How Policy Can Equip Educators and Empower Students
If we are to advance education justice, we must address the systemic barriers that prevent our students from accessing the excellent educators they deserve. Research confirms what we know – teachers are the most influential in-school factor driving student success. Yet many students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, end up with inexperienced teachers who may […]
Funding the Future: Achieving Equity in Washington’s K-12 Education System
We acknowledge that many advocates across Washington State believe it is time to rethink how Washington funds public education. As an ally and advocate for education justice, we offer these recommendations for consideration in achieving equity in Washington’s K12 education system. The policy decisions about how much we spend and how to invest and allocate […]
Sustaining the Fight for Equity Post-Supreme Court Ruling
The path to racial and social justice in our country is marked by significant obstacles. Last week’s Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action presents another hurdle in achieving equity and inclusivity in American education. This ruling threatens our concerted efforts to combat discrimination and narrow disparities within our education system. Governor Inslee’s recent words addressing […]
2023 Washington State Legislative Session Recap
The 2023 legislative session wrapped up on April 23. It’s fair to say that lawmakers and the governor notched significant accomplishments toward their priorities around housing, gun safety, and protecting abortion access. However, the one notable disappointment for the governor and lawmakers was a failure on drug possession legislation. The accomplishments were more modest when […]
Financial Aid Night Helps Tacoma Students Achieve Postsecondary Goals
The Foundation for Tacoma Students opened its doors to more than 120 students and their families as part of a recent Financial Aid Completion Night. SAMi Co-Director Liz Minks worked with FFTS staff to coordinate the event focused on providing individualized support to students attending four Tacoma high schools: SAMi, SOTA, IDEA, and Willie Stewart. […]
Empowering Partnerships for Student Success
Partners from across Graduate Tacoma’s Collaborative Action Networks (CAN) gathered earlier this month to celebrate their work and plan for the future together. During this quarterly event, partners join forces to discuss the ways in which we can work together to support students on their journey to success. We discussed critical components required to create […]
Advocating for Postsecondary Success: Reflections from Advocacy Day
On January 31, the Foundation for Tacoma Students, along with our colleagues at Washington STEM, traveled to Olympia with staff and partners for our annual Advocacy Day. We seized this opportunity to advocate for specific bills and budget items that align with our Policy Platform and that the legislative session is currently considering. Our focus was on policies that help K-12 students navigate their options post-high school graduation and invest in supports to help them ultimately earn a postsecondary credential.
Building Pathways to Success Through Peer Mentoring
The Pierce County Pathways Peer Mentoring initiative has officially launched at Tacoma Community College (TCC) with the Titan PULSE Mentors Program. This initiative is designed to support college students’ retention, persistence, and completion.
2023 Policy Platform: Committing to our Future
tion for Tacoma Students’ has released its 2023 Policy Platform, Committing to our Future. The Platform lays out bold ideas for public education that will help all students and keep equity at the center by focusing on policies that disproportionately benefit students from lower-income or working-class families and students of color.
FFTS Launches County-Wide Initiative Enabling Postsecondary Success
The Foundation for Tacoma Students is excited to introduce our newest postsecondary success initiative, Pierce County Pathways, a dual approach to systems change and programmatic delivery. This initiative is a natural evolution of our community’s success in the first decade of the Graduate Tacoma movement. It consists of three distinct yet interconnected areas which help advance our community’s 2030 goal—postsecondary access, postsecondary completion, and entry into the workforce.