Will Washington state be able to avert a constitutional crisis? The Legislature is in contempt of court only days away from the new legislative session. On the 2015 agenda our leaders must fund a few billion dollars for education.
Our democracy is directly affected by the competence and confidence of our children. Children need all of us to establish a learning environment in which they can prosper, inside and outside of the school day! Adults are responsible to provide an academic culture where students will be successful.
To that end, we must achieve the following:
Pay excellent teachers the salaries that they deserve. You get what you pay for. Great teachers deserve higher salaries.
Fund the voter-approved class size reduction initiative so that each classroom teacher can effectively develop the social, emotional and academic growth of students.
Close the achievement gap by keeping buildings open to provide outside-the-school day academic programs, such as Kindergarten Jump Start and Learning Lab for students who need extra instruction to achieve grade level proficiency.
Mandate that school boards have a yearly updated plan to meet the state goal of 100 percent graduation rate.
Reduce learning loss by implementing a balanced calendar, where schools are in session for three months and off for one, during which time additional learning opportunities are provided for academic catch-up, academic competence and better retention of skills to be successful in class and pass Washington State tests.
Provide English language instruction for parents of elementary students to the degree that they are able to support their students through the school journey. This is an equity issue.
Those of us who have dedicated our lives to equity for all students believe the points listed above are essential to achieving educators’ outcome. The Expanded Learning Opportunity Council created by the legislature last year is charged with a vision to “Establish a sustainable, high quality statewide system that integrates learning across the day, the year, and across a student’s life time.”
To this end the Legislature must pass legislation that goes beyond the narrowest possible conception to satisfy McCleary to fully implement the intent of our state constitution to provide basic education for all our kids by incorporating the steps above. Our predecessors who set the foundations for Washington state understood that basic education is the first priority for the long term prosperity and happiness of the citizens. It was true in 1889 and it’s true today. We can afford this, and without necessarily increasing revenue. Legislators need to make the decisions necessary to provide for our kids and the state’s long term prosperity.
Jan Link is the director of Academic Link Outreach, a nonprofit education consulting group.
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