Students from Brigadoon Elementary School in Federal Way show off their college gear during DiscoverU 2019.
Teachers from Hilltop Elementary School in Highline have a planning meeting for APTT.
Kyla Lackie and Mercy Daramola of the Puget Sound Educational Service District with Councilmember Dave Upthegrove at a King County Council meeting.
Youth talk about issues they care about at Soar's Turn Up for Justice summit.
OneAmerica leaders in Olympia testifying for early learning and dual language investments.
Educators examine data during a College and Career Leadership Institute workshop.
Road Map Project Community Leadership Team members Regina Elmi and Erin Ambrozic call on leaders to implement recommendations from the report Let Us Succeed.
Participants during the Whole Child, Whole Day: A Social and Emotional Learning Symposium.
Our collective work to build better education systems for our students is a long-term commitment. Still, as we head into another year, it’s worthwhile to remember what we achieved in 2019 to propel us into 2020 and beyond. To everyone working in service of Road Map Project goals: Thank you for a great year!
High school students say Let Us Succeed
A call to action by South King County high school students, Let Us Succeed highlights the perspectives of more than 7,000 young people who share their aspirations for college and how we—educators, advocates, and policymakers—can better support them with postsecondary navigation and success.
New SEL School-Community Partnerships Cohort launches
YDEKC launched its third cohort for a 16-month peer learning opportunity for community-based organizations building sustainable partnerships and programs supporting the social emotional development of K-12 youth. Learn more about how this program works.
ELL Work Group brings immigrant and refugee voice to education advocacy
OneAmerica supported the English Language Learners Work Group, comprised of community leaders and systems-level administrators, to urge local and state leaders to build a more comprehensive education system rooted in equitable and asset-based practices to support English learners. Building from past policy victories, OneAmerica brought even bigger, bolder solutions for 2019 by passing additional funding to adequately fund these systems-level changes.
Local education advocates secure once-in-a-generation funding opportunity
The King County Council voted in August to allocate $318 million in Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Account funds toward education, including for early learning facilities, culturally specific community-based organizations, and a regional college support system. This win was the culmination of many years of advocacy work.
College & career systems alignment continues with King County Promise
The Puget Sound College and Career Network facilitated engagement with hundreds of partners to develop the King County Promise, a vision for a more equitable, accessible, and supported postsecondary system. King County Promise is the result of years of collaboration between community organizations, education advocates, students, and education system leaders. Sign up for updates.
New members join Community Leadership Team
After two years of service, the Road Map Project Community Leadership Team welcomed six new members while thanking inaugural members whose terms have ended. In 2019, the Community Leadership Team also conducted strategy reviews of Road Map Project work and led the planning of the June Education Results Networking meeting and a celebration for DiscoverU 2019.
Academic Parent Teacher Teams model launches in our region
Building on local family engagement efforts, a cohort of nine elementary schools in South Seattle, Highline and Tukwila will pilot a research-based family engagement practice called Academic Parent Teacher Teams. The model aligns grade-level learning concepts, student performance data, and family-teacher communication and collaboration. The pilot will reach more than 2,800 students and their families.
College & Career Leadership Institute welcomes second cohort
In its third year, the College & Career Leadership Institute kicked off with two cohorts with a total of 19 participating high schools that serve more than 27,000 students in the region. These cohorts of school staff and service providers are creating system improvements through activities such as exchanging best practices, incorporating student feedback, and sharing strategies. With this second cohort, the institute now serves 75 percent of all high school students in the Road Map Project region.
Local Improvement Networks initiative gets underway
The Tukwila Local Improvement Network launched in the fall. Just a year before, the Renton Local Improvement kicked off. Catch up on what happened in Renton’s first year and how partners there have deepened collaboration in 2019.
Annual SEL event hosts record number of attendees
About 350 practitioners and system leaders from all over the Road Map Project region gathered for Whole Child, Whole Day: A Social & Emotional Learning Symposium. The interactive professional development experience focused on shifting practices and systems to better serve youth of color. About half of attendees identify as youth of color and 70 percent work directly with youth. The Whole Child, Whole Day Advisory Committee planned the event, which was staffed by YDEKC, School’s Out Washington and Highline College.
Youth lead conversations about pressing issues at Turn Up for Justice summit
More than 50 young leaders came together to discuss and strategize on topics such as incarceration, immigration, mental health, and LGBTQ rights at a summit hosted by Soar. Participants also got the chance to voice their concerns with Washington State Sen. Claire Wilson. This summit is the first of many efforts for young leaders and community partners to engage in conversations on how we can create the communities we deserve.
DiscoverU and Worksite Tours continue to help students explore college and career
Road Map Project partners celebrate its third year of organizing Worksite Tours for students. When Worksite Tours began, we worked with 15 employers to serve 500 students. Now, during the 2018-19 academic year, 1,900 students visited 71 local employers.
The seventh annual DiscoverU week was in the fall. Classrooms and youth program providers all over the region held college and career exploration activities for students of all grades. A door decoration contest marked a first for this year. We also awarded grants to community-based organizations to host activities and events.
Opportunity youth receiving postsecondary help are 3 times as likely to enroll
Road Map Project partners worked together to provide individualized postsecondary navigation support to youth nearing graduation in partnership with seven Open Doors reengagement programs. These support services, facilitated by Seattle Education Access, showed promising postsecondary enrollment and persistence results, especially for young men of color.
Get updated and accessible college and career resources from PSCCN
Puget Sound College and Career Network launched a new American Disabilities Act accessible website, featuring educator resources to support Financial Aid Completion, local college transition checklists, Spanish-language materials, and College Knowledge materials. Check out the PSCCN website and join PSCCN’s monthly newsletter.
Posted in: Action Teams , College and Career Readiness , College and Career Success , Community Leadership Team , Data and Research , Early Learning & Elementary Success , Education Results Networking Meetings , English Language Learners , Family Engagement , Opportunity Youth , Social Emotional Learning