After three years of research, and with support from communities across Washington, lawmakers in the State House passed House Bill 1308 to add a performance-based option to the graduation pathways requirement.

Our students are capable of exceeding standards—and showing us how they do it. We see this in learning environments like Gibson Ek in Issaquah. Gibson Ek requires students to document their learning in a “portfolio” that shows their best, most impactful work, and their journey to get there. Students shadow and intern with real companies or organizations, develop problem-solving solutions for their community, and meet standards in all subjects with evidence-based projects. These learning experiences are all analyzed and documented, usually online.

The Board has received several public comments about a potential “vote on ethnic studies” over the past few days. This is not accurate. Please read on to find out what will actually be discussed at this week’s meeting.

It's the end of the school year, let's reflect. Graduation pathway options went into effect for the Class of 2020, but the last two years have been anything but typical. How, after more than two years in a pandemic, do we see our students' pathways to graduation and life after high school? What can our system set as the standard requirements for achieving the Washington State high school diploma? What do our students need?

SBE and the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) hosted a webinar last week featuring Linda Drake (SBE Director of Career- and College Readiness) and Jerry Price (OSPI Social Studies Program Supervisor) about new graduation requirements around social studies. Please find a video recording of the presentation here: Webinar Recording.