I heard that a statewide strategic plan to close the African American achievement gap was being developed and it looks like the rumors are true. On Monday, the advisory committee of HB 2722 (passed unanimously last session), was created. According to the bill, the committee will:
- Conduct a detailed analysis of the achievement gap for African-American students;
- examine the extent to which current initiatives address the needs of African-American students;
- craft a strategic plan with school and community-based strategies to improve educational outcomes for African-American students;
- and develop performance improvement measures and benchmarks to monitor progress.
The
Center for the Improvement of Student Learning is charged with convening the advisory committee and implementing the bill. And the following star-studded group was appointed by the Speaker of the House, the Lieutenant Governor, and State Sup. Terry Bergeson to develop this plan:
- Mona Bailey, Center for Educational Renewal and Institute for Educational Inquiry at UW
- Trish Millines Dziko, Technology Access Foundation
- Dr. Dexter Gordon, University of Puget Sound
- Dr. Thelma Jackson, Foresight Consultants
- Erin Jones, Spokane Public Schools
- Nate Miles, Eli Lilly and Company
- Lee Newgent, Seattle Building and Construction Trades Council
- Sheley Secrest, Seattle NAACP
- Dr. James Smith, City University
- Diane Turner, Federal Way Public Schools
- Doug Wheeler, Zion Preparatory Academy
- Deborah Wilds, College Success Foundation
Rosalund Jenkins and Adie Simmons will also represent the Commission on African American Affairs and the Education Ombudsman’s Office, respectively.
I think this a great idea. Our state really does need to get organized and have a collective strategy if we’re to ever cover any significant ground on this issue. But the cynic in me wonders if even this best-of-the-best committee will be able to come up with a plan to crack this hard-shelled nut plaguing us nationwide. An interesting article from the News Tribune talks about the achievement gap in a very basic way (acknowledging that it is, of course, actually complicated) and calls out the scary “f-word” as a main culprit…funding.
My gut tells me we’ll be hearing more and more about education funding in the coming months. Hold on to your seats.
But I am glad something is being done at a state level and a plan is definitely a good start. So come on, advisory committee...beat the cynic out of me for good!
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