GRADUATE TACOMA
Today, Graduate Tacoma is more than 350 community partners strong. We are parents and educators, early learning and higher education, business and labor, youth and community service, civic and philanthropy, local government and communities of faith, all aligning our work together with Tacoma schools to impact student success.
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Our Approach
The Graduate Tacoma community movement applies a collective impact framework to bridge sectors and support systems in favor of kids.
The work is organized and mobilized by five Collaborative Action Networks. These Networks consist of more than 100 partner organizations, institutions, and youth-serving programs that meet regularly to address our community-built indicators while building and strengthening existing community coalitions.
Tacoma Refuses to Lose
The We Refuse to Lose series explores what cradle-to-career initiatives across the country are doing to improve outcomes for students of color and those experiencing poverty. Graduate Tacoma continues to advance its commitment to equity of opportunity for students of color in the era of COVID-19 and a renewed fight against racial oppression and violence.
Graduate Tacoma makes a commitment to residents’ self-sufficiency by allocating funding to help people gain the skills they need to succeed in the workforce.
Tacoma among five communities nationwide recognized for outstanding progress in strengthening local education pipeline.
Graduate Tacoma developed tools to measure and evaluate progress at different stages of the student journey. Graduate Tacoma partners identified 11 student and six community indicators to measure and collect data on benchmark achievements.
Coordinating Across Sectors
The Ecosystem of Education illustrates the network of interlocking parts existent in every city that influence youth success as a whole. Because every one of us has an influence in a young person’s life, Graduate Tacoma brings into focus that work must be done across industries and with each other as partners to nurture environments that support students and their development. We do this by bridging all actors of the ecosystem.
Press Archive
Wildlife Champions Program Promotes Science and Stewardship – South Sound Magazine 3.9.2020
Press Release – Tacoma Partnership for Student Technology – Foundation for Tacoma Students 5.5.2020
Tacoma School Kids Who Need Them Can Get Devices, Internet Access From New Partnership – Tacoma News Tribune 5.6.2020
Groups Partner to Provide Internet to Low-Income Students in Tacoma – Q13 Fox 5.13.2020
Tacoma Community Partners Ask Seniors, ‘What’s Next?’ Then Connect Them with Support – NCAN 5.25.2020
Tacoma Nonprofits Are Trying to Help High School Seniors Stick with their College Plans – KNKX 5.26.2020
10,000 Tacoma Public Schools Students Don’t Have Access to Home Computer, WiFi – Q13 Fox 7.13.2020
Thousands of Tacoma Youth Have Nowhere to go this Summer as COVID-19 Decimates Programs – Tacoma News Tribune 7.20.2020
Tacoma Refuses to Lose – Education First 10.16.2020
Champion of Diversity Award – Daily Journal of Commerce 10.26.2020
Tacoma graduation rates are at a record high, but budget challenges pose threat – The News Tribune 1.11.19
Tacoma schools take victory lap for graduation rate, sets sight on Olympia – Tacoma Weekly News 1.17.19
How 93,000 more Washington students can thrive after high school – The News Tribune 4.06.19
Statewide school levy ‘fix’ has put Tacoma in a fix – The News Tribune 4.20.19
Graduate Tacoma releases 2019 Impact Report – The News Tribune 4.29.19
Initiative aims to boost the number of Tacoma students enrolling in and completing college – KNKX 4.29.19
Fewer Tacoma students are completing college. New program aims to change that – The News Tribune 5.03.19
Tacoma high school seniors get some straight talk from current students at local colleges – KNKX 6.10.19
Graduate Tacoma receives honor for boosting childhood reading – Tacoma Weekly 6.8.18
Graduate Tacoma makes searching for summer youth programs easy – Tacoma Weekly 5.3.18
Absence rates in TPS need improvement – The News Tribune Editorial 5.6.18
Graduate Tacoma reaches key milestone – Tacoma Weekly 5.4.18
Tacoma grad rates rising; opportunity gaps persist – The News Tribune 4.28.18
Washington’s Celebration of Advancing HS Seniors Inspires – Forbes 4.16.18
Goal of school discipline should be keeping kids in classroom – Seattle Times Editorial 4.13.18
Tacoma high school grad rate soars; will college follow? – The News Tribune Editorial 12.17.17
Collaboration Charts Successes – Tacoma Weekly 5.4.17
Matti Robi Is a Face Behind the Numbers in Graduate Tacoma Report – The News Tribune 4.28.17
Once “Dropout Factories,” Tacoma Schools See Record Graduation Rates – KNKX 4.28.17
Tacoma Schools Well on Their Way to 2020 Goals – The News Tribune Editorial 5.2.17
Arne Duncan: Obama Should Focus on Our Kids – TIME Magazine 1.18.17
Tacoma Schools continue to make strides in most areas – Tacoma Weekly 3.31.16
As Tacoma graduation rates rise, educators and community look to next steps – Tacoma News Tribune 3.25.16
Tacoma graduation goals lofty but reachable – Tacoma News Tribune Editorial 3.23.16
Tacoma Graduation Rates Now Top State Average – Tacoma Weekly 1.1.16
Tacoma schools announce record percentage of students receiving diplomas in 2014 – Tacoma News Tribune 12.2.14
Spotlight shines on Tacoma students at community rally – Tacoma News Tribune 10.7.14
A third engine behind Tacoma students, teachers – Tacoma News Tribune 1.26.14
Educational foundation sets sights on ambitious graduation goals – Tacoma News Tribune 1.24.14
