Features

A six-year program piloted by Auburn School District could serve as a model for developing teacher leaders who build stronger schools across the state, University of Washington College of Education researchers show in a new study.

Kim Boudreau enrolled at the University of Washington planning to major in business administration and human resources management, but it didn’t feel like quite the right fit.

Boudreau realized she was interested in workforce training, so she added a minor in education. But she still wasn’t convinced her studies would take her where she wanted to go. So when the 20-year-old learned about the UW’s new undergraduate degree in Education, Communities and Organizations — or ECO — she didn’t hesitate to switch tracks.

University of Washington College of Education Dean Mia Tuan describes why supporting great teaching is one of the smartest investments Washington can make in an op-ed published November 13 in The Seattle Times.

"[T]here’s one thing research tells us clearly: Great teaching matters," Tuan writes. "We need teachers who can prepare our students to succeed in Washington’s knowledge-based economy and participate in a thriving civic democracy."

Following passage of No Child Left Behind in 2001, a theme repeatedly heard in news reports was that standardized test-based school accountability pressures were driving teachers away from their job or the profession, especially those at schools with larger proportions of poverty-impacted students.

New research by a University of Washington College of Education professor shows NCLB school accountability had only a limited impact on the teacher labor market, however, demonstrating just how difficult it can be to change teachers’ employment decisions.