Buoyed by changes in public education

Lynne Varner:

Lasting improvements in public education have been hard-won and tempered by a discovery that change in the K-12 system will never be swift, but rather incremental.

Reflecting on the two decades I've written about education in Washington state, I notice a sea change. Remember when students misbehaving in school were suspended or, depending on the transgression, kicked out permanently? The Washington state Legislature is among a number of states curbing the practice of school suspensions and expulsions.

Not long ago, struggling students were relegated to low-level academic tracks. The best teachers were given the gift of high-performing "deserving" kids.

Expectations of rigor were placed on the shoulders of students in gifted programs. Now, Washington state and other states require students to take an advanced course.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at December 29, 2013 12:53 AM
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