Dear Friends and Colleagues,

What leads students to succeed in the College of Arts and Sciences? In addition to what we do while they are here, an extremely important contributor to success is their preparation before college. Students who come prepared, with a strong knowledge base and curiosity intact, usually flourish. We want that to be the case for every student, and we are working closely with K-12 schools across the state to achieve that goal.

Our ties with Washington’s K-12 schools go back many years. We have long offered teacher workshops in everything from physics to Japanese culture. Both faculty and students have made numerous visits to K-12 classrooms to share their enthusiasm for a subject. We have worked with high school teachers to more effectively link our curricula, smoothing the transition from high school to college. But there is always more we can do.

As an example, over the next five years the College is sponsoring one of the UW’s GEAR UP grants. GEAR UP is a program that encourages low-income students—now in middle school—to consider attending college. Nearly 1,000 young students spent a week on campus this summer through the program, getting a brief taste of college life. I hope to see them again as they continue with the program over the next five years. Hopefully I will welcome many of them to the freshman class of 2006.

Another recent K-12 connection is a tile project at John Hay Elementary School in Seattle. Six UW art students visited the school for four months through an Artist in Residence Program, helping the children create tiles for a mural in the school’s stairwell. The results are charming, and the process gave participants a deeper understanding of art.

These projects, and others like them, are important. But the College of Arts and Sciences has another connection with K-12 schools that may be even more enduring: its alumni. Arts and Sciences alumni have made an enormous impact as K-12 educators, bringing their passion for learning into the classroom and working to improve education policy on a broader level. Six alumni are profiled in this newsletter. Some are fairly new to education while others have been teaching for decades, but they all share a curiosity for learning that is infectious. In several cases, this curiosity has led them back to the UW—repeatedly—to continue their learning.

Barbara Schaad-Lamphere, president of the Seattle School Board, is among the alumni highlighted. She says her UW education has served as an inspiration in her efforts to improve Seattle’s public schools. “It gave me a way of approaching life and study by developing my analytical thinking and research skills,” she explains. “It really mirrors what we’re working toward in K-12 education.”

I second Barbara’s comments, and I invite you to help the College further improve its connections with K-12 schools. It is a sure path to success for our incoming students.

Sincerely,

David Hodge
Dean
(206) 543-5340
hodge@u.washington.edu

[Autumn 2000 - Table of Contents]