Education Lab

Education Lab
Eva and Ed Gordon in an undated photo.

$10 million gift from 105-year-old heads to Washington’s community colleges

Eva Gordon was a private woman and a savvy investor. Her gift goes to 17 Washington community colleges.

Top Education Lab Stories

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

It takes 7,200 students before Washington state will pay for a middle school’s nurse. How much will it cost to change that?

Lawmakers just added billions to the state's K-12 budget to satisfy a Supreme Court order. Will they add billions more for nurses, social workers and psychologists?

Equity

A kindergartner colors in Miss Jessie’s class at Washington’s newest charter school, Ashé Preparatory Academy in Kent, Thursday, August 29, 2019. The school opened its doors this week to an inaugural class of kindergarten through second-grade and sixth-grade students. The school designed its curriculum off a philosophical concept from the Yoruba of Nigeria in West Africa, with teachers encouraged to let students guide their own learning based on their individual learning styles. The first batch of teachers — all of one of whom are people of color — create their own school culture. Ashé took over the shuttered campus of the Green Dot charter school in Kent after struggling to find any facilities in Skyway. 211318

What can we learn from Washington’s recent charter-school closures?

Teacher Diversity

Illustration by Jennifer Luxton / The Seattle Times

Why are 89% of Washington teachers white?

Higher Education

Eva and Ed Gordon in an undated photo.

$10 million gift from 105-year-old heads to Washington’s community colleges

Special Education

A Seattle treatment center closes its doors to foster children, adding to debate over how Washington cares for them

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

Fund For The Needy changes lives

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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...