SBE's 2023 Highlights
It was a big year! Check out a quick snapshot of the highlights:
First-ever Student Communicator Interns: At the beginning of the year, SBE made a trailblazing decision to hire two high school student interns to aid in communication strategy to the public and their peers. Indiana Hilmes, now a senior at Selah High School in Selah, and Star Mendoza, now a senior at Governor John R. Rogers in Puyallup have been interning for the Board for one year now. The two have transformed the way the Board engages on social media and brought much-needed content and perspective to SBE communications. You can see most of their work on SBE’s Instagram profile, and you can check out their TikTok where they have a little fun with their fellow students and Board members. In a recent milestone event, the two presented to their peers at the Association of Washington Student Leaders Conference in Tacoma about their experience working for the Board.
|
Community Engagement: This year saw SBE’s first round of community contracts to authentically engage with communities furthest from educational justice. We partnered with four organizations across the state, The ZoNE in Spokane, Community Center for Education Results in south King county, Elevate in Yakima, and Foundation for Academic Endeavors in the Skagit region. These organizations held community-driven conversations to provide input to the Board about their unique needs. Students and families were compensated for their time and sharing their expertise on what is working well and what needs more attention. Community members also attended the Board retreat in June for a day full of conversation, connection and learning. Activities included community presentations, group chats and an impactful student fishbowl conversation.
|
The Performance-based Graduation Pathway Option: The 2023 legislature passed House Bill 1308 adding a performance-based pathway option to the graduation pathway requirement in our state. This new option will allow students to show what they know and can do in real-world, hands-on ways that align with their individual goals for after high school. The Board requested this bill in response to students, families, and educators who have been asking for more relevant, engaging, and authentic options for meeting this graduation requirement. SBE talked with students who are currently using performance-based models in Washington schools (like Gibson Ek in Issaquah). SBE also held interactive listening sessions with the public to get insight into this new option. The Board adopted final rules for the performance-based pathway at the December 7 meeting. To implement the performance-based pathway, the Board, in collaboration with the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), is developing required proficiency targets and associated rubrics (scoring guides) that will be available in February 2024.
|
Mastery-based Learning: SBE invited applications from schools across our state to be part of a new cohort in the Mastery-based Learning Collaborative (MBLC) grant program. These MBLC awards support mastery-based learning (MBL) - sometimes called competency-based education. Mastery-based learning (MBL) is an instructional model where students advance upon mastery of content as measured by meaningful, authentic assessments tied to state learning standards. Students take ownership of their learning, advance at their own pace, and receive differentiated support based on their interests and needs. SBE announced the second cohort of grant recipients December 12. To find out more about the MBLC, visit sbe.wa.gov/mblc.
|
Graduation Requirements Emergency Waiver: At the December 7 meeting, the State Board of Education directed staff to develop draft proposed rules for further consideration that would extend the emergency waiver of the pathway requirement to students graduating in 2024. To date, no policy decision has been made.
The Board will soon announce a special meeting for January to consider approving proposed rules around the emergency waiver. If they decide to approve the proposed rules, this would open a public comment period that would extend through adoption of the final rules, which would happen at the April Board meeting. This is late into the school year as our timeline is dictated by the public rulemaking process.
School Climate: The University of Washington Center for the Study of Health and Risk Behaviors (CSHRB) with the help of a diverse Technical Advisory Committee TAC) developed draft school climate survey forms for students. The forms were used primarily for engaging with students, families, educators, state agencies and community partners on implementation considerations related to the school climate assessment. Implementation questions were introduced in earlier interviews and focus groups to take advantage of the extensive outreach that was undertaken. The soon to be delivered final report relies heavily upon feedback received during the early months of the 2023-2024 school year and consists of interviews, listening sessions, focus groups and surveys. The SBE will consider the next steps when the final report is delivered late in December.
Private Schools Approval and Enrollment Reporting: With the addition of private schools manager, Nicole Mulhausen, SBE’s private schools approval process is smoother and schools feel supported. With the support of the Washington Federation of Independent Schools (WFIS), her consistent communication with private schools has helped ensure compliance with the law. Approximately five hundred private schools operate in Washington, serving over 80,000 students–SBE approves all these schools. Learn more and watch short explainer videos at sbe.wa.gov/privateschools.
|
Farewell, Pavan! Pavan Venkatakrishnan joined the Board as a junior in 2021 and quickly became a knowledgeable voice and represented students in Western Washington well. A fervent politico, Pavan brought passion for policy to each meeting. During his time on the Board, he advocated for the passage of SB 5497 (student voting rights on the Board) and was a dynamic presence in testimony. Pavan is attending George Washington University in Washington D.C.
