• Cultural Calendar
January is School Board Recognition Month

Originally created by the National School Boards Association in 1995, 2024 marks the 29th anniversary of School Board Recognition Month. It provides us with an important opportunity to recognize the talented, dedicated, and people on Washington’s 295 locally elected school boards, as well as the nine elected educational service district boards who are the core of the public education governance system in Washington state.

As people who come from all walks of life, School Board members work on a volunteer basis to both support students and represent their communities when it comes to public education. Each school board brings together a group of members working together with the common goal of helping students to learn, grow, and overcome the challenges as well as the celebrate the triumphs of their educational journeys. Our school board members often face complex and demanding challenges, especially across the past few years as they supported our educators and students in navigating the hurdles of COVID.

While most think of school board meetings when board members come to mind, in reality, those meetings constitute just some of their many obligations and priorities. School board members also dedicate extensive time to everything from taking part in school and community events and activities, to research, attention, and training on current events, educational methods, and legislation, as well as in attending conferences, seminars, and more.

Working closely to bridge the concerns of parents and educators while also keeping public accountability, school boards have been called the community’s caretakers when it comes to public education. Their members work diligently behind the scenes to make the educational experience as inspirational, meaningful, and useful as possible for students as well as those who teach and support them.

School Board Recognition Month provides us with a terrific moment in which to recognize these untiring and dedicated individuals and their work in bringing leadership to our schools. Bridging the worlds of parents, teachers, educators, administrators, students, and school leaders, school boards help us all continue to work for the brightest future possible.

Take a moment to share a story, shine a spotlight, or thank a local school board member today!

To learn more, check out five ways to celebrate School Board Recognition Month here: https://www.opendoorprincipal.com/post/how-to-celebrate-school-board-appreciation-month.

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National School Lunch Week Celebrates the Difference a Simple Lunch Can Make

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) serves nearly 30 million children every school day, providing the essential basic nutrition that contributes to student success and teacher support. President John F. Kennedy created National School Lunch Week (NSLW) in 1962 to promote the importance of a healthy school lunch in a child’s life, as well as the impact a simple school lunch can have both inside and outside the classroom.

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September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, offering an ideal opportunity to speak out and raise awareness on this vital topic — an awareness that is urgently required, with suicide the tenth leading cause of death among adults in the U.S. — and the second leading cause of death among children and young people aged 10–24. Unfortunately, these rates are increasing, and those who are young, LGBTQ, or BIPOC are especially vulnerable. LGBTQ youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide, while transgender adults, meanwhile, are almost 12 times more likely than the general population to attempt suicide.

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Memorializing the Horrors of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, on Slavery Remembrance Day

Created by UNESCO to memorialize the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade, Slavery Remembrance Day, also known as International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, is observed on August 23 worldwide. Upon this day, it's important that we remember that this observance is not only a reminder of the horrors of slavery as we honor its victims—it's also about our dedication across the globe to ensure that slavery, and the racism that caused it, is abolished once and for all.

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Promoting Indigenous Rights on the International Day of the World's Indigenous People

Commemorating the historic meeting of the first United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations in 1982, International Day of the World’s Indigenous People (August 9) provides us with the chance to promote the rights of Indigenous People worldwide, while also amplifying their voices, cultures, and accomplishments. In these days of increased concern over climate change, the knowledge and commitment of many indigenous peoples to sustainability and biodiversity may in fact prove crucial to protecting the earth for future generations.

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Looking to the Stars on Women Astronomers Day

Far too often, the history books seem to focus on the men who made the impacts, the men who made the achievements—and then men who looked to the stars. Yet throughout history, the eyes of women have focused on the stars as intensively as men, and to them belong many great achievements and discoveries as they played essential roles in a variety of scientific and astronomical breakthroughs.

Which is why, every August 1, we celebrate Women Astronomers Day.

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