OPINION: Agreement among schools is promising, and needed

This editorial was published in the Yakima Herald-Republic.

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Local educators have just agreed to a new collaboration that could make it easier for high school students to earn college credits.

Leaders of the Yakima School District, Yakima Valley College and Central Washington University in Ellensburg signed a memorandum of understanding last week. In general, the agreement aims to reduce barriers to obtaining or transferring credits as students work toward their educational and career goals.

Whether it works is anybody’s guess, but it’s not coming a minute too soon.

Jim Wohlpart, CWU’s president, says 75% of the jobs being created in Washington require at least some post-secondary training. At the same time, our state ranks an embarrassing 48th in the nation for high school graduates moving directly into any of that training.

That statistical mismatch should be an urgent call to action for educators across the Evergreen State.

One way or another, employers will find people to take those new jobs. The question is whether they’ll be bringing in workers from out of the area or whether they’ll be offering opportunities to qualified Yakima Valley people.

If local schools can work together to shape training programs that mesh with the jobs that will be available — and if they can point students to clearly defined paths that offer realistic training for those jobs — they’ll have done their community a great service.

Yakima School District Superintendent Trevor Greene said his district has already been working with CWU to make sure students’ coursework is eligible for credits at the Ellensburg school. Adding YVC to the loop should widen student options.

Greene thinks the new deal might even stand as a model for other schools around the state.

If it proves workable, it seems logical to hope that at the very least, other school districts around the Yakima Valley will eventually get on board.

If the plan doesn’t seem to be working, educators should waste no time course-correcting. Because one way or another, they need to do better at getting students trained and prepared for the future.

With a few exceptions, enrollment at Washington’s community and technical colleges declined by 25% between 2019 and 2022, according to a 2023 report by the Washington Student Achievement Council. At the same time, enrollment at four-year universities was down by 10%, the council found.

While some of that decline can be attributed to the pandemic, it’s clear that many students — because of such factors as high tuition costs or changing cultural values — are simply turning their backs on post-secondary pursuits.

That should set off alarm bells among educators, from tenured university professors right down to kindergarten teachers.

A society that sees no value in education is opening its doors to widespread ignorance — something that seems to be flourishing in recent years.

As daunting an undertaking as it is, our elected officials and school administrators need to figure out ways to make their institutions more relevant, more useful and more accessible.

Otherwise, today’s high school students might soon face some grim realities.

TNS