Washington Family Newsletter

The parent conferences for high school are as follows:

High School

• Oct 24th, 5:00 - 8:00 pm - In-person or Virtual
• Oct 25th 3:30 – 6:30pm – In-person or Virtual

You will get to meet your student's Advisory (High School) teacher during your scheduled times. They will reach out to schedule the times with you. Scheduled times will avoid any wait times. However, please come in even if you don't have a scheduled appointment. Our teachers and/or counselors will also see walk-in students and parents at the next available opening.

This is a great opportunity to learn about your student's academic progress. You can also ask questions about your student's learning experiences. Our teachers will direct you to the right persons if they cannot answer them all. Advisory/Foundations teachers will also take note of any specific subject/course teacher you'd like to talk to and those teachers will be informed to reach out to you for a phone conference **

We will also have interpreters available. If our interpreters are all assisting other parents, teachers can also use the language line to have an interpreter join the conversation via phone conference.

Unfortunately, staff absences can happen for many reasons, even during parent conferences. If an advisory teacher will need to be absent, they will contact their families to inform ahead of time and try scheduling an alternative time. If an emergency absence arises, we will also reach out as soon as we learn.

** For upcoming conferences, we are exploring a system where parents get to meet individual subject/course teachers during conferences. We will keep you informed about the changes.

Wilder's SUD program is partnering with high schools across the Saint Paul School District to provide alcohol and substance use supports for students and their families. Our aim is to decrease

overdoses and other concerns related to substance use by providing prevention education and support, consultations for students, families and school faculty.

Wilder's SUD Team is on-site at Harding, Humboldt, Central and Washington High Schools at least 2 days a week. Consultations are available by e-mail or phone Monday-Friday 9:00-3:00pm.

Team includes Licensed Alcohol & Drug Counselors (LADC), Mental Health Professionals, Certified Peer Recovery Specialist and Mental Health/SUD Interns

Other services provided through referrals: Substance use assessments (Rule 25/Comprehensive Assessments), individual SUD treatment, and outpatient or residential SUD Treatment.

• Contact one of the building School Social Workers or Counselors to learn more about the referral process.
• SUD Contact 651-280-2147 | recovery@wilder.org

We are excited to announce an innovative program coming to our school in 2024-25. SPPS and Junior Achievement North are partnering to bring a new educational model called 3DE to both Como Park Senior High School and Washington Technology Magnet School. Starting in fall 2024, all 9th-grade students at our school will participate in the 3DE program that brings professionals from high-demand industries into the classroom for project-based learning and case studies. During the current 2023-24 school year, we will work closely with Junior Achievement North to ensure we are prepared to successfully launch the program next fall. Incoming 9th-grade students and families will learn more information about the program during the school choice season this winter. Learn more about this new partnership at spps.org/3DE.

All Minnesota State college and universities are offering FREE​ applications during October. Washington Tech is hosting a college fair with more than 50 schools on Tuessday, October 31st.

Email Mr. Peters (cpeters.ach@spps.org) with questions or for more information.

October is Spring internship recruitment month for interested students in grades 9 -12. Right track will be here at Washington visiting Pathway, Avid, and 11th grade English and Science classes on October16th and the 27th. Students will be able to ask questions and sign up at the Right Track will table during lunch periods.

Credit letters will be mailed home before MEA. Please contact your student's counselor if you have any questions.

Each student enrolled at Washington must have a completed iUpdate. Students can see Ms. Friesen in the second floor office (michelle.friesen@spps.org) to assist in their parents with login information.

Flipside has started. Registration is rolling, students can continue to register.

Students and Families can find Flipside registration at Washington school website.

Washington High School Fall Sports are midway through the season. We have 6 sports teams competing this fall through the Minnesota State High School League. They include Cross Country, Boys’ Soccer, Girls’ Soccer, Girls’ Swim & Drive, Girls’ Tennis, and Girls’ Volleyball. Please be on the lookout for winter registration information. All things sports can be found on the athletic website: https://washingtontechnologymagnet.rschoolteams.com/

Check out this month's schedule!

The Health Office will be open during conferences. Please check in with the School Nurse if your child has any significant health concerns, such as asthma, life-threatening allergies, Diabetes or Epilepsy (seizures) that need to be supported at school, or if the student has medication that they may need to take at school. Follow the signs for the Nurse down the House 22 Hallway; we are in room 2674.

Washington's AVID program (Advancement Via Individual Determination) has over 225 students enrolled in grades 7-12. Students work to improve their college and career readiness skills at every grade level through Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and Reading.

We will be starting AVID Tutorials later this month. This awesome feature of AVID has small groups of AVID students working with tutors from local colleges. Students bring questions from their content area classes to the tutorial sessions, and the tutors help guide the groups. This results in students helping each other solve their points of confusion.

Recently, our 7th and 9th grade students went to Phalen Park for a day of outdoor learning. They had opportunities to canoe, hike, and build fires. The beautiful weather made this a great day!

To learn more about AVID at Washington and the process of joining, please visit our WEBSITE.

• Oct 16 - 17: Picture Day
• Oct 19 - 20: MEA (No School)
• Oct 24 - 25: Parent-Teacher Conferences
• Oct 23-27: Spirit Week
• Oct 27: Pep Fest and Homecoming

School districts must notify parents of children attending Title I schools that they can request information regarding their children's teachers, including, at a minimum, information on (1) completion of state requirements for licensure and certification; (2) emergency or other provisional status; (3) educational background; and (4) whether paraprofessionals are serving the child and, if so, the paraprofessionals' qualifications.

• English - Parent's Right To Know

• Espanol - Parent's Right To Know

• Hmong - Parent's Right To Know

• Somali - Parent's Right To Know

Title I requires that ever schoolwide Title I school, has a schoolwide plan for how to improve education for all students. For schools that have been identified by the State as a school in need of improvement, those schools must also complete an improvement plan. Because of the way the Saint Paul Public School's plan is configured, every school's plan meets the requirements for both requirements (Schoolwide Plan and School Improvement Plan). The plan is called the School Continuous Improvement Plan or SCIP. Title I schools must ensure that Title I funds are used to support the work designated in the SCIP. The SCIPs are continuously revised based data and on the needs of the schools.

A Family-School Compact for Achievement is an agreement that parents, students and teachers develop together. It explains how parents and teachers will work together to make sure all students get the individual support they need to reach and exceed grade level standards.