College Access and Success

As program director of the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) at Wenatchee Valley College, Yuritzi Lozano (MEd ‘13) has witnessed the power of students becoming advocates for their own education.

While visiting two high schools on opposite sides of Chicago, Rhoan Garnett (PhD ‘18) experienced first-hand the detrimental effects of the college information gap.

Garnett, then assistant dean of admissions for Bowdoin College, started his day visiting a well-resourced school in north Chicago. He remembers students at the school being respectful and interested in speaking with him.

Jean Hernandez (EdD ‘96), a higher education leader who has dedicated her career to opening opportunities for diverse communities in the Puget Sound region, is being honored this month by the University of Washington’s Multicultural Alumni Partnership.

The University of Washington College of Education will deepen research-practice partnerships that are expanding access to high-quality educational opportunities for underserved students and communities in Washington state with a $1.7 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Over the next two years, the grant will build on the College’s extensive partnerships with more than 300 schools, districts, educational organizations and communities across the state and identify key areas of opportunity along the cradle-to-career education continuum.

A desire to advocate for and empower underrepresented populations drives four University of Washington College of Education students named to this year’s cohort of the Husky 100.

Representing the College are:

In the midst of Seattle’s booming economy, many citizens find themselves struggling with a widening socioeconomic gap. Sheila Edwards Lange (PhD '06) is working to create education and career opportunities for those whose future in the city is at risk.

Since her appointment as president of Seattle Central College in 2015, Lange’s focus is making sure that all Seattle residents have access to education, earn a living wage and contribute to a vibrant community.

Joe Lott, associate professor in the University of Washington College of Education and faculty director for the UW Brotherhood Initiative, will present the UW Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity’s (OMA&D) 13th annual Samuel E. Kelly Distinguished Faculty Lecture, on April 7.

Supporting students in graduate school is crucial to their success, especially for students of color. Vanessa Álvarez is helping create that supportive community at the University of Washington as a program officer in its Graduate Opportunities and Minority Achievement Program (GO-MAP) while also pursuing her master’s in Leadership in Higher Education.

In the fall of 2010, Lakeridge Elementary School in Renton faced a crisis: They were federally designated as one of the persistently lowest-achieving schools in Washington state. Test scores were in the bottom five percent, meaning that only one in five students could comprehend math at their grade level.

A deep partnership between Lakeridge and researchers from the University of Washington College of Education produced a total transformation for Lakeridge, marking a complete 180 from where the school had previously been.