Pre-ETS Educational Outreach

The Pre-ETS team continues to build relationships with educators and school staff across the state by attending IEP Meetings, attending school outreach events, and presenting at Transition Roundups. The team also works side-by-side with their partners at the Washington State School for the Blind (WSSB) to support students and families and to seek opportunities for collaboration and workshop development. The partnership with WSSB ensures that DSB customers can attend Short Courses at the school which present youth with a different Pre-ETS focus each month for a week of in-person instruction away from their home school district.

The Pre-ETS team, along with professionals from across the region, recently attended a strategic planning and feedback session with Portland State University. Discussions centered on recent financial impacts to PSU and program adjustments being made, improving outreach efforts to share out the programs that are offered by PSU, the benefits that enrolling in these training programs provide, and providing examples of real-world impacts for future work with Pre-ETS students. There was also discussion on ways that DSB can further partner with PSU to develop pathways for graduates to support Vocational Rehab agencies in OR and WA, and how to get more youth hooked into opportunities with PSU for those considering Special Education as their post-high school pathway.

In March 2026, the Pre-ETS team co-facilitated two breakout training sessions at the Pacific Northwest Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (PNWAERBVI) conference in Ellensburg, WA. This conference is one of the largest gatherings of professionals, educators, rehabilitation staff and organizations who support the Blind, Deafblind and Low-Vision students in the region. These sessions focused on exploring the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC), as well as centering conversations around early interventions for students with secondary disabilities or conditions and its impact on their skill-building growth and school transition. The presentations also focused on the ability for students to be served through case coordination between DSB, Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), and Developmental Disabilities and Community Services (DDCS) to ensure all the students’ needs are met. These sessions were amongst the most attended at the conference and have served as a launch point for future conversations and collaborations with the Pre-ETS program.