Change the world. Change our schools.

Telling truths and dispelling myths about education is what Kati Haycock, from The Education Trust, does extremely well. Kati makes a very persuasive case for why we need to raise standards higher for all kids of all races.

Chances are that if you hear Kati speak, you will be moved to action.  And that is what is needed if we want to really give our kids-all of our kids-as many opportunities as possible to succeed in life. 

Our state’s education system is currently at an important crossroads. Not everyone realizes that right now we are in the process of deciding whether or not we should update (and yes, raise) high school graduation requirements to better align with the expectations of post-secondary education. 

Sounds like a no-brainer given the new realities of the changing work force and the knowledge economy that surrounds us. Not to mention the fact that every young adult should have the choice of going to community college or university. But, change is not easy.

While we have made real progress in the last decade, there is no getting around the fact that too many kids are still struggling and losing out on key opportunities.

We need more parents and concerned citizens engaged, demanding change, and communicating with policy makers.  That is why the League of Education Voters Foundation is bringing Kati out to Seattle.  We could not think of a better person to come rally the troops than Kati or a better time to do it than now. 

You won’t want to miss this important conversation with one of the nation’s leading education reform advocates.  Eric Liu, one of our State Board of Education members, will moderate and help put Kati’s recommendations in the context of things we can do right here, right now to create more opportunities for all of Washington’s kids.

Join us and together we will discuss bold solutions to ensure that every student will have the opportunity to build the future they desire.

Kati Haycock and Eric Liu (view the invite)
Monday, April 28 from 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Seattle Public Library, Microsoft Auditorium
The event is free and open to the public.
Please RSVP by Friday, April 25^th.

It is time to pay attention to the State Board of Education.  This group, which used to be not very relevant, is now a force to be reckoned with.

I’d argue that their work and the work of the Basic Education Task Force (a.k.a the Grimm Commission) will profoundly impact class room realities and student outcomes for years to come.

The State Board members are thinking deeply (and soon they will be acting) about system reforms.  They seem to be united around the goal that all kids graduate from high school with maximum options to succeed in life.  They do not want to move to a system where there would be different kinds of diplomas for different kinds of kids.

Here is the short-hand version of where the State Board is headed:

1. Meaningful diploma
2. Multiple pathways
3. No unfunded mandates

Board members are listening hard.  Like me, several have become new, strong CTE (Career and Technical Education) converts.  The fact that they are looking ahead to implementation and resource issues is refreshing.

Education policy does matter.  If you go to the State Board website, you will find all kinds of presentations and meeting notes.

Know that the State Board is on a fast-track to drive some important system reforms.  Board members feel the same urgency that we do.  James Kelly, President of the Urban League, hit the nail on the head when he said “we need to do the right thing for kids; waiting is not the right thing.”

Asking a 50-something person who doesn’t “blog” (and until recently didn’t know what one was) to write one seems awfully risky. But the younger, hipper LEVitators assigned me a topic they knew I would bite on–tomorrow’s school levy elections. The reality is that I got infected by the school levy virus back in 1996 when Seattle failed its operating levy, and I have been fairly obsessed with wanting to help other districts pass their funding measures ever since. One example is our Levy Library. Check it out and be sure to send us samples from your last campaign.

It is a strange system we have in Washington, where existing operating levies for schools have to be re-approved by local voters every few years. Until recently, those renewal levies needed an undemocratic supermajority of 60 percent to pass. After the passage of “simple majority” last fall, school districts all across the state are breathing easier. But hopefully school districts are not getting lazy and taking their voters for granted. They still need to get voters’ permission to just keep up the current level of spending, much less ask for more, and they have to prove that they are spending tax dollars wisely.

Bonds have always been tougher sells and they still need 60 percent approval to pass.

• 13 districts have a bond measure on tomorrow’s ballot
• 12 districts have a capital levy
• 35 school districts have operating levies up for renewal

One district (Renton) has all three.

Here is the link to the complete list.

These last few hours before the vote counts come in are nerve wracking. You wonder whether you have done everything possible to remind your voters what is at stake. But the decision–including the important one about whether enough people will even bother to mail in a ballot or show up to cast a vote–is out of your hands.

One thing is for certain. Every vote counts. Remember our over-time simple majority win. Schools are unfortunately used to winning and losing these ballot measures by just a handful of votes. I am just hoping that voters all over the state do the right thing tomorrow and say yes to investing in kids and schools.