Washington state’s 1,477 school directors oversee the education of more than 1.1 million K-12 students. That comes with a tremendous responsibility to ensure that our public education system serves all students and their families.
To help directors shoulder that responsibility, WSSDA offers courses that give school directors an even deeper appreciation of:
With new or deepened perspectives, school directors will gain the background knowledge necessary to support the delivery of programs and services that benefit every corner of their school districts. The courses also satisfy requirements outlined in Washington Senate Bill 5044, which became law in July 2021.
To meet legislated requirements, directors need to take two courses early in their service, then one course per subsequent term of office. We refer to that as “initial” professional development and “continuing” professional development.
Beginning with the 2022 calendar year, each school director must take any two of WSSDA’s educational equity courses. Newly elected or appointed directors must meet the initial professional development requirement within two years of taking office.
In subsequent terms of office after completing the initial professional development requirement, directors will need to take one elective course per term.
The variety of courses and topics will grow as WSSDA is continually developing curriculum. The courses are offered in-person and virtually. To see what’s available at any given time, visit the calendar at wssda.org/trainings. At present, WSSDA has developed: