Partnership for Learning
Sept. 5, 2013
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New Report Examines Common Core and College- and Career Readiness
SEATTLE -- Washington state, a hub of innovative high-tech, aerospace and healthcare companies, has struggled to adequately prepare its public school students for life after high school. Yet, we know by 2018, nearly 70 percent of all jobs in the state will require postsecondary training or a college degree.

A new report by Partnership for Learning and Model Secondary Schools Project examines how the shift to college- and career-readiness 

Expanding Our Expectations

standards is changing K-12 learning environments in Washington. The report, "Expanding Our Expectations," addresses Washington's educational challenges (state funding, and growing opportunity and achievement gaps) and how the successful implementation of Common Core State Standards is a key part of larger education toolbox to better prepare students for college, work and life.

 

"Common Core provides shared goals and expectations for all students at every grade level," said Jana Carlisle, executive director of Partnership for Learning. "These learning standards are more rigorous and require deeper thinking. We will be expecting more of students, but research shows that when we expect more, students deliver."

 

"Expanding Our Expectations" addresses the questions of why college- and career-ready learning standards are meaningful and how Common Core might change teaching and learning in our public schools. It also focuses on new testing and accountability practices and how the process of measuring student progress is changing.

 

Partnership for Learning is partnering with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and other state education agencies and advocacy organizations on a Common Core public awareness campaign called "Real Learning for Real Life." The campaign's intent is to build awareness and understanding of college- and career-ready learning standards. You can learn more at www.ReadyWA.org.

 

A grant from College Spark Washington funded the production and distribution of the "Expanding Our Expectations" report. To download a PDF copy, click here.

 

Contact:
Chris Barron, Communications Manager
Partnership for Learning  

(206) 625-9655

K-12 CONFERENCE
Real Learning for Real Life: Meeting the Needs of the 21st Century Education System
Tom Vander Arl

Tom Vander Ark, CEO of GettingSmart, and a national expert on technology and innovation in education, is the keynote speaker for two half-day conferences in Seattle (Sept. 10) and Spokane (Sept. 11) on the needs of the 21st century education system.

 

Partnership for Learning and the Washington Roundtable are hosting the conferences. Registration remains open and limited seats are still available.
 

The intent of the conference is to raise awareness among Washington's employers and educators of key education issues in our state and to build support around three critical issues: the job skills gap, Common Core State Standards and the importance of college- and career-readiness. All three issues are crucial to the stability and growth of our state's economy.

 

To register, clicks the specific links below:

  • Seattle, Sept. 10 (8 a.m. to noon), SeaTac Marriott
  • Spokane, Sept. 11 (2:30-6:30 p.m.), Davenport Hotel

 

To read more about the conference and presenters, click here. For registration information, contact Anne Heavey at (206) 625-9655 or by email.