Belonging, engagement, and student success — Learn more on Sept 12

On September 12, the Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA) is offering a virtual learning experience for school directors titled Advancing Inclusion through Belonging. But act fast, because registration closes Sunday night.

“Advancing Inclusion is one of my favorite OnBoard workshops to facilitate,” said Cassandra Sage, a leadership development consultant for WSSDA. “It affirms differences and uniqueness as positive assets.”

The workshop will explore how a sense of belonging leads to increased engagement by students, which leads to more positive outcomes in their educational experience. A key component of that recipe is a sense of dignity and how affirming or violating it will impact students, their families or caregivers, and even district staff.

“I wish this training was offered when I was a director because equity is not an easy word to define and measure,” said Vanessa Edwards, another WSSDA leadership consultant who facilitates training. “Advancing Inclusion Through Belonging will help you connect student belonging, outcomes, and how you, as a director, can impact it all. We all walk away with a deeper understanding and ideas on how to make positive changes within our districts.”

The training will be offered again this fall, but seats are filling up, and at the WSSDA Annual Conference, seats for Advancing Inclusion are already filled. Interested school directors are encouraged to register as soon as possible. All scheduled trainings can be found at wssda.org/training.