Education Lab

Education Lab

Shoreline City Council candidate resigns from CRISTA Ministries over perceived anti-LGBTQ stance

A longtime Shoreline resident, David Chen said he decided to resign as CRISTA’s vice president and general counsel after trying — and failing — to advocate for LGBTQ+ students at King's Schools.

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About Education Lab

Education Lab is a project of the Seattle Times that spotlights promising approaches to persistent challenges in public education. Our team reports on issues like improving school discipline, parent education, math instruction and more. Our goal? To connect parents, students and educators to drive innovative solutions.

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Funding

A bus for the Washoe County School District, in Reno picks up a group of kids from an afternoon program to return them to a shelter near downtown Reno where their families have temporary housing. Federal law requires school districts to bus homeless students to their preferred school, no matter the distance or expense. In Reno, the Washoe County School District has found providing that stable school environment for homeless students helped them graduate at nearly twice the rate of homeless students who move from school to school. Photographed on January 22, 2019. 209436 209436 (Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times)

Why districts spend millions to keep homeless students in place: ‘Changing schools is the last thing we want’  VIEW

Equity

New test scores show Washington students far from proficiency goals set in English, math, science

Teacher Diversity

Illustration by Jennifer Luxton / The Seattle Times

Why are 89% of Washington teachers white?

Higher Education

Students signed up for the Sept. 7 SAT test at Franklin High School found this sign taped to the school’s front doors.

Students left scrambling after SAT unexpectedly canceled twice at Franklin High School in Seattle

Special Education

Paraeducator Tiffany Moritz assists Nataly Cruz, 9, with her end of the year animal research project in Ms. Olivera’s classroom on Friday, June 7, 2019, at Martin Luther King Elementary, 2000 S. 18th St. in Union Gap, Wash. 210469 (Amanda Ray, Yakima Herald-Republic)

Washington state has big plans for its 25,500 paraeducators, who earn about half the salary of an average teacher

Tools & Resources

Could you go to college tuition-free in Washington? Here’s how to find out

New law may make it easier for people to become teachers in Washington state

Special Education Glossary, Part 1

Special Education Glossary, Part 2

Three ways you can advocate for students with disabilities and special education in Washington state

Guest Essays

Clear Sky gave me the Native community I lacked — now the program needs to be saved

Ignite Education Lab 2019

Speakers, from left, Noah Matisse, Kimberly Harden, Victoria Mott, Ricky Robertson, Tracy Castro-Gill, Kari O’Driscoll, Ryan Healy, Gillian Elliott, Raul Sanchez, Imani Razat, emcee Nathan Gibbs-Bowling, and Shannon Hitch are pictured during the Ignite Education Lab event at Seattle University, Monday, March 11, 2019 in Seattle.

Watch: 11 stories about teaching, learning and growth

Education Lab Interesting Questions

Which education question do you want us to answer? Vote here until May 3

Local news, local impact

See how The Seattle Times impacts our community, one story at a time.

Education Lab en español

Teacher Jeremi Oliver talks to students about how to resolve issues with others among other things during his exploration class at the Academy for Creating Excellence at South Shore K-8 in Seattle Tuesday, July 16, 2019. About two dozen young men of color have been spending their summer at the academy as part of a four-week leadership academy to help rising eighth-graders prepare for their final year at the school and for adolescence in general. The daily schedule includes a morning huddle and exploration of tough topics — like what it means to be a man in today’s world — followed by a STEM class introducing students to flying drones, a health and wellness fitness course and more. 210876

Ed Lab en español: Por qué Washington empezó a prestarle más atención a sus 25.500 paraeducadores

Discipline

Trump officials cancel Obama-era policy on school discipline

The Trump administration has formally scrapped an Obama-era policy that was meant to curb racial discrimination in schools but that became tangled in a national debate over school safety. Officials from the Education and Justice departments finalized the rollback Friday, just days after it was proposed by a federal panel on school safety. President Donald...