Washington doesn’t make the cut in Race to the Top Round 2
Washington state has been left at the starting line in the second round of the federal Race to the Top grant competition, according to the official release from U.S. Department of Education. "We’re disappointed," said WSSDA President Kevin Laverty. "School directors looked at this application closely and fully debated it in their communities. With the passage of SB 6696 in the last session, we are fully committed to further reforms in public education that make the best use of the public's dollar and help set the stage for improved student achievement and the ability to succeed in future academic and workplace pursuits." Meanwhile, Gov. Chris Gregoire and Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn have issued this joint statement.

Common Core standards provisionally adopted
As part of the state’s bid for Race to the Top, the Legislature gave  Superintendent Dorn authority to provisionally adopt the national Common Core Academic Standards. Dorn did so recently, noting that the law requires him to provide a detailed comparison with the state’s standards for the next legislative session. Learn more here.

SBE considers revisions to Core 24
At its recent meeting in Anacortes, members of the State Board of Education discussed possible revisions to the proposed Core 24 High School Graduation Requirements Framework—discussions that will continue at the next meeting in September. One of the options being considered is a "Quality Core" of 20 prescribed credits required for a diploma plus four locally determined elective credits that would not be specified. For more on this and other items from the SBE’s July meeting, click here.

Candidate filings now open for SBE election
School directors in western Washington will vote on one position on the State Board of Education this fall. Position 3, currently held by Connie Fletcher of Issaquah, is up for a special election to complete an unexpired term. Declarations of candidacy are now being accepted by OSPI. For forms and election information, visit the OSPI website.

Welcome Jonelle and Marie!
Dr. Jonelle Adams has completed her first week on the job as WSSDA’s new executive director. Get to know Jonelle and her thoughts about WSSDA’s opportunities and challenges in this nine-minute WSSDA Podcast. Also, WSSDA has announced the appointment of Marie Sullivan as the association’s new director of governmental affairs. Learn more about Marie in this online article.

WSSDA Online Learning: Putting Your Data to Work for Student Achievement
WSSDA is pleased to offer a new program of online learning for school directors around the state, geared toward building an online community in which participants strengthen their knowledge and skills through presentations, conversations and sharing. Our first course, which will take place Sept. 8 to Oct. 6, will focus on understanding and using data to improve student achievement. Details and online registration are available here.

Call for WSSDA position proposals
A reminder that the WSSDA Resolutions Committee has issued its annual call for proposals related to the association’s Permanent Positions. These positions, which are separate from WSSDA’s Legislative Positions, describe the association's collective stance on issues related to education. Proposals are due Aug. 16. Information and submittal forms are available on the WSSDA website.

Reminders
Sign-ups are still being accepted for the Aug. 12 WSSDA Workshop The Changing Face of School Finance. Be sure to register by Aug. 6 … Make sure your district is represented at the WSSDA Legislative Assembly in September. Online registration is available at wssda.org/assembly … There are 13 WSSDA Regional Meetings scheduled for this September and October. See the dates/locations and register online on the WSSDA website.

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