The Puget Sound College & Career Network at PSESD was selected as the King County Promise System Supporting Organization. King County Promise is a bold, public-private partnership to increase equity in college access and success for historically underserved students in King County. The goals of King County Promise and the role of the System Supporting Organization closely align to PSESD’s End: Success for Each Child and Eliminate the Opportunity Gap by Leading with Racial Equity.

PSCCN in partnership with WSAC is hosting a virtual Financial Aid 201 workshop. The workshop covers important things adults need to know when advising students and families on financial aid verification, appeals and award letters. Completing and submitting the FAFSA or WASFA is the first step for students to access financial aid for their postsecondary education. Students selected for verification will need to provide documentation to ensure information reports on the FAFSA or WASFA is correct and all students must complete and submit their financial aid award letter to the institution they plan to attend to receive financial aid.

Naveed joins the team as a PSCCN Manager in March to facilitate collective efforts to improve equity in postsecondary access and success. Here's a bit about Naveed: Naveed is an equity-driven, innovative leader, and social justice advocate with 8+ years of experience working with students and families in various communities in Pierce and King County. Naveed is joining us from The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department (TPCHD) where he led health equity efforts in COVID-19 community engagement, participatory budgeting & planning, and youth leadership/advocacy.

Have you been looking for some funding opportunities for both students and educators? PSCCN has your back. In case you missed these postings when we first published them in the newsletter, you still have time to put in your application. Here is a list of a few opportunities:

Applications are now being accepted for the "Ellison Education Grants". Grants are intended for K-12 public school teachers in Washington State.  The Ellison foundation has awarded 52 grants and $218,000 to Washington State teachers the past four years.  The Ellison Foundation will award grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 in the spring of 2021

PSCCN is excited to announce our 2021 Postsecondary Transition Demonstration Project. From February - November 2021, PSCCN will facilitate two separate partnerships. Each partnership comprised of 1 district partner and 1-2 community and technical college partners. The PSCCN Demonstration Project will be focused on significantly improving equity in college access and completion student outcomes for the class of 2021. Over this 10 month period PSCCN will work closely with each partnership, guiding them through a continuous improvement framework, while leveraging internal strategies and resources, and build on mutually beneficial data that supports postsecondary access and success.

WSOS supports students with flexible financial aid and student support services such as mentorship, professional development and networking. WSOS helps students achieve success from their first day on campus to the launch of their professional careers in Washington state.

December is a good month for students to finalize their financial aid application. To support your work with students, here are a few reminders for the senior class:

Financial Aid: Students will soon start receiving acceptance letters. Help your students explore financial aid and scholarships packages at the colleges they have applied. This will give them a good grasp of how much they can save because aid packages differ from one school to the next. 

Within the Puget Sound College & Career Network (PSCCN) at the Puget Sound Educational Service District, we believe that all young people have unfathomable brilliance that we should cultivate and uplift. It is with their creativity, passion, and vision that we will address the systemic injustices and inequalities facing us today. Local students want an education beyond high school; in fact a recent survey revealed that 95% of students surveyed want postsecondary education.