Low-performing schools to get boost from education reform

The bill requires the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to identify what the bill calls “persistently lowest-achieving schools,” and create a process to intervene and help the schools improve.

“Every child deserves to have a good chance at a great education,” said Lytton, who began formulating plans to help failing schools rebound when she was a school-board member before her election to the Legislature. “That opportunity shouldn’t be determined by where her family lives, or what their income happens to be.”

She said she was motivated to bring the bill forward during the just-concluded 2013 regular legislative session by visiting schools throughout her district last year.

“Even though we’d like our problems to have simple solutions, every school is unique. I can tell you that they don’t fall into the lowest-achieving category simply because of one or two things that need improvement; every school is a complex system and one-size-fits-all solutions aren’t going to be very effective.”

The new law, sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Steve Litzow, will give schools the first shot at turning themselves around, based on OSPI guidelines and with access to additional funding if necessary. If they haven’t shown substantial improvement within three years, the OSPI could intervene with additional levels of support and guidance.

“I know first-hand that even the most challenged school is full of dedicated administrators, hard-working and talented teachers, and students who are capable of learning. We just need to find the right formula to help them reach their potential, and I’m confident that this is going to be an effective and important piece of education reform.”