Gates Education Roundtable:

Advancing Post-Secondary Success and Closing Gaps in Washington State

Gates Education Roundtable in Washington State

The Gates Foundation Washington State Initiative Team and The Scholar First launched its first Education Roundtable in Washington state beginning in Fall 2023. The Scholar First brings education leaders, educators, and students together to discuss common education goals and priorities. Last year, they developed a common definition to post-secondary success. The Education Roundtable is unpacking this definition during the 2024-25 school year.

Our Common Definition of Post-Secondary Success

The Washington State Education Roundtable defines post-secondary success as: “Empowering each and every student with the inspiration, knowledge, and skills to attain a post-secondary credential that guarantees upward mobility and financial stability, ultimately fulfilling oneself and contributing to society.”

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The Education Roundtable’s Goal:

Collectively, we want to position ALL students across Washington state for post-secondary success with a strategic emphasis on students that have been traditionally underserved.

The aim of the Education Roundtable is to ignite new and impactful thinking and action across the education space to improve outcomes for students across Washington. Goals of the Roundtable include:

  • Convene and co-construct a common vision aligned with stakeholders representing diverse students from across Washington State; educators (teachers, principals, and superintendents); state education leaders; non-profit education leaders; Gates Foundation education leaders; and an education and CCR data expert.

  • Anchor our shared understanding of the challenge in data so that Education Roundtable members can advocate for common practices and policy levers to support the practices.

  • Learn from and leverage student insights to frame solutions that will ensure more students experience post-secondary success.

  • Share and unpack research/evidence-based practices to elevate and implement strategies to eliminate the barriers that K-12 students face as they transition to post-secondary options.

  • Based on the learning from the Education Roundtable, Gates will have a greater sense of leverage points for strategic investments.

  • Share the Education Roundtable’s learning across P-20 systems.

  • Establish a community of leaders and learners, strengthening our individual and collective capacity in strengthening student outcomes.