LW School Board Director Doug Eglington usually gives a governmental affairs report at school board meetings.
from the desk of David Powell, Policy Director, Stand for Children/Washington...
Legislative session isn't over yet -- our lawmakers are still hammering out the details of the state budget -- but we have some big wins to celebrate with you!
What worked:
Our top priority, better teacher and principal evaluations, was signed into law on March 8, 2012.
New teacher and principal evaluations will offer meaningful feedback for educators. The new evaluation system (SB 5895) will:
>>Build on the teacher and principal evaluation pilot programs currently underway in 16 districts.
>>Use a four tier system (instead of the old satisfactory/unsatisfactory rating) to provide meaningful feedback.
>>Match professional development opportunities with individual needs.
>>Consider student learning improvement as one factor in evaluations.
>>Ensure that evaluations consider multiple factors and not just test scores.
>>Consider evaluations in hiring, firing and placement decisions.
We also worked together with coalition partners to: Read More >>
Expand the WaKIDS program, helping teachers and families work together to make sure every kid is ready to learn when they reach kindergarten (SB 5427).
Support full funding for Basic Education and for improvements such as teacher mentoring, full-day kindergarten, and training on the new teacher/principal evaluation system.
Defeat bills that would have lowered expectations for our students by decreasing graduation requirements and eliminating assessments (HB 2231/SB 6314/HB 2411).
Support levy equalization so that every school district receives equitable financial support from the state.
Establish affordable, high-quality early learning for all children (HB 2448/SB 6449). Although these bills did not pass, we will continue to support universal early learning in the future.
Support proposals to allow more innovation and flexibility in school administration and curriculum, including public non-profit charter schools (HB 2428/SB 6202). Although the public charter schools bill did not pass this session, we expect the conversation on charters to continue next year.
What's next?
Budget. When the budget is finalized we will send out another legislative update with details on education funding. Last week, Senate Republicans proposed a revised version of their budget, which, like the House budget, has no cuts to K-12 education. That's good news for the negotiations happening in Olympia.
A+ Washington. Together with the Excellent Schools Now coalition, we are supporting the recently-released
A+ Washington plan to improve education for all our kids. We encourage you to study the A+ Washington proposals, and attend one of the Town Hall meetings in your area. Click here to learn more.
We want your opinion. In the next few months, we will be asking you to help prioritize our legislative agenda for next year. Your input on policy priorities helps shape our endorsement process for the upcoming elections and will determine how we use our resources next session.
It takes all of us --parents, teachers, business leaders and communities --working together to build a better education system for all our kids. Thank you for all that you do.
Standing with you,
Dave Powell
Policy Director
Stand for Children - Washington
Legislative session isn't over yet -- our lawmakers are still hammering out the details of the state budget -- but we have some big wins to celebrate with you!
What worked:
Our top priority, better teacher and principal evaluations, was signed into law on March 8, 2012.
New teacher and principal evaluations will offer meaningful feedback for educators. The new evaluation system (SB 5895) will:
>>Build on the teacher and principal evaluation pilot programs currently underway in 16 districts.
>>Use a four tier system (instead of the old satisfactory/unsatisfactory rating) to provide meaningful feedback.
>>Match professional development opportunities with individual needs.
>>Consider student learning improvement as one factor in evaluations.
>>Ensure that evaluations consider multiple factors and not just test scores.
>>Consider evaluations in hiring, firing and placement decisions.
We also worked together with coalition partners to: Read More >>
Expand the WaKIDS program, helping teachers and families work together to make sure every kid is ready to learn when they reach kindergarten (SB 5427).
Support full funding for Basic Education and for improvements such as teacher mentoring, full-day kindergarten, and training on the new teacher/principal evaluation system.
Defeat bills that would have lowered expectations for our students by decreasing graduation requirements and eliminating assessments (HB 2231/SB 6314/HB 2411).
Support levy equalization so that every school district receives equitable financial support from the state.
Establish affordable, high-quality early learning for all children (HB 2448/SB 6449). Although these bills did not pass, we will continue to support universal early learning in the future.
Support proposals to allow more innovation and flexibility in school administration and curriculum, including public non-profit charter schools (HB 2428/SB 6202). Although the public charter schools bill did not pass this session, we expect the conversation on charters to continue next year.
What's next?
Budget. When the budget is finalized we will send out another legislative update with details on education funding. Last week, Senate Republicans proposed a revised version of their budget, which, like the House budget, has no cuts to K-12 education. That's good news for the negotiations happening in Olympia.
A+ Washington. Together with the Excellent Schools Now coalition, we are supporting the recently-released
A+ Washington plan to improve education for all our kids. We encourage you to study the A+ Washington proposals, and attend one of the Town Hall meetings in your area. Click here to learn more.
We want your opinion. In the next few months, we will be asking you to help prioritize our legislative agenda for next year. Your input on policy priorities helps shape our endorsement process for the upcoming elections and will determine how we use our resources next session.
It takes all of us --parents, teachers, business leaders and communities --working together to build a better education system for all our kids. Thank you for all that you do.
Standing with you,
Dave Powell
Policy Director
Stand for Children - Washington
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