Career Connect NW

✔️Teachers: Register for Summer "Clock Hour" Opportunities now!
Join us in August for this 3-day in-person professional development:

Teachers for the People: Grounding Indigenous Ways of Being using the Cultural Responsive Framework on August 4-6, 2026 from 10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at Skagit Valley College.

Register on pdEnroller course #205758 for 15 Equity Clock Hours: https://www.pdenroller.org/nwesd/catalog/205758
Registration costs $150 for three days and lunch.

Details:
Whether you are beginning your journey in culturally responsive education or seeking to deepen existing practices, Teachers for the People: Grounding Indigenous Ways of Being Using the Culturally Responsive Framework experience is an opportunity to learn, reflect, and grow alongside colleagues committed to creating more equitable educational experiences for all students.

Questions: Contact Vanessa Woo at [email protected]
NWESD 189

At our recent High School & Beyond Community of Practice event, we held a feedback session so educators could offer thoughts on The Washington State Board of Education's FutureReady initiative to revise Washington's high school graduation requirements. You can read more about the FutureReady session on our blog to see the discussion points (https://www.nwesd.org/news/hsb-futureready-2026/).

You can also learn more about the initiative at the FutureReady site, including opportunities to register for upcoming webinars on July 8 and 9th that detail the proposed changes:
https://sbe.wa.gov/our-work/futureready

FutureReady FutureReady is an initiative aimed at updating Washington State high school graduation requirements to better prepare students for the future. The goal is to empower students with the essential knowledge and skills they need to thrive in a changing world, while streamlining the graduation requiremen...

Check out our Career Connect NW June 2026 e-Newsletter to find summer professional development and clock-hour options, a recap of the High School & Beyond Community of Practice convening, and what we've been up to lately!

Source:

Career Connect NW June 2026 e-Newsletter - Spring Highlights & Summer Opportunities! Career connect northwest logo with green and purple letters and green trees e-Newsletter June 2026 Employer Zap, women in her 30s with long blonde hair, helping two maie students age 14 create a power battery pack on a desk. Second photos is a women in late teens with a yellow hardhat building a she...

Thank you to Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) for presenting at the High School & Beyond Community of Practice on May 28! The session inspired educators who work with students on their High School and Beyond Plans to dive deeper into the data SchooLinks (the universal HSBP Platform) provides and to engage with students to help them find customized opportunities to explore careers.

They also mentioned SchooLinks training sessions coming up in the fall for Course Planner and more, as the platform continues to be implemented and expanded across the region.

You can read more about their session on our blog:
https://www.nwesd.org/news/ospi-hsb-2026/

Time to Celebrate! It was just announced that three schools in the NWESD 189 region are the recipients of the 2026 Ellison Education Grants. Congratulations are in order!

⭐Lorlei Medina (Allen School) at Burlington-Edison School District
⭐Carrie Franco (Whittier Elementary) at Everett Public Schools.WA
⭐Lizbeth Davis (Madison Elementary) at Mount Vernon School District

Learn more about the Ellison Foundation and how they support public-school educators in Washington state at https://ellison-foundation.org/ellison-education. Feeling inspired? Applications for the 2027- 2028 school year will open in January of 2027.

It's been a little over one week since we hosted the High School & Beyond Community of Practice on May 28 at the Mount Vernon Library Commons conference center with more than 100 attendees from public schools, private schools, tribal schools, school district representatives, post-secondary institutions, non-profits, community organizations, and state agencies.

Thank you so much to the wonderful presenters from Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), The Washington State Board of Education, Washington School Counselor Association WSCA, Skagit Valley College, Whatcom Community College, Bellingham Technical College, Everett Community College, Washington School Information Processing Cooperative (WSIPC), and NWESD 189.

Did you miss it? Did you attend and want to read the highlights and access resource links? Check out our blog:
https://www.nwesd.org/news/hsb-convening-may-2026/

Futures Northwest and Compass 2 Campus are inviting high school juniors and seniors (class of 26/27) to "College Experience Day" at Western Washington University on August 11, 2026!
Learn about this free summer program and fill out the application below by July 15.
http://bit.ly/4x8V8fR See less

There is still time to tell middle and high school students to sign up for Whatcom Community College's free GenCyber Cybersecurity Workshop Series! Registration is open until June 5 at 4 pm.

Students are welcome to register for a single day, any combination of days, or the entire series. Please note that space is limited to 24 students per session, and spots fill up quickly.

Workshop Details:

Time: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM each day
Capacity: 24 students per session
Cost: Free
Daily Schedule & Topics:

June 12: Staying Safe Online
June 15: Protecting Your Secrets
June 16: Navigating Networks

Registration Form: & more info: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=xe3XIeLgtEO2gQWXHNAtNdFQ_bMa8jRCho5Kpm0qL1pUOVVLNUFQUzMwV0lMRlJDN0w4RVdPOVVCUy4u

Thanks for offering such a wonderful event. It was a great turnout!

One room. So many partners committed to the future of maritime workforce development.

Yesterday’s Maritime Workforce Forum brought together leaders from ports, education, industry, labor, and workforce organizations from across the state to discuss how we strengthen shipbuilding and repair capacity for the future.

Huge thanks to the Center of Excellence for Marine Manufacturing & Technology and the Port of Bellingham for creating space for these important conversations and partnerships.

We’re excited for what comes next.