Washington Learns stages bold kickoff

BYLINE: TOM KOENNINGER editor emeritus of The Columbian

Four days after an energetic, rally-like rollout in Seattle, Gov. Chris Gregoire was in Vancouver on Thursday, carrying the torch to ignite an education revolution. The project is "Washington Learns."

It's bold, some would say daring and controversial.

Vancouver was her third stop, after Everett and Tacoma, in a weeklong push for a gutsy program designed to accelerate the learning curve of thousands of Washington students.

It is a 10-year plan to raise education standards and allow the state to be competitive in a global economy. "It's going to cost more," for taxpayers, she told a small crowd at ­Covington Middle School, according to a Columbian story. "But the return on investment has a huge promise."

A 75-member task force spent 15 months studying the education system, and developed five basic principles:

1. Focus attention on early learning, including full-day kindergarten, to develop life-long learning.

2. Improve the teaching of math and science to build a competitive advantage.

3. Customize learning for individuals, improving opportunities.

4. Open workforce training to everyone.

5, Make the education system accountable for results.

All levels of education affected

It seemed more like a pep rally before the big game as 500 to 600 people gathered on a blustery Monday morning Nov. 13 at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center above the waterfront in Seattle.

And maybe that's how Washington Learns can be characterized -- as a retrofit to all levels of public education in Washington. Educators at all of those levels, as well as school board members and regents, were present for the official recommendations of the Washington Learns task force.

The Roosevelt High School Jazz Band performed after the doors opened at 8:30. Outside, school classified and public service union representatives held large placards and offered handouts not kindly disposed to the project. Main theme: "Governor's education committee fails to fix broken school funding system." The literature called for "state funding of school security, technology and student health services" under the Basic Education Act. The Seattle-Post Intelligencer said the "Learns" study fails to deal with "short-changed funding" for public schools. State. Rep. Glenn Anderson said the task force did not come up with a funding plan.

The crowd buzz stilled as Microsoft's Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, stepped to the podium. While he said he is proud to live in Washington, he is not proud of its public schools. He cited sobering statistics: "Washington has the third lowest college entrance rate in the country; only 74 percent of our ninth graders graduate from high school in four years; in 2004, kindergarten teachers reported that fewer than half of their students came to kindergarten ready to learn."

He mentioned two high-quality education programs: One is "High Tech High" in San Diego. The second is the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP), which he said is a charter school program serving 11,000 students in low-income communities across the nation. This state prohibits charter schools.

Gates said the governor, Legislature and Washington Learns Committee "appear ready to take the lead in changing our schools."

Gov. Gregoire followed Gates with praise for teachers, and a call to education excellence. "Thank you for all you do for our children," she said, adding, "I believe we have the talented, committed educators ... what we lack is a modern education system for them to work in."

Gov. Gregoire said her next budget will reflect a "down payment" on ­Washington Learns recommendations. That enthusiastic, pro-education crowd gave Gates and Gregoire standing ovations.

Tom Koenninger is editor emeritus of The Columbian. His column of personal opinion appears on the Other Opinions page each Wednesday. Reach him at tom.koenninger@columbian.com.