A system of climate learning includes students, educators, administrators, educational leaders, community members, and others across different contexts and from diverse lived experiences. As people begin to foster climate learning within these systems, the work of drawing people together in this work can seem daunting. However, the lessons from…

State Interagency Coordinating Councils (SICCs) play vital roles in decision-making for Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). While parent representatives are required to serve on SICCs, it is unclear how parents participate in the SICC. It is important to understand parent experiences on the SICC given the…

Histories are important, and as such this article begins with a look into how the ClimeTime network, a Washington State science education network, came to learn from (and with) Indigenous partners to design climate education that honors Native climate expertise. The article focuses first on grandmother and mother networks, listening sessions,…

Children enter kindergarten with a wide range of previous education experiences: Some have participated in pre-K programs: private, state-funded, or part of Head Start. Others have spent time in a family child care setting or in informal arrangements with family, friends, and neighbors. Regardless, this transition is fraught with stress and…

Hybrid teacher leadership (HTL)--that is, teachers whose official schedule includes both teaching K-12 students and leading teachers in some capacity--seemed poised to evolve as a more systemic enterprise at the turn of the century; however, implementation has been surprisingly sporadic. In this article, we explore Washington (a state long known…

We investigate factors influencing student sign-ups for Washington State's College Bound Scholarship program and consider whether there is scope for the program to change college enrollment expectations. We find that student characteristics associated with signing the scholarship pledge closely parallel characteristics of low-income students who…

We investigate factors influencing student sign-ups for Washington State's College Bound Scholarship program and consider whether there is scope for the program to change college enrollment expectations. We find that student characteristics associated with signing the scholarship pledge closely parallel characteristics of low-income students who…

Compared to unpaid leave, paid family leave may better help working parents balance the competing needs of job and family early in a child's life, among other advantages. Yet the United States remains one of only two countries in the world without a statutory national paid maternity leave policy, and one of the only high-income countries that…

Indiana, Oklahoma, and Washington each have programs designed to address college enrollment gaps by offering a promise of state-based college financial aid to low-income middle school students in exchange for making a pledge to do well in high school, be a good citizen, not be convicted of a felony, and apply for financial aid to college. Using a…

Community-based education programs must demonstrate effectiveness to various funding sources. The pilot study reported here (funded by CYFAR, NIFA, USDA award #2008-41520-04810) had the goal of determining if state level programs with varied curriculum could use a common evaluation tool to demonstrate efficacy. Results in parenting and youth…

Investment in state incentive policies to support National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) prompt consideration of their distribution and retention. This study examines the results of a state's incentive program for NBCTs, including a targeted bonus for those working in high-poverty schools. A quantitative analysis was conducted of state data…

This project was a response to the changes in the Washington State math assessments for high school students. The creation of an exit exam for Washington State high school students and the expectation that they pass it to graduate has placed tremendous pressure on high schools that struggled with low passing rates on the Washington State math…

This article features the Career Readiness Certificate (CRC) which serves as the founding credential in the six states and one locality in the Career Readiness Certificate Consortium (Tennessee, West Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C.). The Career Readiness Certificate was developed by the small consortium…

In response to the rising demand for market-responsive education reform across the U.S., since 1998 more than twenty states have created Individual Learning or Graduation Plan (ILP/IGP) state policies. Using extensive policy document analyses and stakeholder interview data from four early-adopting ILP/IGP states, the goal of this four-state case…

President Obama is calling for an increase in educational attainment among citizens of the United States (Obama, 2009). Prior to this national call, Washington State recognized the need to increase the educational attainment of its residents to maintain a globally competitive economy. By 2018, 67 percent of jobs in Washington will require a…