Education

The initiative to allow charter schools in Washington is narrowly passing with 51 percent of the vote. This was the fourth time the state’s voters considered charter schools. Supporters said charters would expand students’ educational options because charters aren’t bound by district or union rules.

Marijuana legalization and same-sex marriage are hot-button issues on the Washington ballot. Even after the measures are decided, the debate will likely continue and changes won't happen overnight.

If Initiative 1240 passes, public school funding would finance each charter school created under the law.

Seattle Public Schools has not met any of the 23 student performance goals the district set for itself four years ago in its five-year plan called "Excellence for All."

This story has been updated since it was first published.

A member of the Christian Brothers religious order who served as principal at Seattle’s O'Dea High School has resigned. Brother Karl Walczak is being accused of sexually abusing a minor in Chicago about 40 years ago.

The school is operated by the Christian Brothers but owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle.

The crushing cost of student debt is leading schools, students and parents to look at alternatives provided by online learning. A leader in the field, Karen Symms Gallagher, dean of the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education, sits down with Ross Reynolds for a discussion about the future of online learning for credit.

This fall, voters in Washington will decide whether to legalize charter schools in the state for the first time. Washington voters have considered charters three times before. But the details of charter school funding, oversight and independence can be confusing. So we took a red pen to claims by supporters and opponents of Initiative 1240, and gave each claim a grade to see who gets to go to the head of the class – and who needs to go back and check their work.

Character, not IQ, is the most important predictor of a child's success. That's what Paul Tough argues in his new book, "How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character."

Tough uses research in neuroscience, economics and psychology to advocate a new way of thinking about children's success. He spoke at Seattle's Town Hall on September 20, 2012.

Two-and-a-half years ago, KUOW brought you the story of Bridget Ambrose and her son Ryder. Ryder was in kindergarten at the time. He’s on the autism spectrum. At Ryder’s preschool, he’d gotten special education services like speech therapy and the social skills training that many kids with autism need to teach them how to interact with other kids.

RadioActive's Halle Bills takes a look at the high school tradition of hazing or "froshing." Froshing happens at high schools across the country. It is an initiation process where incoming freshmen are humiliated as they start the school year.  A source in our Public Insight Network helped make this story happen.