I’m honored to deliver the next installment of Stargazing with Stand! June is the month where we see many transitions: spring turns into summer, students graduate high school. June also brings celebrations: celebrating Pride and unapologetically uplifting the Queer community, celebrating Juneteenth and rejoicing in what freedom means to the Black community. I hope we can continue to celebrate joyous occasions inside and outside our community.
june highlights
Union High School Freshman Success Event – Vancouver, WA
Union High School hosted a celebration for their Ninth Grade Success Teams work in June. Senator Lynda Wilson, Representative Monica Stonier, and Evergreen Superintendent Boyd joined to celebrate and learn more about the strides Union High School has made over the last four years of implementing dedicated strategies to support ninth graders.
2023 School Board Elections
School board elections are this fall, with primaries on August 1st. A school board oversees a variety of academic, legal, and financial issues for the school district. They play a huge role in creating safe and equitable learning environments for students. However, they’ve recently been the site of attempts to ban books and disrupt the teaching of accurate history.
Who’s running in your school district this year? You can find out if there is a race in your district here and find out how candidates propose to support all students to thrive and access a high quality education. Let us know if there’s an important race in your area!
Collaboration Across WA
Last month, the Washington Center for High School Success (CHSS) gathered Ninth Grade Success teams from Vancouver to Bellingham to Moses Lake for in-person collaboratives to network, learn, and plan. They shared what’s currently working to support 9th graders, as well as raising challenges to draw on the collective expertise of the network. Participating schools have been working hard all year, and some are celebrating double digit increases in the rate of students passing all their 9th grade classes. Learn more about CHSS.
Reflections on a Session Full of Lessons
Our experience of the 2023 Legislative Session could be quantified in many ways, but you can’t quantify the dedication and passion put forth by our entire community these past few months. We set out with ambitious legislative goals because students deserve transformative change. And even though session ended with some losses, we also had wins and came out smarter, more determined, and more equipped to be a unique catalyst for education equity and racial justice next session. Read our full reflection.
We always want to hear from you and encourage you to stay in touch over the summer. We’re excited to connect more deeply with you, whether you are a student, parent, educator, school board member, or all of the above. Together, we’re confident we can make more robust change in 2024 for those who are furthest from education justice.
Standing With You,
Ciarra Crowe
Marketing and Communications Manager
Stand for Children Washington
