated the importance of including all voices in decision-making. It is a collective responsibility to ensure that Washington’s educational system is strongest when those impacted by policy have a seat at the table.
Post-pandemic, state agencies such as the Department of Health, Department of Commerce, and Department of Ecology have recognized the value of including private schools in policy discussions that affect them. WFIS is working to encourage PESB to adopt a similar approach, ensuring that private school perspectives are included in the board’s decision-making process moving forward.
