Change the world. Change our schools.


Sign Our Online Petition!
July 18, 2008, 8:59 pm
Filed under: Reform talk

To: Washington State Board of Education

We’re parents, educators, business leaders, kids and others in the community working together to do all we can to improve education in our state.

We believe that a Washington State high school diploma should mean students graduate ready for college, job training and the workforce.

Washington’s high school graduation requirements are outdated and our kids are paying the price:

  • Only 41% of high school graduates meet college entrance requirements in Washington.
  • More than half of firms surveyed reported difficulty finding qualified job applicants in Washington.
  • Our students compete with students from thirty-seven states that have stronger graduation requirements than Washington.

We want the Washington State Board of Education to vote to update our state’s high school diploma at their July 23-24 meeting in Vancouver, WA.

The time is now. Our future depends on all of us.

Sincerely,

Click here to sign our petition


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Join us on the Did You Know Campaign Bus!
July 11, 2008, 10:32 pm
Filed under: Reform talk

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Join students, parents and community leaders on the Did You Know Campaign Bus. Washington’s students are counting on YOU to make your voice heard at the State Board of Education meeting in Vancouver, WA on July 23rd. We’re going to let State Board members know that we expect our kids to be ready for college and careers when they earn a high school diploma in Washington State. Click here to view your invitation to Vancouver. RSVP today!

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Schools across Washington are facing budget cuts
June 25, 2008, 11:42 am
Filed under: Reform talk | Tags:

Posted by Michael

This is the time of year school boards consider what to do about next year’s budget.  Unfortunately, school directors across Washington are facing cuts in order to balance the budget.  This is largely due to a combination of rising costs, inadequate state funding and an outdated education finance system.  The Kitsap Sun wrote an excellent piece about our education funding challenges in Washington State and how this is impacting their local schools.

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Talk to the State Board of Education
May 21, 2008, 1:53 pm
Filed under: State Board of Education | Tags: , ,

Posted by Michael

The Washington State Board of Education will hold 3 community engagement meetings in June to hear your thoughts on high school graduation requirements and accountability.  It’s important that education advocates weigh in at these meetings.

The State Board will consider your feedback when they convene in July to make key decisions about the number of credits Washington’s students need to graduate from high school.  Currently, our state’s minimum high school graduation requirements do not match minimum college admissions requirements.

Luckily, I had a great high school counselor who told me to take 3 years of math, instead of the minimum of 2 to graduate.  But we shouldn’t rely on luck to ensure Washington’s students have the opportunity to go to college or enter the workforce with the skills needed to succeed.

View your school district’s graduation requirements here and compare them to our state’s college admissions requirements.  If they don’t match up, make sure to voice your concerns to your local school board and the State Board of Education.

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Cutoff Day in Olympia
March 7, 2008, 1:14 pm
Filed under: Olympia | Tags:

Posted by Michael, 3/7/2008

We’ve reached cutoff day in Olympia!

Most of the bills I’m tracking for the League of Education Voters have passed the floor of the Senate or House.

Last night, I tuned in to TVW to view floor action in the Senate and House.  Lawmakers were working well past sundown in a rush to approve bills by today’s 5 p.m. deadline. Despite all those extra hours at work, legislators left two important early learning bills to the last minute — HB 3168, creating the new Washington Head Start program, and HB 2449, authorizing collective bargaining authority for child care center directors and workers.  

 

However, at 1:30 p.m. today, I caught Sen. McAuliffe speaking to the good merits of HB 3168.  Her colleagues agreed and voted unanimously to approve the bill to set the stage for the creation of the new Washington Head Start Program. I’m still watching the Senate for action on HB 2449, but I’m discouraged that it hasn’t made it onto the floor calendar as of 2 p.m.  

 

For play-by-play action, watch TVW’s live television feed. 

These include legislation to help students not on track to meet state graduation standards (SB 6673), require the Basic Education Finance Task Force to report back by Dec. 1, 2008 (SB 6879), and expand a program that provides accessible and affordable child care options for students attending our state’s public colleges and universities (HB 2582).

 

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School Levy Elections Benefit from Simple Majority
February 20, 2008, 4:08 pm
Filed under: school levies | Tags: , ,

Posted by Michael

Hundreds of school levy volunteers are breathing a sigh of relief today.

Last night’s levy results show that the education community’s victory in November is making a huge difference for thousands of students across the state.

While many communities continue to approve their levies at rates above the old 60 percent standard, a large number of levies passed thanks to the new 50 percent simple majority requirement.

School leaders, educators, parents and students in places like Kennewick, Ellensburg, and Centralia will not have to brace themselves for a costly and time consuming second levy attempt.  Instead, they can continue to focus on educating students.

We’ll be holding our breath for close elections around the state, especially in Thurston County where the North Thurston, Rochester and Yelm school districts are hovering just below 50 percent.  Late-arriving ballots do tend to favor school levy elections.

For bond elections, the supermajority requirement continues to thwart our schools.  Only two out of five bond proposals are passing as of Tuesday night.  In Lake Chelan, the bond is passing with just over 61 percent.  This shows that every vote is especially important for school bond elections.

While simple majority saved the day for many school districts, the League of Education Voters is confident school supporters will not take this election for granted. 

And we’ve not lost sight on what’s at stake.

A large part of the success of our state’s students and schools comes from levy funding.  That’s because the state continues to NOT fully fund basic education services.

The League of Education Voters would like to see a new K-12 finance system adopted next year that fully funds basic education and returns levies to their intended purpose of funding school enrichment programs.

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