Spotlight: Fred Hutch’s LabLaunch program is redefining career preparation in the life sciences. This partnership between Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Washington Alliance for Better Schools, and Shoreline Community College equips students with the skills needed for high-demand lab technician roles. The program combines hands-on lab experience with academic training, ensuring students are job-ready and offering them a guaranteed interview at Fred Hutch upon program completion.
We are excited to take a leadership role with the Career Connect Washington initiative (CCW), working alongside partners from Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC), Washington STEM, and the Employment Security Department. As part of this new public-private leadership group, we are committed to supporting education-to-career pathways that equip today’s students to succeed in tomorrow’s workforce.
High school seniors from across Washington state received honors from Boeing, Partnership for Learning, and Tallo during a Washington State STEM Signing Day event in Seattle, on June 4. The event recognized students committed to pursuing science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) after high school.
Partnership for Learning caught up with STEM Signing Day 2021 honoree Ishaan Ganguly and found out his latest updates.
In 2013, the Chehalis School District and the Chehalis Foundation partnered to launch the Chehalis Student Achievement Initiative (SAI), an effort focused on improving student achievement, modernizing instructional practices, and preparing students for college and careers. The depth of community engagement and partnership has driven impressive gains over the initiative’s 10-year history.
Learn more about what makes the district stand out in our new case study, which is part of our Credential is Essential series.
The 2024 legislative session wrapped up last week, and it resulted in several policy changes and investments that will support progress toward Partnership for Learning’s goal that 70% of Washington students, overall and within each racial and ethnic community, complete a credential after high school, such as a degree, apprenticeship, or industry-aligned certificate or license.
After three years of steep declines, postsecondary enrollment in Washington is showing signs of recovery. According to data shared with Washington Roundtable by the state’s public postsecondary institutions, 51,000+ fewer students enrolled in our public institutions in fall 2023 than in fall 2019 – representing a 17% enrollment decline since the pandemic’s onset. This comes when postsecondary education is increasingly the only pathway to middle-class jobs.
In 2016, the Washington Roundtable set a goal: 70% of Washington students—overall and within each racial and ethnic community—will complete a postsecondary credential by age 26. This goal reflects the workforce needs of Washington employers and national and state data projecting that at least 70% of jobs in our state will be filled by workers who complete a postsecondary credential, such as a degree, apprenticeship, or industry-aligned certificate or license.
New data analysis indicates that nearly a third of the progress made toward the goal since the class of 2006 was wiped out during the pandemic. The estimated credential attainment rate for the high school class of 2021 is 40%—three percentage points lower than the class of 2019 and 30 points below the goal.
The 2023 legislative session resulted in several policy changes and investments that support Partnership for Learning’s goal that 70% of Washington students complete a credential after high school, such as a degree, apprenticeship, or industry-aligned certificate or license. New policies the legislature passed include:
Partnership for Learning worked closely with many important partners to support these policies, and we are grateful for the collaboration. As we seek to raise the rate at which Washington students enroll in and complete post-high school education, these new laws and investments can ease students’ experiences in the critical transition from high school to college and career training.
Learn more about our work and join us at www.credentialessential.com.
Sign up for our newsletter to learn why the credential is essential and how we can work together.
