By Lisa Macfarlane, DFER WA State Director
Drum roll….Nine Washington Charter School Commissioners have just been appointed by Governor Jay Inslee, Speaker of the House, Frank Chopp, and Lieutenant Governor, Brad Owen. The mission of the Washington State Charter School Commission is to authorize high-quality public charter schools throughout the state, particularly those designed to serve at-risk students. The nine newly appointed commissioners are a strong group of leaders who have all said they are committed to advancing high-quality public charter schooling in Washington State.
Our new charter school law specifies that the Commission can consist of no more than five members of the same political party. Competition to serve on the commission was stiff. Many qualified applicants did not make the final cut. The appointers were all Democrats, and they appear to have done a good job in choosing a well-rounded, diverse, and experienced group of thought leaders.
The list includes a superintendent of a small, rural school district; a founder of a school serving homeless children; a university professor; and a former urban district school board member. There are also three current public school parents, several educators, and non-profit leaders in the mix.
DFER-WA helped lead the coalition supporting the charter school ballot measure and we applaud these appointments. Launching the commission is an important milestone on the road to opening a few great charter schools in 2014.
Now, without future ado, please meet the founding members of Washington’s Charter School Commission:
- Doreen Cato – E.D. of United Way of Grays County, Founder of First Place School
- Trish Millines Dziko – Co-founder of TAF Academy
- Kevin Jacka – Superintendent of the Mary Walker School District
- Chris Martin – Spokane Gifted Education Advocate
- Margit McGuire – Director of Teacher Education at Seattle University
- Dave Quall – Retired Democratic state legislator
- Steve Sundquist – Former Seattle School Board Member and Retired Business Executive
- Cindi Williams – Federal and State Education Policy Expert
- Larry Wright – Non-profit Business Leader with Extensive Background in Mentoring
Lisa Macfarlane is the Washington State Director for Democrats for Education Reform, a co-founder of the League of Education Voters, a past President of Schools First (Seattle’s levy and bond committee), the sponsor of two statewide education funding initiatives, and a PCO in the 46th District. Read Lisa’s full bio here.