When Seattle voters permitted the Households, Schooling and Early Childhood Promise levy in November 2018, it was presupposed to generate $619 million to assist put together pre-Ok by means of twelfth grade college students for faculty. Over the previous 5 years, it has for a lot of youngsters. The cash has elevated the variety of preschool-aged youngsters, offered household help and after-school and summer time applications, and expanded the variety of school-based well being facilities.
However the smallest share of the tax {dollars} – about 6% – has additionally fulfilled the “promise”. The small portion of the levy has gone towards full scholarships for five,200 Seattle Public College graduates to attend a Seattle Neighborhood School.
5 years into the free training program, Seattle householders ought to really feel constructive about what the Seattle Promise has been capable of do.
About 64% of the Class of 2022 accomplished the Seattle Promise utility. In September of that yr, 24% of those that accomplished the appliance have been attending neighborhood faculty lessons.
This yr, about 1,400 graduates from Seattle public colleges have been enrolled in neighborhood faculty; about 920 of these college students have been from the category of 2022.
Past the numbers, the Seattle Promise has helped take away a barrier to educational and monetary success that’s usually primarily based on zip codes or a household’s wealth. Of these enrolled this yr, 70% are college students of shade.
Ideally, extra college students ought to reap the benefits of the chance. College students study this system by means of their colleges, and fogeys accomplish that by means of emails and textual content messages. Extra must be accomplished to attach the dots between information of this system, the appliance course of, and examples of scholars who’ve accomplished two years of faculty and are actually in a four-year program or within the workforce.
At a time when the price of faculty is rising and enrollment is falling, Seattle Promise has created an vital three-member partnership between the Metropolis of Seattle, Seattle Schools and SPS. Its success needs to be celebrated.
