CCNW e-Newsletter

December 2025

High school students built scaffolding, created load-bearing boats out of tin foil, tied nautical knots, and learned about power lines – only a few of the many hands-on activities they participated in while gaining new experiences that just might shape their future.

At this year’s annual Washington Apprenticeship Vocational Education (WAVE) Tour event held October 21-23, 2025, students had the opportunity to learn about careers in the Construction, Industrial and Maritime Trades which collectively represent a top career sector in our communities.

Career Connect NW connects industry, education, and
community partners to
meet career development
needs of Northwest
Washington’s youth in
an equitable and
accessible way. 

We focus on increasing awareness and access to High Wage/High Demand
career opportunities in the 5-county region.

We use data to ensure we are connecting young people to careers in an equitable way, including people who are historically underrepresented in
STEM fields, students of color, women, students living in rural areas, and students living in poverty.  

NW Education & Workforce Council and presenters gather at Squalicum Boathouse in Bellingham; photo courtesy of Port of Bellingham, Community Outreach Specialist Andrew Silverman

On October 9, leaders from education and workforce development across the Northwest Workforce Council’s region of Island, San Juan, Skagit, and Whatcom counties came together for the NW Education & Workforce Coalition Fall Convening — a powerful gathering focused on connection, alignment, and collective action to create a more integrated education and workforce system in NW Washington.

Facilitated by Career Connect NW Director Jenny Veltri and graciously hosted by the Port of Bellingham's Economic Development division, the convening kicked off by considering coalition goals, aims, and the results from the Coalition priority survey. Partners are most interested in opportunities to collaborate regarding Career Pathway Development & Alignment, Work-based Learning & Employer Engagement, and Data/Technology Systems.

Read more about the convening and presenters on our blog!

CCNW hosted the High School & Beyond Community of Practice: Connections that Count, on Nov. 5 via Zoom. Close to 90 educators attended to hear about school districts implementing SchooLinks through the Implementation Share-Out Panel, financial aid updates from FuturesNW, Western Washington University’s new Guaranteed Admission program, and CTE Dual Credit Proviso and Database design team. 

Read more about the sessions & access the recordings on the HS&B COP Resource Library.  

Career Connect NW's Donovan Tate presenting at Anacortes High School on September 29, 2025; photo courtesy of Molly Huggins, AHS.

This fall, approximately 480 Skagit County high school students received an opportunity to learn more about apprenticeships thanks to “Apprenticeship 101” sessions. Facilitated by Career Connect NW (CCNW)’s Career Connected Learning Specialist Donovan Tate, this ever-evolving presentation seeks to help students understand a range of topics related to the apprenticeship training model.

Read more about the community impacts the Apprenticeship 101 program has had around the region! 

Several Members of the Teachers for the People Program Advisory Team  Left to Right: Kati Ortiz (Skagit Valley College), Adam Kay (Highlight Group Inc), Vanessa Woo (NWESD/CCNW), and Ana Mendoza (NWESD 189)

At NWESD 189, we believe that diversifying the education workforce starts with preparing teachers who understand the power of community, identity, and belonging. The Teachers for the People Program (TPP) is one way we’re doing just that—by designing learning experiences that center Indigenous knowledge, relationships, and ways of teaching.

Four key units were collaboratively built and piloted this fall. Read more!

October 13: Gates Foundation Collaboration 

CCNW team members joined partners from across Washington at a Gates Foundation Grantee Collaboration Meeting to share updates about initiatives in education. The convening featured rich discussions and on key efforts, including High School & Beyond Plan, CTE Dual Credit, Elevating student priorities, Financial Aid Outreach, the Washington College Grant, and Higher Education funding. 

Left to right: Jenny Veltri (CCNW), Bish Paul (Gates Foundation), Sinead Fitzpatrick Plagge (CCNW), Liz Trautman (Stand for Children Washington), Jayme Shoun (Washington STEM), Chanel Hall (Technology Alliance)

October 15: NW Workforce Council Business Focus Group

CCNW attended the Northwest Workforce Council's Focus Group on October 15 at the Squalicum Boathouse in Bellingham. Conversations centered on WorkSource and Workforce, accessing services, training programs, and removing barriers for businesses seeking to hire qualified candidates. Participants in the group represented jobs & training in healthcare, homecare, IT, construction, maritime, and marine trades.

Business leaders at NWC Focus Group

October 23: LEADER Fall Convening 

Leaders from across Washington state gathered at ESD 105 in Yakima, WA for the LEADER Fall Convening, facilitated by Education Northwest and supported through College Spark. A day dedicated to strengthening our collective capacity to advance equity in education, the CCNW team was excited to share updates about NWESD’s Teachers for the People program! The convening closed with renewed energy, shared purpose, and a clear commitment to continuing this important work together. 

