Education Lab

Education Lab
Twenty-two first-graders in the Horizon (gifted) program Decatur Elementary School questioned Seattle Mayor Charles Royer this morning. The mayor promised he’d look into some of the- questions they asked, including why Seattle does not have a year- round ice-skating rink.

Seattle Public Schools leans on history to change its gifted education program. Here’s what the archives show.

Over the years, the question facing gifted education has changed from classifying the highest scorers on IQ tests — tests that have been criticized for their narrow scope and cultural bias — to finding the kids who need a challenge in order to thrive.

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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

Brandon Hersey, candidate for the vacant District 7 seat on the Seattle School Board, takes part in a forum, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019 in Seattle. 211114

South Seattle has a new representative on the Seattle School Board: This elementary school teacher

Equity

Do charter schools increase socioeconomic segregation?

New research hints that charter schools add to a growing socioeconomic divide in where students attend school.

Teacher Diversity

Illustration by Jennifer Luxton / The Seattle Times

Why are 89% of Washington teachers white?

Higher Education

Nicollette Roe, an education advocate with the nonprofit Seattle Education Access, talks to student Cathylyn Abuan CQ about financial aid for attend Highline College — they are at Renton Technical College in Renton Tuesday, October 15, 2019. Roe works with a group that reconnects young people who are neither in school or working with the education system. She helps students with deadlines, how to request transcripts, which classes to take for specific degrees — all parts of a foreign language for people unfamiliar with Washington’s tangled system of higher education. 211792

Nearly 19,000 youth in King County are neither working nor in school. How one Seattle nonprofit is changing that.

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...