Bills for four of our five advocacy priorities have dropped and action campaigns are gearing up. Here are the latest updates: PRIORITY ONE: Equalize the School Levy Cap Levy Equalization Bill SB5316 by Senator Wellman was introduced and read into the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education. PRIORITY TWO: Fully Fund the Washington [...]

Tacoma Public School District officials, teachers and community partners held a short-and-sweet celebration last week to mark the release of its graduation figures. Now the district will focus on lawmakers in Olympia to shore up state funding for schools. So far the district has been forced to lay off staff and foresees more cuts with [...]

The Washington State Legislature has kicked off the 2019 Session, and there is a lot of momentum to be excited about! Four of our five Advocacy Priorities have been included in Governor Inslee’s Budget this year. We also received local news coverage that shared our concerns for the school levy cap. We are thrilled to [...]

As Tacoma Public Schools leaders celebrate record-high graduation rates, the district’s budget deficit looms. Tacoma Public Schools reached an 89.3 percent graduation rate in 2018, more than 3 percent higher than the 86.1 percent earned in 2017. It’s the highest it’s been since the state began tracking it in 2003. “Our graduation rate has gone [...]

All of us here at the Foundation for Tacoma Students are thankful to have had some downtime before jumping into what promises to be our busiest year yet. Kicking off 2019 is the opening of the Washington State Legislative Session! This is an exciting time for the Foundation and the Graduate Tacoma movement as we [...]

What type of advocacy will the Foundation for Tacoma Students engage in? The Foundation for Tacoma Students is a 501c3 nonprofit and legally allowed to advocate on the local, regional and state level within the following perimeters: The Foundation will never participate in campaigns on behalf of, or in opposition to, political candidates to public [...]

The Foundation for Tacoma Students envisions a Tacoma where every child succeeds in school, career and life. The Foundation’s mission is to build and strengthen Tacoma’s community-wide movement (Graduate Tacoma) to help every child achieve success from cradle to college and career. The Foundation for Tacoma Students Advocacy Core Principles: Robust quality investments must be [...]