09/21/2007: "Quall Heads New Education Committee"

State Representative Dave Quall (D-Mount Vernon) has been named chair of the Council of State Governments’ Western region (CSG-West) newly formed Education Committee . Quall was invited to the forum by seatmate and CSG-West Chair Rep. Jeff Morris (D-Mount Vernon).

CSG-West, an organization that typically focuses on economic, land-use, energy and natural resource issues, hasn't had an education committee since the early 1990s. Quall said the decision to form the committee speaks volumes about the increasing recognition that education is a key component of economic policy.

"State lawmakers recognize that we're at a critical point in reforming education," commented Quall. "No Child Left Behind has raised the stakes for students and educators, and the increasing globalization of our economy has raised the stakes for us all. States are the laboratories for innovative, cost-effective programs that help students meet today's challenging new goals. Having a forum to share strategies, ideas and best practices with one another is an incredible opportunity."

Quall says he was pleasantly surprised to see that Washington's programs were the focus of much interest. John Aultman from Washington’s Office of the Superintendent of Instruction and Dave Johnson of the Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council presented information on the state's Running Start program, Running Start for the Trades, and the growing popularity of skill centers. The topics prompted lively discussion among conference participants.

Washington's Running Start program is unlike any other in the country. For the past 15 years, it has allowed qualified high school students to enroll in classes at local community colleges and earn both a high school diploma and two-year transfer degree simultaneously without paying tuition. Running Start for the Trades is a new spin-off of the popular dual-enrollment program and helps high school students gain direct entry into apprenticeships in the building and construction trades. The growing popularity of skill centers is another way that Washington is providing opportunities for high school students to earn high school credits while gaining job training in a wide array of career and technical fields.

"These programs are proving to be invaluable tools for not only feeding our local economy with skilled workers, but for engaging students in the kind of real-world training that keeps them engaged and motivated to stay in school," says Quall. "I was astounded at the level of interest shown by the conference participants. States are thirsty for these kinds of new ideas and it was really heartening to see that the work we've done in Washington was so well-received by others."

Quall, who chairs Washington’s House Education Committee, said that the forum also provided him with ideas that he’d like to pursue here at home. He said one example is a program in Wyoming that provides 2-year and 4-year in-state college grants to high school students that achieve certain benchmarks of academic success. He says such incentives might help students strive to do more than just pass the WASL.

"These are the kinds of ideas that make it worthwhile to meet with other lawmakers from other states," says Quall. "Not only will this committee help us share and compare ideas, but we can also share results and get a sense of what's working and what isn't. I'm really excited about continuing these discussions and working with such a dedicated group of legislators."