Education Lab

Education Lab

As need soars, schools rally behind families in Vancouver, Wash. — and other cities take notice

Brianna Fortner, left, a junior at Hudson’s Bay High in Vancouver, Wash., shows off a dress she got from the Family-Community Resource Center and that she planned on wearing to prom. The center’s coordinator worked with local businesses to get the dresses and salon services donated to students who can’t afford them. (Mike Siegel/The Seattle Times)
Brianna Fortner, left, a junior at Hudson's Bay High in Vancouver, Wash., shows off a dress she got from the Family-Community Resource Center and that she planned on wearing to prom. The center's coordinator worked with local businesses to get the dresses and salon services donated to students who can't afford them. (Mike Siegel/The Seattle Times)

As student poverty rates soared in “America’s Vancouver,” school officials converted more than half of the district’s campuses into one-stop shops for low-income and homeless families.

Siblings Wiqaa Haider Salih Al Jubeer, left and her brother Mohammed Haider Salih Al Jubeer listen to instructions during a graduation ceremony practice at Foster High School on Wednesday. At Foster High, nearly 200 graduating seniors rehearse graduation ceremony procedures prior to graduation this Sunday. Muslim families and students raised some concern about having to miss celebrations for the religious holiday Eid al-Fitr, which is an important religious holiday that marks the end of Ramadan so the school combined all practicing for graduation to one long day. Photographed on June 13, 2018.

Faith and finals: King County schools adapt to growing Muslim population

Some schools have rescheduled prom, adjusted their testing schedules or made other accommodations to help fasting students. It's part of a trend in recent years of schools adopting more inclusive policies for religious minorities.  VIEW

The Drumheller fountain is seen in front of a tent set up for a welcoming event for students at the University of Washington, in Seattle, where the campus is starting to fill up, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. Orientation events have been happening for undergraduate and graduate students, leading up to classes officially starting on Wednesday. 203620

Study: UW’s transfer student initiatives a model for other schools

The University of Washington's policies to help transfer students succeed were highlighted in a new report that lays out some of the best ways to help community college graduates earn four-year degrees.

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After incoming freshmen and their families attend a welcome night assembly at West Seattle High School Thursday, August 31, 2017, before classes officially start Sept. 6, they gather at the school for ice cream and were able to talk to teachers and staff. Parents and students met the new principal and teachers and staff spoke at an assembly. The school, with nearly $1.4 million from the city, has focused on reinventing the ninth-grade experience to provide more supports — early and often — to prevent any freshmen from failing even one course.

How high schools break up the ‘9th-grade bottleneck’ to help students graduate on time

Representatives work on the House floor during discussion of a bill to fully fund education in Washington state at the Capitol Friday, June 30, 2017, in Olympia, Wash. Details of a new two-year state operating budget were released Friday, the same day Washington lawmakers must vote on the plan in order to prevent a partial government shutdown. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

In sprawling McCleary fix, lawmakers may resurrect inequities in Washington schools

Fourth grade math teacher Scott Ashmore at Olympic Elementary in Chehalis checks out on his students’ discussion during a class project at the school Wednesday, March 29, 2017. Students are: L – R Kallie Hitch, 9; Ashaun Wheaton, 10; Peyton Gibbs, 9; Deseree Abrams, 10. The Chehalis school district is remaking its public school system to try to get more kids to go to college. With the help of two rich philanthropists who went to school in Chehalis and made good, the district has done a comprehensive study of its strengths and weaknesses. It’s partnering with the local community college, Centralia College, to get more students to attend and finish college. The philanthropists behind it think it could be a model for the state.

Just 20% of kids got 4-year degrees, so Chehalis schools changed everything

Seventh-graders Renat Sidorko (left) and Brett McGlone (right) consider how to measure and calculate speed using distance and time during their 7th grade science class at the Federal Way Public Academy. A low number of low-income and minority students are enrolled in typical advanced learning courses but the Federal Way School District is bucking that trend. TAF Academy – Federal Way High School – Federal Way Public Academy

Gifted programs across Washington leave out black and Latino students — but Federal Way is one model for change  VIEW

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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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Equity

Esmy Farias, family-community resource center coordinator for Vancouver Public Schools at Discovery Middle School, talks to a group of visiting educators from around the northwest interested in the FCRC program. At left is a pantry and supplies for students in need. In Vancouver Washington, between 2005 and 2015, student poverty rates in their public schools rose from just about a third to more than 50 percent. The district responded by creating new family-community resource centers, which serve as a safe and secure space for students whose families struggle to provide basic needs like food, medical care and stable housing. FCRC coordinators now work at 18 schools where poverty is most concentrated in the district and connect those families to the agencies and services they need so students and teachers can focus on learning in the classroom. Photographed on May 10, 2018

As need soars, schools rally behind families in Vancouver, Wash. — and other cities take notice

Funding

Kent School District levy passing by five votes; most other King County measures passing

All the King County school districts had at least one passing levy or bond measure, except for Tahoma, whose three levies were all failing.

Education Lab IQ

OLYMPIA 090314 Plaintiff Stephanie McCleary, center, and her son Carter McCleary, 15, left, and Kelsey McCleary, 20, right, attend the show-cause hearing Wednesday where the Washington Supreme Court heard arguments over whether it should sanction state lawmakers for failing to make enough progress toward adequately funding public education. 141291

What does it mean to fully fund education?

Guest Essays

For the third year in a row, The Seattle Times is inviting a group of public high school and college students from around the state to write stories from their perspectives. This is (most of) the class of 2018.

Meet the students writing about education and housing insecurity in Washington

Higher Education

Americans owe three times as much for student loans as they did a decade ago

A new study shows who owes the most money on their student loans, and where they live across the nation. Washington residents fare well compared to the national average.

Discipline

School stats: Lesbian, bisexual girls face higher odds of being suspended or expelled

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Education Lab Interesting Questions

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

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