As we start to crawl out of the great recession, with new signs of economic life emerging across the Eastside, we have the opportunity to shift our gaze from the here and now to the future. The economy that faces the next generation will be more global, more dynamic, more diverse and more knowledge-based than at any time in human history. Are we equipping our kids, all of our kids, with the skills and abilities they’ll need to take advantage of it?
Bellevue is a community that is justly proud of its education system, including all of those organizations beyond the school that support kids’ growth and success. Our award-winning district is innovative, persistent and well-run. We have an excellent library system and children’s museum, outstanding and engaged out-of-school programs and a local college that is very responsive to the needs of students and the local economy. Parents are engaged at all levels. So, how are we doing?
A Georgetown University study indicates that, by 2018, 67% of jobs in Washington State will require post-secondary education. So, let’s use that as an indicator. The following chart shows, for the Bellevue high school class of 2006, how many ninth graders achieved a post-secondary degree (2 or 4 years) within 5 years of graduation. (This is a class where 96% of surveyed seniors declared an intention to get a college degree.)
This chart shows a few striking (some might say shocking) outcomes. First, for the entire class, 46% of students who were in school in ninth grade attained a 2 or 4-year degree within five years. Thus, over half of those students were still working on their degree into their sixth year or, more probably, had discontinued. Based on another Georgetown University study which correlates expected lifetime earnings with education, the total opportunity cost to those students who did not achieve their degree goal is almost ½ a billion dollars. For just one high school class in one district.
Second, the odds of attaining a degree differed markedly by race/ethnicity, with black and Hispanic students about 1/5 as likely as white or Asian students to attain their degree. Whether you look at this through a lens of economics or of equity, these results are not good enough.
So why, in a community with such strong, quality institutions supporting kids, do we get results like this? The answer lies in two key ideas. This is where the pimentos come in.
The right side of the chart below (i.e. pimento chart) shows the same data as the line chart above. The difference is that, instead of a line showing the percentage of kids achieving a certain result, the circles show the numbers of kids doing the same. The bigger the circle, the more kids. You can draw the same conclusions about economics and equity in this view.
But if we extend the frame back in time for the class of 2006, a new understanding comes to light. All along the spectrum, though grade-school, middle school, high school, college, the same patterns were present in terms of academic achievement. Only graduation stands out as a bar that most kids across the class were able to cross. If we want to make sure that all kids are able to cross the post-secondary finish line of education, this data shows that we’d better make sure they’re all on track each step of the way.
Another big idea is that no single entity can get all kids across that finish line alone. The reason this community has such strong institutions is that they’re needed. Early education is different than elementary school. Engaging kids after-hours requires a different focus than during the school day. Supporting kids’ health or social-emotional needs takes a different skill than teaching math. Yet, if we’re all working toward the same ultimate goal, shouldn’t we operate as a team, with the same way of describing what ultimate success looks like?
Over the past few years, a concept called “Collective Impact” has outlined an approach that helps communities organize around these two ideas to improve results. In Bellevue, Eastside Pathways is the backbone organization that is helping to make this happen. We now have over 40 partner organizations – everything from schools, health care providers, the city, the college, the library, community groups, parents, the teacher association – all committing toward working toward the unqualified promise of every child succeeding.
Already, we are seeing spontaneous examples of cross-organizational teamwork to improve milestones and outcomes. In terms of post-secondary completion (as shown in the graphs above) we know that members of the class of 2006 pursuing two-year degrees were almost four times as likely to stop short of a degree than those in a four-year program. Bellevue College noticed that nearly half of incoming students from Bellevue School District were being placed in a math, reading or writing course below college level, causing them to lose time and spend money repeating high school content. For the past year, a joint team has been looking at which students were being affected, which courses they’d taken and which tests they’d passed. As a result, there is now a project designed to have students take the Bellevue College placement test while still in high school. This both gives immediate feedback to students and teachers about their progress and allows them to cover needed topics before they graduate, meaning freshman year will be spent on college courses.
At the other end of the continuum, we know that almost one in five kids arrives at kindergarten in Bellevue without at least some of the skills they’ll need to get off to a great start on the first day of class. The school district, together with Childcare Resources and Kindering, began an outreach effort last year, helping some forty childcare and early learning providers in this community to better align their curriculum and practices to help all kids be ready. This outreach is expanding in the coming year.
Finally, the district adopted a new computer-based curriculum to teach math kindergarten through third grade. One of the great things about this new approach is that it’s tailored to the needs and capabilities of the individual student AND students can engage with the tools anytime, in or out of school. Understanding that this opportunity comes with the companion risk of creating an even bigger gap for families without internet access, the district has worked with King County Public Housing, the Bellevue Boys & Girls Club, and the Bellevue Schools Foundation on a pilot program to provide computers and internet access to all of the affected families in several KCPH locations. That’s what commitment to supporting every child looks like when everyone involved shares the same goal.
But those steps are just a start. Collective Impact envisages engaging whole communities in the work, not just a handful of organizations partnering with the school district. That’s why Eastside Pathways is working with its 40 partners on its first comprehensive initiative, focused on enabling every child to read at grade level by the end of third grade. This isn’t just a vision, it’s a commitment – on the part of each of our partners and by 2016. It’s supported by specific work plans in the areas of kindergarten readiness, reducing absenteeism, improving summertime learning and enhancing reading supports. If we are truly committed to the promise of every child being able to participate in the economy of the future by ensuring they have the training and skills they need to engage, let’s start by making sure every child has the basics first. We can do this, but only if all of the stakeholders in this community – parents, business, funders, faith-based groups etc. – are willing to engage in this work to make it happen.
We can’t predict the future. Even with magic pimentos, our best course of action is to take the steps today that have the best chance to deliver the future we want for our kids and our community. Thanks to the leadership of Eastside Pathways’ 40 partner organizations, Bellevue is helping to shape a future that allows every child to reach their maximum potential and make their maximum contribution.
Written by Bill Henningsgaard, Eastside Pathways Executive Director.