Honoring Dr. Marin Luther King

Today on the Senate floor, we honored Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who dedicated and gave his life in the pursuit of equality and justice for all. Here’s one of my favorite quotes from Dr. King:

“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”

 

Summer Knowledge Improvement Pilot (SKIP)

Did you know that 2/3 of the opportunity gap for low-income students is caused by summer learning loss during their elementary school years? That was the finding of a Johns Hopkins University study and similar results have been seen in numerous other studies.

Here’s a video narrated by NBC’s Brian Williams that explains the problem.

A possible solution could be found through the Summer Knowledge Improvement Pilot (SKIP) program, an extended school year pilot program for selected high-poverty elementary schools to combat academic regression over the summer. The SKIP bill, SB 6163, has been dropped and should have a hearing within the next two weeks.

This bill creates a pilot program for 10 schools in Washington State to extend their school year by 20 days. Schools will participate on a voluntary basis for three years and then a study will evaluate the extended school year’s effect on student success and ability to close the opportunity gap.

To apply as a SKIP pilot school, a school district must create a detailed plan for the extra 20 days, which includes input from the community. In addition, at least 70% of the staff at the school must support the idea before the district applies to be part of the pilot program.

 

Tele-Town Hall Meeting

Please join Rep. Timm Ormsby, Rep. Marcus Riccelli and myself when we host a tele-town hall this Wednesday at 6:15pm. We will each give a brief overview of our perspective on the Legislative session and then spend most of the time answering your questions.

Constituents in the 3rd Legislative District will receive a phone call at 6:15pm inviting them to stay on the line to participate in the town hall. Anyone who does not automatically receive a call can also join in by dialing the toll-free participant number to listen in on the event and ask questions. The call-in number is 1-877-229-8493 and you have to enter 18646 to participate.

 

Keeping In Touch

I welcome your input on pending legislation or any other issue important to our community.

Please don’t hesitate to contact our office with questions or comments at any time. You can reach me by e-mail (andy.billig@leg.wa.gov) or by phone at 360-786-7604.

And if you know someone who would like to get their own copy of my weekly e-newsletter, please send them to my website at http://www.senatedemocrats.wa.gov/senators/billig/ and click on the link to “Sign up for my e-newsletter” – I’ll be glad to keep them in the loop!

Onward!

Andy