Update from the PNACAC regarding Portland (Oregon) Public Schools strike

On Sunday, November 26, 2023, a tentative agreement was reached between the teachers’ union (PAT) of the Portland Public Schools (PPS) and the school district. Classes were in session yesterday, Monday, November 27, for the first time since Tuesday, October 31.

Teachers, counselors, and students have many priorities they are juggling as they return to school this week. PNACAC is sending this update to encourage institutions to continue to be flexible whenever possible when working with PPS students. There were numerous deadlines related to college admissions in the past few weeks, as well as a number of upcoming deadlines later this week. Any support you can give students, teachers, and counselors from PPS is in the best interest of students.

May 2020 Special Meeting of the Association

We are proud to have successfully hosted our first-ever virtual membership meeting on May 21, 2020 as a Special Meeting of the Association. Thank you to all members and non-members who attended! Per the requirements to vote during this meeting, we had a quorum of at least 219 members. A recording of the meeting is now posted to our YouTube Channel (as are past webinars; we encourage you to subscribe!) and you can find highlights below.

President's Executive Summary - Claire Nold-Glaser

What a year it has been for all of us. As I mentioned earlier, PNACAC is a village with many people working on moving the association forward. As you may be aware, PNACAC has a Strategic Plan which is currently in the process of being evaluated and updated. We will have the new version ready to share with you in September. For now, I want to share just a bit about the work done by the association over the past year. This is not an inclusive list, but some highlights. ...Read More

Membership Dues Now Free for Public Schools

PNACAC recognizes the vital role that public school counselors and those engaged in college advising in the public school setting play in preparing young people for college. PNACAC's overall membership will be enhanced through an increase in public school membership. There has been a great deal of discussion over the years regarding how PNACAC can engage with the demographic that works with the greatest number of students who are exploring their post-secondary options. This decision was made by the Executive Board of PNACAC to address a long standing membership access issue, and not in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Annual membership for public high schools now only requires a sign-up or renewal process - no dues - and provides access to resources, professional development opportunities, government advocacy efforts and more!

What decision was made?

After years of thought and discussion, the PNACAC Executive Board voted unanimously on March 12, 2020 to allow public school members in the PNACAC region to join or renew their membership at no cost, effective July 1, 2020. The rates for membership dues are located in the Policy and Procedures Manual (PPM). Changes to the PPM must be approved by a vote of the Executive Board.

IMPORTANT CONFERENCE UPDATE FROM THE PNACAC EXECUTIVE BOARD

Due to the COVID-19 virus we've come to the unfortunate decision that we must cancel the 2020 PNACAC Conference, which was to be held May 20 - 22 at the Hilton Vancouver Washington. While we were looking forward to this outstanding professional development event, we feel it is our responsibility to cancel at this time. 

Below are answers to questions you inevitably may have.

Has the conference been canceled? Will it be rescheduled?

The 2020 PNACAC Conference has been canceled. It will not be rescheduled. We look forward to seeing you in Minneapolis for the 2020 NACAC National Conference and at Carroll College in Helena, Montana for the 2021 PNACAC Conference.

Will my registration fee be refunded, including for pre-conference college tours, the counselor's college fair or extra social tickets?

Yes, we will refund full registration fees to the original form of payment for all aspects of the conference.  Please be patient as we process registration fees, as well as refunds for the spring regional college fairs.  All registration fee refunds will be processed before the end of PNACAC's fiscal year, ending June 30, 2020.

I would like to donate my registration fee to the PNACAC Student Scholarship or Professional Development fund, can I do that?

We will be issuing refunds for all fees; however we welcome you to support PNACAC by donating online from our Donation Page as well as see other ways you can support PNACAC. As a registered 501(c3), all donations are tax deductible. We thank you for your interest in supporting these initiatives, students in your region and your colleagues.

Do I need to cancel my hotel reservation? Will I receive a refund?

If you booked within the PNACAC room block, the Hilton Vancouver Washington will cancel all rooms that were booked without charge. Due to limited staff, the Hilton has requested that you do not contact the hotel directly at this time.  You do not need to contact the Hilton Vancouver Washington or cancel your reservation on your own.  You will receive an automatic cancellation email to the address you provided at the time of registration.

If you booked outside of the PNACAC room block, you will need to cancel on your own. Please see "What about other lodging or travel arrangements?" below.

What about other lodging or travel arrangements?

Please refer to the policies regarding the cancellation associated with other reservations, including airline, hotel, car rental or other company. PNACAC is not responsible, nor can we assist with the cancellation of reservations made to attend the conference.

I received a scholarship to attend the PNACAC Conference, is it valid for next year?

Scholarships for the 2020 PNACAC Conference will not transfer to a future event. We appreciate that you applied for, and were successful in receiving a scholarship and encourage you to do so next year. In future PNACAC scholarship applications, you may be asked if you previously received a PNACAC scholarship. You may indicate 'no' in this scenario.

I submitted a session proposal, will I hear if it was accepted or can I present it next year?

We thank you for submitting a session proposal and your willingness to contribute to the conference and the profession. We encourage you to submit a session proposal for our 2021 conference in Helena, Montana. PNACAC is in the process of piloting webinars. If you would be willing to present your session as a webinar, please contact profdev@pnacac.org.

How will PNACAC conduct our annual elections and business meeting?

NACAC has offered assistance through their legal counsel to review our bylaws and Washington law (PNACAC is incorporated in the state of Washington) as it pertains to electronic voting. We will provide further information regarding electronic voting to ensure we can move forward with approving our slate of board officers and committee chairs, including our NACAC delegates, as well as urgent changes to the bylaws in order to comply with the Department of Justice's Consent Decree regarding the anti-trust investigation around the Code of Ethics and Professional Practices (CEPP). We will hold on additional bylaw changes until our business meeting at the 2020 NACAC Conference to be held in Minneapolis later this year.

Will you still award the annual PNACAC recognition awards?

At this time, no nominations have been submitted and we will not move forward with awarding the annual recognition awards this year.

Do you know someone who is going the extra mile and making a difference in a student's life or in the field of education?

You can give them a kudos for recognition in the next newsletter. More information on awards and kudos are online on our Awards and Recognition page.

Will you still be awarding the PNACAC Student Scholarship?

Yes, award recipients will be announced later this spring.

More questions?

If you have additional questions, please contact admin@pnacac.org and we will do our best to provide additional information. Again, we appreciate your patience as we process refunds over the coming weeks.

Coronavirus update for PNACAC Members

We are actively monitoring the guidance provided by NACAC, the CDC, state and local health authorities regarding COVID-19. We know that states in our region have been particularly affected with school districts, colleges and universities closing to ensure the health and safety of their students and staff. As the situation is changing rapidly, we understand that it may be necessary to change, postpone or cancel upcoming events.

COLLEGE FAIRS

The PNACAC spring college fairs in Boise, Seattle, Portland and Spokane have been cancelled. More information will be sent to colleges and universities previously registered for these fairs. If you were planning to attend National ACAC College Fairs this spring, please note communication from NACAC earlier today that all fairs have been cancelled. If you are attending other regional ACAC this spring, please defer to those organizations' websites.