PSESD News

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.