Features

Initiatives to make high-quality early learning more available to the most vulnerable students in Washington State and across the nation are getting a boost from two significant awards to the University of Washington College of Education.

When young learners come to school, the focus often centers on their academic achievement. In Peninsula School District, however, school leaders saw nearly two-thirds of entering kindergarteners below grade level expectation in their social and emotional development.

Kristi Rivera, principal at the district’s Purdy Elementary School, said it was clear something needed to be done.

“We know that kids can’t learn unless their social and emotional needs are also supported,” Rivera said. “We’re seeing more and more kids come into school with a lot of stresses in their lives.”

Nine University of Washington College of Education doctoral students will present their research projects on November 4, with topics including the social stigma of disability in schools, immigrant women in higher education, and racialized teacher identity.

The Research and Inquiry Presentations will take place from 9 a.m to 3:30 p.m. in Miller Hall Room 112. These presentations are a major milestone in the studies of each PhD candidate at the College of Education.

This quarter’s presentations are:

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.