About LEV
The League of Education Voters works to create an education system in which every student has an equal and adequate opportunity to succeed in work and in life. Washington’s children are our first and most important constituents.
Citizen-founded and citizen-funded, LEV is the only Washington-based organization working to improve education from early learning through higher education. This wide lens allows us to identify promising reforms across the spectrum of education and unite diverse constituencies who might otherwise remain focused on narrow agendas.
Shaping the Debate
As an independent voice for children, LEV is recognized as a source of credible, nonpartisan information and evidence-based policy reforms. Our research and publications present complex information in a way that is fair, accessible, and useful for making informed decisions about improving student outcomes. Parents, policy makers, and the media turn to our publications to understand the state of education in Washington and gain practical insights for improvements.
Building Powerful Coalitions
In 2008, LEV brought together communities that have not traditionally collaborated on education reform by convening a new coalition called Excellent Schools Now. The coalition includes more than 20 organizations representing communities of faith, educators, business groups, civil rights organizations and communities of color. Coalition members who represent thousands of Washingtonians are learning to speak with once voice on behalf of all of school children.
Growing the Grassroots
LEV knows that real reform will only occur when public demand generates the political will to move forward. LEV and our field team are creating change from the ground up by building and knitting together a grassroots network of local education activists and community leaders and supporting their efforts to improve their schools.
Our Story
We started almost a decade ago as a small ragtag group of levy chairs, school directors, and citizens who shared the common goals of improving and adequately funding our public schools. Instead of being overwhelmed by the task of reforming our education system, this tenacious group of K–12 advocates stuck together, expanded their focus to include early learning and higher education, and went on to form the League of Education Voters and LEV Foundation.
It’s a story of taking risks and courageous stands. It’s a story of loyal supporters and funders who are driven by a singular passion for quality public education. It’s a story of how a tiny research staff cranks out respected and widely used publications and how a growing cadre of organizers is lighting the kind of grassroots fire we need to build public demand.
And it’s the story of how a small nonprofit organization can help shape the education debate in Washington State by relentlessly and effectively pushing for systemic change. It’s the story of how much can be accomplished when you partner with others, listen, strategize, and stay focused on what is best for kids.
It’s a story that’s still developing as we in Washington, and we as a nation, build a movement for change to ensure that all kids have the education and skills necessary to succeed in a new age.
Accomplishments
Since its founding in 2001, the League of Education Voters (LEV) and its sister organization, LEV Foundation, have brought citizens together to create real change for Washington’s students. Our work has:
Expanded the debate to encompass early learning through higher education
LEV and LEV Foundation were an original voice advancing the conversation about preschool through college (P-16) educational reform. With support from advocates and policymakers, Washington is creating a more integrated, seamless education system by expanding access to early learning to increase school readiness, enhancing teacher education and professional development, improving college readiness, and increasing postsecondary opportunities. Focusing on the full spectrum of learning is the key to preparing all children for college, work, and life.
Redefined basic education
LEV and LEV Foundation played a principal role in redefining basic education based on the answers to one key question: what will it take to prepare all students for college, work, and life? The final Basic Education Finance Task Force’s proposal to the state legislature and subsequent legislation included many of LEV Foundation’s recommendations.
Made the case that change is necessary-and possible
LEV Foundation published its biennial Citizens’ Report Card on Washington State Education (2006, 2007, 2009), which grades the state’s progress in five key areas spanning early learning through higher education. These and other LEV Foundation reports have brought attention to the deficiencies in our system and demonstrated that hope lies in achievable reforms.
Helped win Simple Majority for school levies and increased school funding
With support from LEV, the Washington Education Association, the PTA, and others, the Washington State Constitution was amended in 2007 to allow school levies to pass by a simple majority vote. In 2008, 56 levies passed as a result, providing nearly $220 million in school funding and benefiting more than 156,000 students.
View a timeline of LEV and LEV Foundation’s accomplishments.
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