An advisory group formed by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray has released a list of 18 recommendations for how the city, school district and other organizations can work together to improve the academic achievement of students of color and those from low-income families.
An advisory group formed by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray has released a list of 18 recommendations for how the city, school district and other organizations can work together to improve the academic achievement of students of color and those from low-income families.
Among the recommendations: Expand and enhance before- and after-school and summer programs, increase diversity in the educator workforce, address the needs of homeless students, and add more international schools and dual-language immersion programs.
The group consisted of 32 teachers, city staff, education and community advocates and business leaders. It has met at least once a month since February. The mayor told members he wanted them to be pragmatic and ambitious, and that he didn’t have any preconceived ideas about what they should decide. Meetings were closed to the public.
The recommendations focus on four areas: improving access to learning opportunities and programs, creating more teaching and learning opportunities, providing more family and community support, and strengthening postsecondary access.
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In a news conference Thursday, Murray said he hopes the recommendations will help Seattle Public Schools, the city and community groups move in the same direction.
“This is a way forward,” he said.
The recommendations are the third of four phases of the city’s effort. In the last step, Murray and the school district will develop an action plan by January 2017.
The advisory group crafted the recommendations based on feedback from the mayor’s Education Summit, held last April at Garfield High, as well as 20 community conversations held before that summit and responses to an online survey.
The summit included presentations from education leaders, child development experts and students. More than 500 people attended the all-day event, which was co-chaired by Ron Sims, former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Alaska Airlines President and CEO Brad Tilden; Seattle Central College President Sheila Edwards Lange; and Eckstein Middle School teacher Kristen Bailey-Fogarty.
At Thursday’s news conference, Seattle School Board President Betty Patu said the advisory group meetings were the first time so many people from different groups came together to focus on student outcomes.
“We could all sit down and very specifically look at ‘what can we do?’ ” Patu said.
Then-Mayor Norm Rice convened Seattle’s first education summit in 1990, which led the city to ask taxpayers to support schools through the Families and Education Levy. That levy has been renewed every seven years, and since 2004 has focused on closing achievement gaps. The most recent levy was approved by Seattle voters in 2011.
This post has been corrected. The original version misspelled the name of Seattle Central College President Sheila Edwards Lange.