The Advocate
The Advocate is updated in the first week of every other month September through May, containing articles relating to private school issues, representation, and local-to-national news relevant to independent schools.
Ask Nancy December 2018: Lice Outbreaks
For December, WFIS received an inquiry about WA K-12 policy on recurrent lice issues in a classroom. So, for this month's Ask Nancy, we look at how to prevent lice outbreaks and review guidelines on how school staff should address discovery of lice. ...
read moreAlberta education minister threatens to pull funding for 28 private schools over GSAs
Alberta's education minister is threatening to pull funding from 28 private school authorities if they don't comply with legislation permitting gay-straight alliances. David Eggen said he has issued ministerial orders establishing standard policies for...
read moreLegal Seminar recap
WFIS reached out to the school law team at Karr Tuttle Campbell firm to host the first Private School Legal Seminar for schools in WA state in almost 10 years. Schools from the various constituency groups, members and non-members of WFIS, gathered…
read moreAcademic Focus or Whole-Child Approach? Inside the Pre-K Curriculum Debate
By Christina A. Samuels for EdWeek.org Some of the most popular curricula for preschools are those that take a "whole child" approach to learning—wrapping social-emotional learning, executive function skills, self-regulation goals, and cognition in one package. But a...
read moreSchool Snack: Ordinary activities that awaken kindness
…an important increase in what’s now called Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) has emerged. It’s been shown that children who grow in this realm do better in school, are happier, and feel more connected to each other.
read moreState 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...
read more
Ask Nancy October 2018: Immunizations and Schools
For October, we checked with Nancy Bernard to make sure private schools know about the 2018-19 Required Immunizations and to get answers to some common questions related to school vaccination reporting and record keeping. Question: Are private...
read moreDepartment Of Education Shines Spotlight On Agudath Israel
Agudath Israel of America was chosen by the U.S. Department of Education as this year’s “association spotlight” at its National Private School Leadership Conference, hosted by the Office of Non Public Education (ONPE). The annual conference brings...
read moreRenton Prep selected as one of 17 Microsoft Flagship Schools worldwide
Renton Prep was selected as one of only two Microsoft Flagship Schools in the US, with only 17 selected in the entire world. "Microsoft’s role in Flagship Schools is to collaborate closely with schools as a facilitator, from guiding the early design, to helping...
read moreEarly Learning Action Alliance (ELAA) fall retreat
The Early Learning Action Alliance retreat took place Monday, September 17th through Tuesday, September 18th at Cedarbrook Lodge in SeaTac. The Early Learning Action Alliance (ELAA) collaboratively convenes a range of nonprofits which all support children ages 0-5...
read moreNew Roles for the State Board of Education
Monday September 17th, Private School leaders met with State Board of Education leaders to discuss the transition of the approval process for private schools from OSPI to the SBE. Don Johnson, Chair of the Private School Advisory Committee; Suzie Hanson, Executive...
read more