In our Putting Students First podcast, we interview students, policymakers, partners, and thought leaders to spotlight education policies, research, and practices so that together we can create learning environments where every Washington student feels safe, supported, and a positive sense of belonging.
In this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Arik Korman interviews Yale School of Management professor Ebony Reed, a seasoned journalist who is also the Chief Strategy Officer at The Marshall Project, a news outlet focused on the justice system, who discusses the intersection of race and money, how the current Black/white wealth gap compares to the gap after the Civil War, and how we should talk to our kids about wealth. Ebony’s new book, co-authored with Louise Story, is Fifteen Cents on the Dollar: How Americans Made the Black-White Wealth Gap.
In our Putting Students First podcast, we interview students, policymakers, partners, and thought leaders to spotlight education policies, research, and practices so that together we can create learning environments where every Washington student feels safe, supported, and a positive sense of belonging.
In this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Arik Korman interviews game-changing disability rights attorney Bill Dussault, who discusses how Washington state’s special education law came to be, how Washington’s law impacted federal policy and the creation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, what needs to happen next with Washington’s special education system, and what we in the community can do to help make the necessary changes happen.
In our Putting Students First podcast, we interview students, policymakers, partners, and thought leaders to spotlight education policies, research, and practices so that together we can create learning environments where every Washington student feels safe, supported, and a positive sense of belonging.
In this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Arik Korman interviews Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, New York Times bestselling author and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia University, who discusses whether you can be a fan of consumer sports like the NFL and still criticize them, how we can disrupt America’s systemic racism, unchecked capitalism, and mass incarceration, and why it’s important to value and respect the leadership of our youth.
The Washington state House and Senate have released their 2024 supplemental budget proposals. The 2024 supplemental budget makes adjustments to the 2023-25 biennial budget and impacts funding for the remainder of the biennium, which ends in June of 2025. The amounts below are in addition to funds that have already been appropriated in the 2023-25 budget. Read More
Every year, we must ask: how are our students experiencing their education? The ongoing impacts of the pandemic, alongside the persisting traumas that accompany racism and injustice in our state, continue to affect students’ abilities to learn and feel like a meaningful part of their community.
School should be a place where every child first and foremost feels safe, included, and that their identities and abilities are valued, supported, and affirmed. When our students are well and truly experience their education in this way, then they are better set up for success in school, in work, and in life.
League of Education Voters is committed to creating the right system conditions to make big educational changes students will experience at the school level.
Together, we must do this by urgently addressing the systemic and structural barriers in Washington schools that further inequity among students and limit our ability to get every child what they need, when they need it. In particular, we must focus on community-driven solutions to support students and families who have been historically and systemically underserved – including students of color, students living in poverty, students receiving special education services and students with disabilities, students learning English, students who identify as LGBTQ+, students experiencing homelessness, and students impacted by trauma.
Together, we can work to create the conditions for meaningful change and build better systems for the future of Washington students and families.
WHY STUDENT SUPPORTS AND SCHOOL CLIMATE ARE IMPORTANT
Students from Summit Atlas Public School
Students learn most effectively when their school feels safe, inclusive, supportive, and respectful (1). Creating positive school climates and providing student supports can mitigate the impact of trauma (2), mental health needs (3), and other non-academic factors that affect a student’s ability to engage in learning (4). It is instrumental in closing opportunity and achievement gaps in our system and improving student outcomes.
The creation of supportive and safe schools includes strategies such as Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), tiered systems of support, partnerships with families, partnerships with community-based organizations, and providing access to mental health services, among others. Between 50-80% of students in need of mental health services do not have access (5), and schools are likely the first point of access for many students that do seek services (6,7). School climate reform strategies have been shown to decrease school violence and bullying, increase academic achievement, and improve the school experience for students, staff, and families (8). The implementation of universal SEL programs have also been shown to result in significant academic gains (9,10) as well as a robust return on investment of $11 for every $1 spent (11).
Moreover, the traumas that students have undergone as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic make the need for schoolwide mental health and SEL support even more urgent (12), especially among communities of color who are disproportionately experiencing the impacts of COVID-19, as well as the added traumas of racism and discrimination (13). Read More
In our Putting Students First podcast, we interview policymakers, partners, and thought leaders to spotlight education policies, research, and practices so that together we can create a brighter future for every Washington student.
In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman interviews Mark Follman, National Affairs Editor for Mother Jones, who discusses which supports and warning signs could prevent mass shootings, how to keep bias out of the threat assessment process, and how to know when is the right time to intervene. Mark’s new book is Trigger Points: Inside the Mission to Stop Mass Shootings in America.
In our Putting Students First podcast, we interview policymakers, partners, and thought leaders to spotlight education policies, research, and practices so that together we can create a brighter future for every Washington student.
Destigmatizing mental health is more than just saying the words, and it’s going to take significant steps.
Ruby Coulson is a Junior at Sequim High School, Sequim School District, National Leader through 4-H, and Committee Member on Legislative Affairs for the Washington state Legislative Youth Advisory Council (LYAC)
The Washington state Legislative Youth Advisory Council (LYAC) worked with Representative Jesse Johnson (D-30), Representative Lisa Callan (D-5), and Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos (D-37) to implement a new mental health bill, House Bill 1834. 1834’s goal is to implement more excused mental health days for K-12 education and set up more comprehensive support for students requesting these days. LYAC has always been a leading advocate for youth mental health priorities, working with legislators in the 2020-21 year to pass House Bill 1373, a bill that requires that every public school website publish contact information for suicide prevention, crisis intervention, depression and anxiety, eating disorders, and substance abuse. It passed with resounding support, with only six nays in the House out of 98. LYAC is a group of economically, politically, geographically, and socially diverse young people lobbying for causes ranging from K-12 Education to Climate and Conservation. The reach of LYAC expands from Western Washington in the 24th district to Spokane in the 4th district, and we actively work to include as much youth voice as possible in our legislative actions. Read More
In our Putting Students First podcast, we interview policymakers, partners, and thought leaders to spotlight education policies, research, and practices so that together we can create a brighter future for every Washington student.
In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman interviews 2022 Washington state Teacher of the Year Jerad Koepp about what supports Native American students need, what worked and didn’t work in his own educational journey, and how he would change our education system if there were no budgetary constraints.
In our Putting Students First podcast, we interview policymakers, partners, and thought leaders to spotlight education policies, research, and practices so that together we can create a brighter future for every Washington student.
In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman interviews adult-child interaction specialist Betty Peralta about what social-emotional learning (SEL) is, how students, teachers, and administrators can benefit from SEL, how the state can support SEL in Washington’s 295 school districts, how parents can advocate for SEL in their student’s classroom, and more.
Betty recently led a training on social-emotional learning for educators and staff at South Shore PreK-8 in South Seattle, a close partner of League of Education Voters. Betty’s website is AltaVenues.com.
In this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Arik Korman interviews Yale School of Management professor Ebony Reed, a seasoned journalist who is also the Chief Strategy Officer at The Marshall Project, a news outlet focused on the justice system, who discusses the intersection of race and money, how the current Black/white wealth gap compares to the gap after the Civil War, and how we should talk to our kids about wealth. Ebony’s new book, co-authored with Louise Story, is Fifteen Cents on the Dollar: How Americans Made the Black-White Wealth Gap.
In this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Arik Korman interviews game-changing disability rights attorney 
In this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Arik Korman interviews 
The Washington state House and Senate have released their 2024 supplemental budget proposals. The 2024 supplemental budget makes adjustments to the 
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