Focusing on a large study of the implementation of secondary English Language Arts curriculum in California and Washington, we assess how teachers use learning goals to support students developing expert learning practices. Highlighting the value of goal setting to support students' agency in learning to write, we describe teachers' reasons for…

This doctoral research study examined how professional-technical faculty experienced their onboarding and support as they transitioned from industry into teaching. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eleven professional-technical instructors who were within their first five years of full-time employment at a two-year community college…

Among all in-school factors that impact student learning, teachers carry the most weight -- but school leaders are not far behind. Decades of research have proven the positive influence principals can have on student achievement, school climate and teaching quality. New evidence suggests that their impact may be even greater than previously…

In 2019, the Legislature passed House Bill 1599, which established graduation pathways as a requirement for graduation. These pathways must be aligned with a student's postsecondary goals as described in their High School and Beyond Plan. This report includes the unique pathway options, a data summary, and disaggregated pathway completion data for…

2018 was a difficult year for Washington state school librarians. The state's changes in the funding formula for school districts coupled with new regulations on how the money was spent caused many districts to react harshly and reduce certified school librarian and library support staff positions. Unfortunately, school librarians are always at…

The Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm is centuries old, but its focus on student-centered learning is cutting edge. When the Gonzaga University library was asked to collaborate with an online graduate studies department, the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm provided the guiding framework. The first principle of Ignatian pedagogy is Context, which…

The Legislature established the Graduation: A Team Effort (GATE) Advisory (originally known as Building Bridges Workgroup) in 2007 to keep all students visible and on track to graduate from high school. The state's ongoing engagement and reengagement efforts are based on the three major recommendations of the original Building Bridges Workgroup:…

In this dissertation, I build on scholarship on antiracist, culturally sustaining, translingual and ecological theories in composition studies to argue that equitable, accessible pedagogies affirm students' role as co-creators in producing knowledge alongside their peers and instructors and that antiracist ecological frameworks can aid writing…

The purpose of this study was to understand a school-based mentoring model that uses school staff as adult mentors. This study presents existing literature on school-based mentoring models along with a case study of one teen parent high school. The report also includes step-by-step guidance for implementation. At the case study school, all school…

The Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) engaged with BERK Consulting to conduct twelve focus groups with adult learners across the state in 2022. Funded by the Lumina Foundation, the study focuses on populations furthest from educational opportunities, including those from racial and ethnic groups with the lowest attainment levels;…

Research generally finds that college students are more likely to complete a program of study if they choose a major that aligns with their interests and goals. Yet many new community college students do not have clear goals. Nearly 40% of community college students report being undecided about their major at the end of their first year (authors'…

This study provides an overview and a snapshot of new student orientation (NSO) and new student e-orientation (NSEO) programs, with a focus on the content and feature analysis of the NSEOs. It offers an overview of currently available NSO programs of 100 randomly selected community colleges from a master list of nearly 900 community colleges in…

This Policy Snapshot provides summary information for 2017 legislation related to attainment goals and plans, as well as policy actions from previous years.

The Wallace Foundation's Partnerships for Social and Emotional Learning Initiative is a six-year initiative that The Wallace Foundation launched in 2017 to explore whether and how children benefit when schools and their out-of-school-time programs partner to improve social and emotional learning (SEL), as well as what it takes to do this work.…

With the passage of House Bill 1599 in 2019, graduation pathways were established as one of the requirements for high school graduation. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is required by RCW 28A.655.260 to collect and report on graduation pathways data annually. This report includes the unique pathway options, a data…