Back row left to right: Vanessa Woo (CCNW) and Denise Crowe (Samish Indian Nation). Front row left to right: Jenny Veltri (CCNW) and Darin Knapp (PSESD 121) 

October 28-29:Jobs for the Future Pathways to Prosperity National Institute

CCNW participated in this Jobs for the Future-hosted community of practice in Phoenix, AZ, attending sessions on topics critical to the design of pathways systems including secondary and postsecondary alignment, work-based learning, education-industry partnerships, career navigation, intermediary development, and policies that support pathways. 

Left to right: Bill Belden (SBCTC), Paula Perryman (Olympia School District),Kimberly Ingram (SBCTC),  Krista Fox (OSPI), Keri Lobdell (Columbia Basin College), Sinead Fitzpatrick Plagge (CCNW), Amunoo Tembo (SBCTC)

November 6: Community Partner Support

CCNW participated in FuturesNW Learning with Leaders event at Skagit Valley College guide leading high school students who chose Advanced Manufacturing & Design for their career exploration sessions.

Students learned about Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Machining, Computer Aided Design (CAD), and participated in an accelerated ping pong & pipe activity led by knowledgeable SVC instructors and Janicki Industries!  

Volunteers waiting for students to arrive at the Learning with Leaders event at Skagit Valley College

SkillsUSA - Looking for Job Interview Judges February 7, 2026

Are you interested in being a Job Interview Judge at the SkillsUSA competition? Mock Job Interview judges are needed so students can practice sharing their skills. Anyone interested in supporting students in their career journey can be a mock interview judge! Information on how to judge the interview will be provided to you. 

Career Connected Learning with Society of Women Engineers

Our community partner Society of Women Engineers (SWE) in western Washington are interested in connecting with students ages 5 to 18 years old in schools and clubs to offer career exploration, STEM nights participation, and organizing field trips to industry partners! 

Seeking Mentors: If you are an engineering major and are interested in becoming a mentor for SWE and inspiring students ages 5-18 to explore science, technology, engineering, and math, this could be a great opportunity for you as well. 

Western Washington University’s Guaranteed Admission Program

This new program offers eligible seniors at participating high schools direct admission to  Western — no application and no fee required. Program requirements include: 

Read more about this program that is removing barriers for students!

Looking for Clock Hours?

February 19, 2026: High School & Beyond (HS&B) Community of Practice: Strengthening Family Engagement. Virtual event. Register in pdEnroller. Two Clock Hours available. 

May 28, 2026 Save the Date: High School & Beyond (HS&B) Community of Practice. Location TBD & Clock Hours available. 

CAMI Course: Earn 24 💥FREE💥 Equity Clock Hours when you register for Coaching and Mentoring and Coaching Institute (CAMI) to explore your identity as a cultural being to understand how your beliefs, actions, and behaviors influence students, families, and colleagues from around the NWESD 189 region. Open to all educators! 

Dates: Starts December 16, 2025 and ends May 26, 2026, with 8 total sessions

Location: 6 Virtual/Zoom sessions, 2 in-person

Time: 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm 

Session Topics: The CAMI Course Flyer lists session topics and dates. Course offered through CAMI, NWESD 189, and Washington Education Association (WEA). Questions? Contact Vanessa Woo at vwoo@nwesd.org

Register on WEA-WIN.  

Exploring Healthcare Careers: Student Pathways Canvas course helps educators, paraeducators, counselors, teachers, and advisors in 7-12 grades (middle/high school) gain awareness around career paths to better support students interested in pursuing healthcare careers. Course completion offers an opportunity to purchase 2 clock hours in Equity or STEM.

Guiding High School Students: Resume 101 Workshop Canvas course prepares advisors, educators, counselors, and teachers to help students build a modern resume. This asynchronous course is a resource for anyone helping students with resumes, and includes resume templates for students, slides to use in the classroom, and up-to-date information on how technology such as AI and Applicant Tracking Systems impact resume writing. Course completion offers an opportunity to purchase 5 STEM clock hours. This is a great resource if your school doesn’t have SchooLinks implemented yet! OSPI’s High School & Beyond Plan requires students to build a resume or an activity log by the end of 12th grade.

Cybersecurity PD: Free Microsoft SC-900 Security, Compliance and Identity Fundamentals cert prep for educators. 

Educators are invited to join a no-cost, two-part SC-900 Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals training sponsored by Microsoft. The sessions cover core security, compliance, and identity concepts, introduce Microsoft cloud solutions, and provide guidance on using Microsoft Learn for Educators resources, including labs and official courseware. Training is delivered by a Microsoft Certified Trainer from Black Dog Black Cat.

If you are having an event and would like us to share it widely, you can enter your event in this form. We review each event and then add them to our "Upcoming Events" webpage tab and the next newsletter. It makes it easier to for people see what's happening in the region and when! 

Thank you for reading our newsletter! To learn more, visit our website: www.nwesd.org/ccnw

Sign up for the Career Connect NW e-newsletter here! 

©Career Connect NW Network. All Rights Reserved. 

Career Connect NW

Northwest Educational Service District 189

1601 R Avenue, Anacortes, WA 98221 US