|
New Student Member: SBE added the bright and personable, Castulo Gonzalez, as a new student Board member, and west-side student representative. Castulo is a junior at W.F. West in Chehalis. His first meeting as a Board member was in June. Since then, he has been vocal about making opportunities like the Seal of Biliteracy available for all students.
|
Snorkels, the Real SBE Seal: Adopted on behalf of the Board in summer 2022 with 100 percent donated funds, the State Board’s seal, Snorkels, is an educational interactive symbol. Snorkels has their own Instagram account (instagram.com/therealsbeseal) where it documents journeys throughout Washington schools. Snorkels attends Board meetings, reports back, and shares relatable resources. It helps educate the public on what the Board is and what the Board does—all while residing officially in its home: the Old Capitol Building in Olympia. This year and last year, we asked elementary school students all over Washington to submit coloring sheets in honor of Snorkels’ first full year of being the type of engagement tool that “visits” different places. As a result, SBE brought Snorkels to Kent Elementary (Kent) and the Stillaguamish Valley Learning Center (Arlington) to celebrate and hear more about why these students love their schools.
|
Where has Snorkels been this year? The Silverwood School, Poulsbo, The Washington State Capitol Building, Olympia, ESD 113, Tumwater, Evergreen Forest Elementary, Lacey, Shelton High School, Shelton, Governor John R. Rogers High School, Puyallup, W.F. West High School, Chehalis, the Museum of Flight, Tukwila, Jefferson Elementary, Mount Vernon, Lake Washington High School, Lake Washington (where Snorkels met US Department of Education Secretary Cardona and US Representative DelBene, no big deal), Mt. St. Helens, The Seahawks’ Virginia Mason Athletic Center (no big deal), the Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, Innovation Lab High School, Bothell, Cowlitz 2 Fire and Rescue, Kelso, The Vancouver Waterfront, Vancouver, Falls, Tumwater, The Yakima Valley Museum, Yakima, West Valley Innovation Center, Yakima, the Hanford Reach National Monument, the SeaLife Rehabilitation Center, Des Moines, Maritime High School, Des Moines, the Olympia Toy Run, Kent Elementary, Kent, the Stillaguamish Learning Center, Arlington, and probably more places!
|
Basic Education: The Board ensures that school districts follow the “minimum instructional program of basic education” (RCW 28A.150.220), a set of rules to make sure students get the knowledge and skills they need to succeed after high school. Every school year, the Board checks with school districts to make sure they are planning to offer the required number of instructional hours and the required subjects to cover the state’s learning standards. This year, all school districts and local education agencies have been recommended for compliance with the program of basic education. This is the second year under new Basic Education Manager, Viktoria Bobyleva.
Check out the newly published “Basic Education Matrix.” To accompany this resource, we have started to prepare a new virtual instructional video to spell out requirements in statute for administrators and educators navigating the school system. Find more information about Basic Education at sbe.wa.gov/basiced.
Accountability and Recognition: Shortly after the release of the winter 2023 Washington School Improvement Framework (WSIF), the SBE began collaborating with the Educational Opportunity Gap Oversight Accountability Committee (EOGOAC) on jump starting school recognition. After months of technical analyses and presentations, the EOGOAC and SBE mutually decided to combine the 2022 and 2023 school recognition for the late spring 2024. The two groups will restart the school recognition workgroup to modify the school recognition methodology to include locally derived information upon which to base schools identified for recognition.
The Strategic Plan: The new 2024-2028 SBE Strategic Plan is scheduled to be adopted in June. This will guide our next four years of work.
The questions and initiatives for the new plan include:
-
Advocacy and strategic oversight of public education
- Continue advocating for foundational priorities
- Develop an annual legislative platform
-
High school graduation and learning standards
- Build a framework for the future
- Create more opportunities for Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Mastery-based Learning
- Improve the High School and Beyond Plan
-
Supporting the goals of basic education
- Create flexible options for educational delivery
-
Educational system health, accountability, and recognition
- Broaden the school and district accountability system to include the conditions for learning
- Develop a more equitable school and district recognition system
Through all this work, we commit to advancing educational equity when we think about graduation requirements, accountability and recognition, private schools approval, basic education compliance, and how our education system serves students. And we will continue to support learning models that serve each and every student based on their specific needs, as we are seeing in schools using mastery-based learning.
Legislative Session 2024: Find our recently adopted legislative platform and more information about advocacy plans for this coming session at sbe.wa.gov/waleg. Interested in keeping up with us in 2024? Subscribe to get updates directly to your email.
|