OUR COMMUNITY GOAL
By 2030, 70 percent of Tacoma Public Schools students will earn a degree, technical certificate, or gain a good-earning wage employment opportunity within six years of high school graduation. Targeted efforts will focus on students of color and those impacted by poverty.
Success will require meaningful cross-sector alignment and partnership, data-sharing and accountability, targeted resourcing, advocating for racially just practices, and maintaining progress on all indicators, cradle to career.
70% of all TPS graduates have a good earning wage employment opportunity, regardless of pathway.
70% of all TPS graduates have enrolled in college or university. 70% of those enrolled will complete a certificate or degree within six years of high school graduation.
70% of TPS graduates who enroll in an apprenticeship program will continue onto a good earning wage job in the apprenticeship’s trade or occupation.
What do we mean by a "good earning wage job"?
A good-earning wage in Pierce County is one that enables full-time workers to support their household based on family composition, keeping up with changes in costs in our region. A good job also includes clear opportunities for wage progression, healthcare benefits, and potential for retirement savings.
Our new dashboard** with Workforce Central estimates the current good earning wage for many family types, inflated to 125% of a “self sufficiency” wage each year to cover cost complexities and changes. Users can see which occupations fall in this range.
What is Takes: A Good Earnings Snapshot
ANNUAL WAGES NEEDED TO SUPPORT DIFFERENT HOUSEHOLD TYPES
1 ADULT
1 SCHOOLAGER
2 ADULTS
1 SCHOOLAGER
2 ADULTS
1 SCHOOLAGER
1 PRESCHOOLER
By 2030: Measuring Benefits, Retention & Advancement
Thriving at work is based on more than just wages. In coming years, we will work to better identify which occupations and employers provide benefits such as healthcare, retirement plans, and pathways to retention and advancement, particularly for communities of color. We invite all partners signing onto our accountability pledge to join us in this commitment to equity and transparency. By 2025, we hope to measure both wages and benefits.
Tracking Progress
Cradle to Career Indicators
Kindergarten Readiness
3rd Grade Reading
8th Grade Math
College & Career Readiness
4 & 5-Year Graduation
Social & Emotional Well-Being
Positive Adult Interactions
College Enrollment & Completion
Apprenticeship Enrollment & Completion
Achieving a Good Earning Wage Job
Institutional Indicators
Postsecondary Representation of Priority Populations by Institution
Equity & Representation in Staffing
Institutional Performance on Accountability Pledges
We’re seeing employers think differently about their culture...And shifting policies and practices to make things like equal pay, promotion, and equity really meaningful and measurable in their business"
How do we know which jobs are providing a good earning wage, and to whom?
We measure occupations relative to the median wage, plus the demographics and education of workers in those occupations. Looking at earnings is only part of the equation. We also need to work with anchor institutions, service providers, advocates and employers to drive low income youth and youth of color to higher pay occupations, remove barriers to entry, and improve conditions within occupations.
Wage, Education & Demographics
Our new dashboard** with Workforce Central tracks occupations by wage thresholds. It looks at all occupations in the Tacoma area and compares their median income to the area median, and shows the overall spread of wages in each occupation.
Snapshot: Starting & Median Wages Against 2021’s $21
By 2030: Transforming Occupations
We can use these dashboards** with anchor institutions, employers and economic development partners to not only drive youth towards the best occupations, but to transform pathways to occupations, and remove barriers such as credentialing.
