Governor Gregoire Addresses the Washington School Directors Association (As Written)

November 17, 2006

Good morning. Thank you all for coming today.

This has been quite a week for me, as I have been traveling the state sharing my vision of a new education system, as released Monday by Washington Learns. I have also been out visiting schools to see innovative programs at work. I have enjoyed the week immensely, because it has given me the chance to focus on an issue about which I am deeply committed.

This room today is filled with people who are equally committed to our children and the future of this state. I want to thank all the school board members and administrators here today for your work. Thank you for all you do for our children.

I know some of you have had a chance to hear about this new education vision - I recognize a few faces in the audience from Monday. Many of you have not, though, so I want to share with you what Washington Learns and its recommendations mean to me. I also want to talk about your role in making the Washington Learns vision a reality.

I believe we have the talented, committed administrators and educators in place for our kids. What we lack is a modern education system for them to work in.

We have had a 20th Century vision for 21st Century challenges.

It is a dramatically different world we send kids into today.

But despite this daunting new era, the critical foundation of our education system is unchanged.

We simply must help inspire our children to dream big and give them the tools to pursue those dreams wherever those dreams will take them.

For the past 15 months, scores of wonderful, thoughtful people have worked on Washington Learns and helped us develop a new vision for educating our kids.

Three key concepts within this vision are rigor, relevance and relationships.

Rigor, in that students have academic demands and standards to meet. Students don�t mind working hard if they think the work is purposeful.

Relevance, in that the classes students take lead them to their career goals and connect with skills they know they will need when they are out on their own.

And relationships, in that students have adults who are beside them, guiding them, and helping them when needed.

Part of the vision of Washington Learns is driven by a stark reality: high school degrees no longer are a ticket to a family wage job. At least some post secondary education will be needed for most good jobs. That�s why the vision calls for educating more people to higher levels.

The other reality is that we have worker shortages not only in technical fields that require a college degree, but in the trades. We need to be able to respond and train students for these high demand jobs.

That gives you a flavor of the vision of Washington Learns. Let me now approach it from another perspective � some of the values on which this vision is based.

First, of course, is the idea that our children are precious, diverse, and will succeed if we believe in them and help them. So, we have to personalize their education. The sooner we realize that future artists, steelworkers, lawyers, accountants, mechanics and physicists have different talents, learning styles, interests, skills and goals, the sooner we can shape educational experiences so all kids can be successful.

The next value underlying Washington Learns is accountability. Certainly WASL added accountability to the school system, but we need to do more.

Today about 30 percent of our ninth graders will fail to graduate on time or won�t graduate at all.

All of us � kids, teachers, administrators, parents, community members, the governor and legislators have to be accountable for turning these numbers around.

In state government, I am demanding that managers be held accountable by producing measurable results. We need the same performance based approach in education.

One way to hold ourselves accountable is to judge our performance against what are called the Global Challenge States. This comparison will allow us to judge how competitive we are in the global economy.

The third big value in Washington Learns is that prevention pays. Research shows that we can save eight dollars for every dollar we invest in early learning.

We save money on remedial education, special education, abuse and neglect, health care, drop-out rates, teen pregnancy and crime and incarceration by giving kids a successful start.

But more important than dollars is the lost human potential. How do we get into a situation where 30 percent of our kids drop out of school? Why do so many high school graduates have no idea what to do next with their lives?

The final value I would mention is quality teaching and leadership. We believe we need to do more to attract and retain the best and brightest teachers and principals. The Washington Learns report calls for better teacher training at all levels, especially in math and science, and it calls for fair compensation, especially for those who are most effective in the classroom. It also recognizes that a great leader in a school can get amazing results.

I will admit to you, I didn�t appreciate the enormity and complexity of the challenge we faced when we started our work.

The Washington Learns team persevered, and I think they have produced a bold, realistic, workable vision for our education system.

But the enormity of the challenge and the complexity of this issue have not gone away.

We do not yet have a final plan for implementation, accountability and financing.

It was simply not realistic to do so. I think government sometimes over promises. We aren�t going to do that. And sometimes reports end up sitting on a shelf and gathering dust. We aren�t going to have that happen either.

What we have produced is a solid vision for a world-class education system. This was no small task.

Now that we know where we are going, not just look at where we have been, we can start making it not only work, but work well and bring about real results.

Consider for instance, financing. There is no question that delivering the kind of personalized education I have talked about will cost more money.

The report, therefore, calls on the steering committee during the next two years to develop a ten-year implementation strategy for stable and increased funding for a world-class, learner-focused, seamless education system.

