Sunday, November 8, 2026
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Free speech is canceled in Olympia, Washington. Brian Heywood, founder of Let’s Go Washington, was scheduled to attend ...
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When you hear the name “Death Dancer,” what images come to mind? Perhaps Walt Disney’s dancing skeletons from ...
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By Rachel Benton
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9/30/26
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The City of Lacey is facing competing arguments over Home Energy ...
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Throughout the week, I found myself giving way to nostalgia for my days as a choir student. I loved performing in our annual ...
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By Rachel Benton
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5/15/26
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About a week ago, Visitor Services and Marketing Manager Lauren Richards, of the Olympia Arts & Heritage Alliance (Oly AHA) ...
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Throughout my K-12 education, I would occasionally have classmates with special needs who would spend a majority of their time with their ...
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On Sunday, Feb. 22, the Thurston County Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will be hosting a ...
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Have you ever been to a Ballet Northwest production and thought that the graphic and set designs were ...
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By Rachel Benton
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1/20/26
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Have you ever been to the Owl’s Nest Cafe and seen the murals on the walls? How about the Underhill Plant Shop or Thurston County ...
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Our world is chaotic right now, and hate is running amok. My own personal anger about it all felt very fiery this week, and the thing that calmed me ...
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Shannon Sankstone is an Olympia-based special education advocate and the owner of Advocacy Unlocked . She may be reached at ShannonSankstone@theJOLTnews.com .
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7/18/25
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Summer is here, and my brain is fried. As a teacher, my “year” followed the school calendar, not the Gregorian staple everyone else ...
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By Shannon Sankstone
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7/3/25
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Tysha Tolefree, Vice President for Finance and Operations at South Puget Sound Community College, was selected for an Aspen ...
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Dear Advocate,
I just got my child’s Individualized Educational Program (IEP) progress report, and I’m honestly confused. For most of the goals, it has no data, and then has …
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By Shannon Sankstone
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6/16/25
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As the summer sun shines, I find myself looking back to the rainy days of the Pacific Northwest, to a school year that left me drained and ...
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By Shannon Sankstone
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6/9/25
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Individualized Educational Program (IEP) meetings can feel like a blur of goals, data collection, evaluation findings, service minutes, mysterious acronyms and educational ...
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By Shannon Sankstone
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6/2/25
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The flowers are blooming. The sky is blue. The birds are chirping.
And if you’re a parent of a child in special education, it’s time to prepare for ...
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By Shannon Sankstone
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5/26/25
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Here I am in May, writing in the hopes that my and your October is a little calmer and happier. Despite being monikered Shantober (it’s my birthday month) ...
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By Shannon Sankstone
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5/19/25
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Hope springs eternal … and readers, it is SPRING! SPRING should always be in all caps, in my opinion. And you know what is really giving me hope lately?
I’m seeing more and …
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By Shannon Sankstone
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5/9/25
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A Thurston county mom of a fifth grader and I recently reviewed a draft of her daughter’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). The mother, Stacie Billings (not her real name), understood ...
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By Shannon Sankstone
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4/25/25
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