A WHOLE SLEW OF EDUCATION INTERVIEWS TO COME >>>

Education has taken a center stage in Olympia this session as the legislature deals with balancing a laundry list of funding dilemmas and a roster of struggling schools that spans seemingly every county in the state. However, our struggling schools are not the sole result of legislation, nor will the cure-all necessarily be a perfect reform bill or statewide policy.

The decisions made by both state and local leaders of all kinds will drastically affect how much, or how little, our schools can progress and improve. In the coming weeks I'll be interviewing policy makers, activists and engaged community members for the Weekly Volcano, examining different angles of local and statewide education debates. My first interview will be coming later this week, as I sit down with Tacoma School Board Member and REACH (Resources for Educational and Career Help) Center Executive Director Kurt Miller.

In the meantime, consider pondering this report by the Center on Reinventing Education suggesting downsizing/firing policies commonly known as "Last In, First Out" may disproportionately impact schools receiving federal School Improvement Grants (SIGs). These grants are a pillar of U.S Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's school reform agenda. Washington is slated to receive over $50 million in SIG funding, and much of this will be used to pay for newly hired teachers in failing schools --  teachers hired on the basis of high ability and commitment to education of disadvantaged children. The potential hiccup is - because of large budget gaps many of these new teachers may find their jobs terminated at the end of year because of the "Last In, First Out" seniority policy districts are currently bound by.

The report states, "in Washington's SIG schools about 23% of teachers are in their first three years of teaching, nearly twice the proportion of new teachers in their districts of residence."

The report uses Tacoma as an example and illustrates that a five percent budget reduction could potentially mean Tacoma's three SIG schools ( Stewart Middle School, Giaudrone Middle School, and Jason Lee) Middle School would lose one-quarter to one-half of their current teachers.

The specifics of potential budget reductions are currently speculative, however this scenario may play out in multiple districts throughout the state.

The report is available for download here.