Explore the power of artificial intelligence in K-12 education! Whether you’re new to AI or already implementing it, the AI Innovation Summit Feb 3-5 offers the opportunity to come together to gain knowledge and explore strategies. ESD 121’s EdTech Coordinator, Trinh Pham, is presenting multiple sessions at the AI Innovation Summit on February 3–5, 2025.

As ordinary 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 triumphs of their educational journeys. Our school board members often face many complex and demanding challenges, especially across the past few years as they supported our educators and students in meeting the hurdles of COVID and lockdown. January is School Board Recognition Month, which gives us the opportunity to thank and recognize their efforts.

PSESD, in partnership with a diverse coalition of school districts, higher education institutions, and community organizations, has been awarded a transformative $1.75 million grant from College Spark Washington to focus on increasing educator diversity and promote racial equity in Washington's educational landscape. 

Join our 3-part series designed specifically for educators. Discover how Colleague AI can revolutionize lesson planning, enhance student engagement, and streamline your workflow

National School Bus Safety Week is October 21–25 and provides an important opportunity to address and promote the importance of school bus safety while also educating on better safety practices.

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.

We are excited to announce the selection of two new student representatives to the Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD) Board of Directors. We welcome Maricella Gonzalez from Puyallup High School (Pierce County) and James Young from Mercer Island High School (King County) to the Board this year.

Taking place on the second Monday of October each year, Indigenous Peoples Day celebrates the culture and history of the indigenous American peoples in the United States.

Former Washington state Governor Chris Gregoire once said "Show me a great school and I’ll show you a great principal," perfectly capturing the spirit of National Principals Month, which takes place each October.

Happy #SignLanguagesDay and the International Day of Sign Languages! It's a timely reminder to support greater accessibility to sign language everywhere, to make the world more inclusive for the over 70 million Deaf people across the globe.

September 15 marked the anniversary of the day when the last Cherokees arrived in Oklahoma in 1838, and September 16, is the Trail of Tears Remembrance Day.

The new Behavior Supports in Schools Collaborative is a multidisciplinary network for Washington’s educational ecosystem. Registration for the first quarterly meeting is now OPEN! Join us virtually this September to build connections with colleagues statewide.

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.

Celebrated every August 26, Women’s Equality Day provides an essential and poignant remembrance of the passage of women’s suffrage in the U.S. It is also a reminder of the heroic women who suffered violence, torture, death and discrimination as they fought for equal rights for women, including the right to vote.

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.

Celebrated each August 14, Navajo Code Talkers Day honors the courageous achievements of the over 400 Navajo men who were recruited to the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II.

Unfortunately today, K-12 Education is a declining state priority: Immediately following the McCleary “Solution,” more than half of Washington's general fund budget was dedicated to K-12 education. Since then, K-12 spending in the state’s general fund budget has continued to grow but K-12 education is no longer the funding priority.

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.