Welcome to Washington!*
Well, I suppose for you it’s “the other Washington,” although with temperatures like these, you might be hard pressed to tell the difference. I know you’ve also taken your fair share of heat from non-weather related events in the past week. Seems some folks aren’t very happy with Race to the Top. They even referred to your boss as “anti-child.” Which is weird, since he has a couple of kids himself.
In the state of Washington, Race to the Top has driven some pretty important changes to our education system; we will soon have a new four-tiered teacher evaluation system, tenure is a three year process rather than two, and we’ve expanded the ways folks can enter the teaching profession. We’ve finally given the state some authority to intervene in low-performing schools, erasing the legislative barrier to accountability. Hopefully your trip to Washington will give you a chance to learn more about our work here to improve student achievement and close the achievement gap. We’ve submitted a Race to the Top application, so you’ll get more familiar with us one way or another.
Here are a few things you may want to ask about:
- What is the next step in the state’s reform agenda? And how will it specifically address the state’s chronic – and growing – achievement gap?
- What is being done to ensure college-readiness for our high school graduates? Currently our remediation rates are well above the Mariner’s winning percentage.
- When will parents have more options for their kids in underperforming schools?
- How does Washington incentivize schools and districts to improve student outcomes?
There’s more. But this should be plenty to get the conversation going. Thank you for your leadership. Try the salmon. Maybe you’ll stay.
Chris Korsmo
Executive Director
League of Education Voters
* Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will be speaking at Aviation High School in Des Moines today at 2pm.
