This week Governor Gregoire named the citizen members to the Washington Student Achievement Council.
On July 1 the Washington Student Achievement Council (WASAC) was established to replace the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board. The Council, established in House Bill 2483 during the 2012 session, will focus on raising educational attainment in Washington state.
Under the legislation, the council is charged with the following duties:
- Proposing goals for increasing educational attainment, securing resources to support those goals and monitoring progress;
- Developing a two-year strategic action plan and 10-year roadmap; and
- Facilitating the development and expansion of innovative practices, developing policy recommendations based upon data and collaborating with other organizations to set minimum college admission standards.
Additionally, the council has been tasked with helping students prepare for and access postsecondary education and training, improving transitions, administering financial aid programs and approving private degree institutions.
The council will be composed of nine members. Four members are selected by four educational entities. The governor’s five appointees are:
- Brian Baird, former U.S. representative for Washington’s 3rd Congressional District;
- José Gaitán, managing member of The Gaitán Group, PLLC, and past president of the Hispanic National Bar Association;
- Jay Reich, attorney at Pacifica Law Group and former deputy chief of staff to former Commerce Secretary Gary Locke;
- Dr. Constance Rice, managing director for Knowledge Management for Casey Family Programs; and
- Student trustee Lindsey Jahn, a student at Washington State University earning a bachelor of arts degree in business administration.
Other members of the council are:
- Jane Sherman, interim executive director of the Council of Presidents, selected by the presidents of the public baccalaureate institutions;
- Charlie Earl, director of the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, selected by the SBCTC;
- Ray Lawton, director and chairman of Lawton Printing in Spokane, selected by the Independent Colleges of Washington; and
- Scott Brittain, former principal in the Puyallup School District now working in the assessment office at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, selected by OSPI in consultation with the Department of Early Learning and the State Board of Education.