Analyzing Washington’s Election Results

2024 was a big election year in Washington. At the state level we had two new candidates running for Governor for the first time since 2012, as well as a […]
Beyond Quick Fixes: Why Washington’s Teacher Diversity Gap Demands Bold Policy Action

At the Foundation for Tacoma Students, we are committed to our community goal: ensuring that by 2030, 70% of high school graduates earn a college degree, technical certificate, or secure […]
The Presidential Election And Education Policy

President Biden’s term included some high profile education policy work, but education was not a top priority on the same level of something like infrastructure. Looking ahead to 2025, education policy could be more prominent, and Vice President Harris […]
Career And Technical Education Has A Lot Of Potential

If you spend any time around K-12 and higher education policy you’ll quickly pick up that something called “dual enrollment” or “dual credit” is a trending topic. This refers to programs that […]
How Pierce County Partners are Connecting Students to Postsecondary Opportunities

In Washington state, the journey from high school to college is rarely straightforward, varying across cities and school districts. Despite diverse paths, every young person has the potential to succeed […]
Improving the High School and Beyond Plan

Our team at the Foundation for Tacoma Students recently wrapped-up a qualitative research project focused on the efficacy and opportunities for improvement to an aspect of our state’s requirements for […]
Why Bold, Sustained Investments in Education is Everyone’s Business

The Foundation for Tacoma Students hosted its fourth annual Charting Our Future conference, a transformative gathering that brought together over 300 educators, policymakers, community leaders, and advocates committed to creating […]
Washington Needs a Strategy for Tutoring

Measures of academic achievement for Washington students are improving overall from an extreme low point coming out of pandemic school disruptions. But there is still a lot of work to […]
Washington’s Capital Gains Tax is Good

In 2021 the state legislature enacted a new tax on capital gains. The revenue from the tax is restricted and can only be used for child care, early learning and […]
College is Worth it

Student loan forgiveness is a high profile Federal policy issue at the moment. Without getting into the tradeoffs involved in that specific policy, something that worries me about its prominence […]