Don�t get me wrong. There must be a sense of urgency and we must make every effort to do as much as we can as soon as we can.

First, we must start with a significant down payment, phase in strategies, and fund some demonstration projects.

In particular, I think this state needs to rally around an emphasis on math and science education. We need every teacher to incorporate math and science in their studies and we have to help students embrace, not fear, these subjects.

I saw a great example of a model science program yesterday in Vancouver. Kids at Covington Middle School are learning science through hands-on projects with the LASER program. Superintendent Deeder was in Vancouver yesterday to show me around and flew all the way back to Spokane to be here for the meeting. Thank you for that great visit yesterday!

Second, I also believe we can get started making a change by revising the rules in our state on passing school levies. It makes no sense that only 50 percent of the vote is needed to fund prisons, roads or sports stadiums, but a higher threshold is required to fund schools. This illogical policy must be corrected to create a fair system so communities can fund their schools based on the preferences of the majority.

Since I have you here as a captive audience this morning, I don�t want to pass up this golden opportunity. Let me share with you my thoughts on how each of you can help make the vision of Washington Learns a reality.

You are the leaders of your local districts. You possess the skills and respect needed to facilitate the changes we need to make to strengthen our education system. Change is never easy, especially when the change involves so many people and many feel they have been in change mode for a long period of time. I am counting on all of you to help lead the charge to make sure our kids get the education they need.

I ask you to build a culture of results in your districts � for students, staff and programs. For too long we have held only the students accountable, and not the rest of the education system, including parents and our communities. We must focus on outcomes to judge whether we are doing the right things, and if we are not, we have to make changes quickly.

I want to see evidence about what works and what doesn�t � that is how we will make decisions about what to fund in the future at the state level. You should be asking for the evidence in your schools about the effect your practices have on student achievement.

I ask you to be inclusive in the work you do in your districts. We need our schools to partner with parents and communities if we are going to achieve the kind of success of which we are capable. We need a seamless education system, starting from early learning and extending through higher education and workforce training. For example, one recommendation in Washington Learns requires all-day kindergarten resources to be linked with good working relationships with the early learning folks in your community.

Use your leadership to create responsive, personalized learning for your students. I noticed this week when I was visiting various schools the critical difference school and district leadership can make. The state can set a vision for and an environment for putting students first, but it is made real by the actions of local schools and districts. Here are a couple of examples:

A school district is helping middle school students with math skills by enrolling kids in a second math class so that they can be successful in algebra. This district is doing the right thing � not waiting until students are in high school to help struggling students.

But, the other part of this story is that the students had to give up an elective. For most it was band or choir. The band students had been in band for several years and will want to continue when they get to high school. It was a struggle to get the high school to agree that these students would have the opportunity to renew their participation in band after a year off. This struggle should not occur. Students should not be penalized because they need extra help in a core subject.

Just as an aside, when I visited this school earlier in the week, the students unanimously expressed how happy they were to have had this opportunity. Of course they didn�t feel this way originally, but after seeing the great results they were having in better understanding math, their opinions changed!

Another school I know of, like most schools, has rules about when students can transfer into and out of classes. The principal of this high school, though, is so involved with his students that he knows that sometimes rules are meant to be broken when it is in the best interest of the student � and so he breaks them when he needs to.

In many secondary schools when the time for a learning unit has ended, the class moves on to the next topic, whether all students have mastered the skills of that unit or not. In one school I know of the principal has set the standard that nothing below a C grade is acceptable. Student progress is monitored closely and students have opportunities to do additional work and then take another test or complete another activity to show they have the skills required.

I urge you to use the policies of your districts and the creativity of your staff to meet each student�s needs and build on each student�s talents.

And I need you to be the leaders in celebrating success. I am confident that as the changes are implemented there will be plenty of reasons to applaud the improved results we will be seeing. We must show staff, parents and students that we appreciate the work they are doing to make big changes and that their efforts are being noticed. We can�t forget that this will be a large transition, and those who are affected need our support.

It is important that you are the models for all of these practices. Let your staff and communities know about the changes YOU are personally implementing, and they will be more likely to make changes themselves. As I said earlier, you are the education leaders in your communities, and people will look to you for guidance about how to act.

I know that is a long list of requests, but I believe you are up to the challenge. We are fortunate to have such strong leadership in our education system here in Washington. Like any good teacher, I only ask as much of you as I know you are capable of giving. And I know you are capable of great things.

Our challenge is to produce the next generation of workers and leaders who can carry on our state�s spirit of creativity, innovation, and pursuit of quality.

Let�s all pledge to work together to put that vision in place and provide every child in Washington a chance to dream big and follow those dreams.

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