True, about 800 people turned out for the Education Summit this morning, where Washington Learns released its final report on how to fix the state's education system over the next decade, with a running start planned for the legislature in January.

But first up was Bill Gates, who delivered a great speech on some of the attitudes and practical things that need to change to make Washington's education system a top-notch concern. First, Gates said, the state needs to increase its pool of college graduates. These grads need to have the science, technical and math skills so firms like Microsoft can hire them, he said Ranking 36th among the states for the production of baccalaureate degrees is simply unacceptable, he noted.

Gates shaped his speech around standards, accountability, flexibility and innovation. First, requiring only two years of unspecified math for a student to receive his/her high school diploma is unacceptable, Gates said.

If Texas can require four years of science and four years of math, we should be able to match that , he said.

And if a school and its staff aren't meeting standards, there should be some consequences. Now, in this state, there are not, Gates said.

There are also too many barriers, whether it be low pay or difficult certification procedures, that keep talented professionals from entering the teaching field. And finally, there needs to be more allowances made for schools that want to try something different. Gates acknowledged that the charter school issue was not going to be successful in Washington State. But there are other ideas we could try, such as a longer school day or year, such as incentive pay for good teachers, or more money set aside for failing schools, he said.

"There is no way around it," Gates concluded, in a speech that had folks talking long after the summit ended. "We have to have change. If you oppose this, either the schools aren't failing or the kids are to blame. And this is just wrong."