Greetings!

It's Spring Break in my son's district, and he is beyond relieved that his school science fair is in the rear-view mirror. That being said, he proudly wears the t-shirt he earned for his Rainbow Walking Water project. Next on the docket comes the Smarter Balanced tests to see how he is doing, compared to his 3rd-grade peers around the state.

Student advocate Maite Cruz and Seattle Public Schools clinical specialist Rachel Madding rocked the house at our Spring Luncheon March 29th! Check out photos and a film explaining more about what we do, featuring some of our good friends. Photo (c) Brandon Patoc

Curious about how we did for our kids this year in the State Capitol? Check out this great recap of the 2018 Legislative Session by Daniel Zavala, our Director of Policy and Government Relations, and what it means for early childhood education, K-12, and higher ed.

Washington state is continuing the process of revising student discipline regulations to set limits on the use of long-term suspension or expulsion, require districts to provide educational services during any suspension or expulsion, and require family engagement and due process for students subject to disciplinary action.

In our free webinar April 17 at 12:30pm, Vanessa Hernandez from ACLU Washington and a representative from Team Child will describe the latest proposed changes in student discipline rules, how you can provide input on the rules, and answer your questions.

One of our primary strategies is to build a highly-effective, diverse, and well-compensated instructional workforce that can meet every student’s needs.

Our blog highlights the Resiliency Conference in Everett, which brought together about 500 teachers, administrators, and parents to learn how to better support children who have experienced trauma. Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, a national expert on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), presented an inspirational and informative keynote address. 

We recently surveyed principals in Washington state to better understand what new and emerging issues their schools and communities are facing. Aside from demographic details, our survey was limited to three main questions:

1. How urgent are issues such as achievement/opportunity gaps, student supports, teacher supply, college readiness, etc. in your school?
2. What new or different educational issues is your school experiencing?
3. What should we be working on in the next legislative session?

Earlier this year, communities across Washington state voted on local levies to continue funding for enrichment programs and capital projects at district schools. League of Education Voters State Field Director Kelly Munn presents election results and her analysis, accompanied by a cool interactive map by Jacob Vela, our Senior Policy Analyst.