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Home / Washington Business - January/February 2007 / Edging toward education reform |
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Edging toward education reform |
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Written On: January/February 2007 |
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Written By: by Paul Schlienz |
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Washington may be on the verge of an unprecedented era of education reform.
In November 2006, after 18 months of deliberation, the 13-member Washington Learns steering committee chaired by Gov. Chris Gregoire released a sweeping package of recommendations for improving Washington’s education system over the next 10 years. The report’s core recommendations call for investing in early learning so that children will become lifelong learners, improving math and science instruction to ensure that Washington’s citizens have a competitive edge in the global economy, giving every student a chance to succeed by personalizing learning, offering college and workforce training for all Washingtonians, and holding the system accountable for results.
"There was a total consensus that in a new global economy, the most important ingredient of any state or nation’s ability to compete is its workforce," said Denny Heck, a member of the committee with wide governmental experience, including a stint as Gov. Booth Gardner’s chief of staff, 10 years as head of TVW, and a career in the Legislature. "How good a job we do educating people is a prerequisite to being able to compete."
Washington Learns’ recommendations, hammered out by its steering committee in cooperation with advisory committees that looked at early learning, K-12 and higher education, include offering full-day kindergarten at all public schools; establishing a voluntary, five-star rating system for child care and early-education programs; lowering class sizes in kindergarten through third grade; upgrading and standardizing math and science curricula; establishing more scholarships for math and science instructors; creating a Washington Learns scholarship program for low-income students who would be identified during the seventh grade; regularly assessing Washington’s teacher salaries in comparison to other states; increasing state support to public colleges and universities and capping annual tuition increases at 7 percent; and developing recommendations to change the K-12 funding formula by December 2008.
"Of particular note is [Washington Learns’] Math and Science Initiative, which is exemplary in its scope and focus," stated Rep. Glenn Anderson, R-Fall City, a member of the Washington Learns committee. "A 'Manhattan Project' approach across our educational system on this issue is imperative, and the Washington Learns recommendations take us in that direction."
A question of funding
While reactions to Washington Learns’ goals have been largely positive, questions remain unanswered as to how the recommendations would be funded. Washington Learns is the outgrowth of SB 5441, which was passed by the Legislature in 2005. The bill created the Washington Learns committee and directed it to develop recommendations about how the state can best provide funding for student learning.
The lack of specifics on funding in the Washington Learns report troubled Anderson, who issued a minority report detailing his concerns, in the form of a letter to Gov. Gregoire.
"The report fails to deal in a significant way with any of the major issues surrounding the state’s current K-12 finance system and to recommend ways to address the problems identified in previous studies and current discussions," Anderson stated. "These issues were crying to be addressed by the study with the resources at the disposal of this one. But they were not."
Estimates of the actual costs of implementing the Washington Learns plan vary greatly. According to Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson, the plan carries a price tag of $1 billion, which she has submitted as a proposal to the governor.
"This can’t all be done in one year, and it will cost a lot of money," AWB’s Mellani McAleenan observed. "There are estimates of down payments of $100 million all the way up to $600 million. Realistically, it may be $300 million to $400 million. The realistic step will be to figure out request legislation for this year—this will come from the governor—and then it will go through the legislative process."
Ball in the Legislature’s court
Although Washington Learns’ goals appear to be widely supported, the report itself does not have the force of law. Numerous reports on both the state and national level are issued, but remain largely unimplemented by lawmakers. Early indications are, however, that the Washington Learns report may do more than just gather dust.
On Dec. 12, Gov. Gregoire unveiled a proposed budget with heavy emphasis on combating math and science illiteracy. Reflecting Washington Learns’ priorities, the budget would allocate a total of $169.9 million into math and science education. Among the items the budget would fund are initiatives to reduce class size; bring hands-on science learning into 1,000 additional K-8 classrooms in Washington; attract private sector resources to support the instructional material, software and hardware used in math and science education; provide help for struggling students; establish $28 million in math and science scholarships for eligible students; provide a $10,000 bonus to math and science teachers who pass their national certification; and recruit 750 additional math and science teachers who are qualified to teach both subjects.
Over the coming weeks, Gregoire is expected to unveil further budget priorities for education funding, including K-3 class size reductions and all-day kindergarten.
Heck is optimistic about the Washington Learns agenda’s prospects in the Legislature.
"The governor has declared war on math and science illiteracy," Heck said. "This initiative sprang directly from the Washington Learns report. The day before she unveiled her budget, I would have said 'We’ll see.' if you had asked me about the likelihood of the Washington Learns agenda being enacted. Now, I have little doubt. The governor is taking the ball and running with it. There’s one place you don’t want to be, and that’s between Gov. Gregoire with the ball in her hands and the goal line."
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