Equity

A decade ago, it appeared the final bell would ring for Seattle’s Rainier Beach High School.

Three years into the pilot of Seattle’s subsidized preschool program, program quality is steadily improving and participating children are showing strong gains in learning and development according to recently released study co-led by University of Washington researchers.

School and community partners who joined University of Washington College of Education researchers in a long-term effort to lead equity-focused change in a Seattle high school discussed their work and its lessons during an Oct. 11 Facebook Live chat.

When Matthew Henley '13 came across an educational psychology course at the University of Washington, his response was, “That sounds interesting. I like teaching and I’ve been taking classes in psychology, but I didn’t know these things were combined as an academic discipline.”

In the 2018-19 edition of Research That Matters magazine, the University of Washington College of Education explores the promise and possibilities of advancing educational justice, from early childhood through higher education. Stories in the new issue, available online, investigate the changes in how our students learn, how we teach and how we prepare educators to drive this work forward.

A new endowed fund and professorship created by the Bezos Family Foundation will focus on improving outcomes for early learners and bolster the University of Washington College of Education’s ongoing work to advance early childhood research and practice in Washington state and beyond.

For providers and educators, challenging behavior in children isn’t just a reality, it’s an inevitability. In August, the University of Washington’s Cultivate Learning and Haring Center for Inclusive Education joined local early intervention program Kindering in addressing the issue by gathering early learning providers for an institute on “Equity Focused Positive Behavior Support.”

From her first experiences teaching English as a New Language in Washington, D.C., Emily Machado recognized the power of teachers to advance equity in their classrooms. She also saw how many students weren't able to bring their languages and identities into school.