Features

As a little girl, Jazmyne Kellogg recalls that her mother would always say her favorite color was black. Every doll Kellogg played with was black and every painting in her family’s house was of a black person.

Freshman year of high school was difficult for Scott Seaman. He was a disengaged learner who struggled to apply himself in the classroom.

Yet Seaman’s Spanish teacher recognized his potential and challenged him to step up. Seaman responded, going on to earn his bachelor’s degree in Spanish and become a teacher at Capital High School in Olympia.

At Capital, Seaman found himself drawn to those students who weren’t affluent and college-bound, who didn’t always have an adult pushing them to fulfill their academic potential or aim for post-secondary education.

All young children possess gifts and talents, Nancy Hertzog says, and a new book by the University of Washington College of Education professor offers insights into how parents, teachers and administrators can help early learners develop their talents.

Sustaining ongoing improvement in instruction is a persistent challenge for schools and districts, but Washington state’s adoption of a new teacher and principal evaluation system earlier this decade is contributing to more collaborative improvement efforts, a new study by University of Washington College of Education researchers finds.