ESN has released its suggestions for the upcoming years in education called A+ Washington: A Way Forward for All Students. With this plan, ESN has crafted aspirational, yet achievable, strategies to spark change in Washington’s P-16 education system, to be implemented over a six-year time period. Our intent is to build a system in which every Washington student has an excellent start, attends an excellent school, is taught by an excellent teacher, and achieves at high levels.
We recognize our state is experiencing a deep and persistent recession, resulting in budget cuts and job losses. People and organizations are challenged by the economy and its implications, yet with such challenges come great opportunities for change.
Washington urgently needs to take action to improve education and eliminate opportunity gaps. These investments will result in a skilled, knowledgeable workforce and new job creation. We need comprehensive and realistic strategies that will prepare all Washington students for the future. We need strategies that will define what our state and the education community can do together to prepare children for school, improve high school graduation rates, send more children to community colleges and universities, and provide the opportunity for all students to achieve their best futures.
We need to move fast and do as much as we can, as quickly as possible. With the support of parents, educators, advocates, and business and community leaders, we can create a future that every child deserves. Our children cannot wait, and neither can their future employers.
Building on Work Already Done
Since 2009, Washington legislators passed three key bills that A+ Washington intends to build on. House Bill 2261 established a new definition of “basic education” and a pathway for education reform in the state. It also expanded the school day, established a transparent school funding model, and developed an accountability system. House Bill 2776, passed in 2010, addresses the technical details of HB 2261—specifically the development of a new funding formula around a funding model that sets numeric values for average class sizes and phases in class-size reductions and all-day kindergarten. Also in 2010, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 6696, which calls for the implementation of key provisions and reforms designed to accelerate student learning, improve educator performance, and track college-readiness by developing a robust accountability system and adopting Common Core State Standards.
Many Washington organizations, individuals, and studies have argued for changes to the P-16 education system. There have been calls to improve teaching and learning, particularly around closing the opportunity gap between and among students of color and white students, and between students from places with few financial and educational resources and students from more affluent places. Similarly, accurate and consistent data systems and analysis have been identified as helping better monitor and hold accountable those responsible for educating our students.
We are realists and we understand the political and fiscal realities of our time. These strategies build on the hard work and policy direction of recent legislatures and the critical policy work already underway. It extends beyond that work to identify specific strategies and phases, including low- or no-cost actions our state can take now to improve educational outcomes. We also identify which recommended strategies will require new legislative authority or funding.
Funding Will Be Required to Achieve Our Vision & Desired Outcomes
Turning this vision into reality and achieving the benchmarks will require adequate state funding, as well as new ways of delivering education to our young people. The Legislature has already provided funding for some of the Strategic Actions; others will require new revenue. For a summary of the range of funding that will be required for statewide implementation of A+ Washington, please see the full report.
It Will Take the Whole Community, With Clear Roles for Everyone
Making A+ Washington a reality will take everyone’s help – the Legislature, state agencies, school directors and administrators, educators, parents, community members, and students. These strategies focus on the role of state government in creating educational improvement, particularly on legislative policy action, funding, and education agency implementation. Yet we know that school districts and schools are where it all happens – and these recommendations will affect how schools are governed and managed. We also know that change can start at the local level, and we encourage such innovation and the establishment of local examples highlighting successful policies, programs, and practices that can be scaled up at the state level.
Statewide Dialogue
As a coalition, we know part of our role is to hold a statewide discussion about the steps called for in each strategy. To broaden the input, we will reach out across the state to parents, educators, students, community members, advocates, business leaders, and elected officials.
We would like to stress that A+ Washington represents our best thinking at this time, incorporating and balancing the feedback we’ve received to date. It is our intention that this is a working, living document – though its platform of reform is clearly centered on five broad strategies. We expect the document and diversity of support will become stronger the more we hear and learn from others.
Educators Are Valued
ESN greatly values our educator workforce. Teachers, administrators, and parents are the life blood of our educational system. In crafting these strategies, we have drawn on feedback from many educators and policymakers as well as our respectful and nuanced understanding of the complex issues and challenges facing our education system and the people who work in it.
Defining Responsibilities
In the specific strategies outlined, ESN has identified who the responsible entities are for achieving successful outcomes. By responsible entity, we mean the lead entity that must take initial action, particularly at the state level, to make these changes happen. ESN also recognizes that in fully implementing these actions, all levels—from the Legislature and state agencies to school districts and school boards to educators, parents, and students—will need to be involved if we are to succeed.
Read ESN’s full plan as a PDF:
A+ Washington: A Way Forward for All Students [English]
A+ Washington: A Way Forward for All Students [Spanish]
