Ten member colleges comprise Independent Colleges of Washington, each of them unique in their mission and personality. They are all influential educators of their students, strong contributors to the economic and cultural vitality of their local communities, and collaborators in ensuring an educated and well-rounded citizenry.
Preparing the Next Generation: Collaboration with K-12
Our colleges have been involved in collaborations to help strengthen our K-12 system for future success, from hosting national discussions on race and human rights to building direct relationships between the colleges and school-age youth.
Examining the System
 Stemming from an ongoing campus initiative on the subject of race, human and civil rights, and social justice within education and society, University of Puget Sound hosted the 2010 Race and Pedagogy National Conference. The conference engaged over 800 participants and 200 presenters, including singer/activist Harry Belafonte, Professor Lani Guinier of Harvard Law School; President Freeman Hrabowski III of University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and Seattle University School of Law Professor's Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic.
 A research team from Gonzaga University's School of Education presented a series of collaborative strategies to help curtail the nearly 40% dropout rate in Spokane's public high schools. Co-funded by the Inland Northwest Community Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the study found that support and intervention in the middle-school years might provide the greatest impact in retaining students through graduation and preventing drop-outs. Noting that the trifecta of early identification, high academic expectations, and social support cannot come from a single source, the study emphasized the need for collaboration across the entire community.
Giving Students Goals
Getting young students to meet college students or step foot on a college campus creates the vision that college is possible.
 Whitworth University's School of Education works closely with Spokane area elementary school students for the annual Whitworth Writing Rally, now in its 27th year. A family literacy initiative serving 600 students in pre-school through 6th grade, the children learn reading and writing skills with help from a professional author and trained educators. Many students return year after year, and some later enroll as Whitworth students due to their experience years earlier at the Whitworth Writing Rally.
 Walla Walla University Education Professor Tamara Randolph and Mariela Rosas, Parent Educator for Children’s Home Society of Walla Walla, have created a unique partnership serving residents of the Walla Walla Farm Labor Homes (FLH). Since 2008, Randolph has integrated a lab component at the after-school Academic Fun Club for her Curriculum and Instruction Social Studies class. Additionally, students in her master’s-level summer classes have been involved in intensive 5-days per week labs with children at the FLH; two students from Walla Walla University taught Lego-Robotics concepts to eager FLH children, who learned to assemble and program robots; and her Curriculum and Instruction Reading/Language Arts classes have built a strong lab component of 2 hours weekly assessing and tutoring many of the same ELL children in a 3rd-grade classroom at the local public school with expert facilitation by Lori Kissinger, Learning Specialist and National Board Certified Teacher.
 Seattle University's Children's Literacy Project has partnered 18,000 at-risk elementary, middle, and high school students with 6,000 SU volunteers since its founding in 1990. Partnering with eight schools representing the diverse communities of First Hill and the Central District, the program brings tutors to into the classroom to help youth with literacy and basic skills, as well as motivation for learning and success. In turn, the tutors are given the opportunity to serve and "acquire a new understanding of service, patience, and compassion." To learn about SU's community service, read the Partners for Progress report.
 Seattle Pacific University students, faculty, and staff welcomed sixty-five fifth graders from Dearborn Elementary and Zion Prep to their "first day of college", a powerful way to let youth envision the possibility of higher education. SPU has number of initiatives with recent grant support to partner local elementary, middle, and high school students with mentors and tutors from the university to long term tutoring partnerships with Shoreline AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), Chief Sealth and Ingraham High School, Denny and Hamilton Middle School.
 Recognizing the math achievement gap among under-priviledged students in the south Puget Sound, Pacific Lutheran University's Math Department developed the Mathletes Coaching Program five years ago, and it is running strong. Leveraging the enthusiasm of PLU math undergraduates and expertise of upper-elementary and middle school math teachers, young "Mathletes" join math clubs to prepare for the Washington State Math Council's Math Olympiad. Aligned with state math standards, the competition is the framework for the young students to bolster crucial math skills before entering high school; and test scores of the students who participate in the Mathletes program far outpace their peers.
Feeding the Need for Teachers in High Demand Subjects
 Whitman College's Science Outreach Program completed its first Summer Institute in collaboration with middle-school science teachers from the Walla Walla area and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. This summer's program focused on the cataclysmic events that affect the Earth's geology, and engaged science teachers to use multiple modes of presenting Earth and Space science to their students, addressing the statewide Essential Academic Learning Requirements.
 St Martin's University and the South Sound Consortium of school districts formed STAR (Secondary Teacher Alternative Route) to help current non-certificated district employees and professionals with relevant background to fill critical shortages of instructors in areas such as math, science, ESL/ELL, and special education. The program, customized for the individual, combines in-class mentorship with experienced teachers and the university courses. STAR aligns with St. Martin's other well-regarded teaching programs offered by St. Martin's College of Education, including certificate programs at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Centralia College.
 Ensuring access to higher education in locales where a four-year degree can be elusive is a core value for Heritage University. Recognizing that many non-traditional college students seeking to be teachers may be seeking a program closer to home, Heritage University has established programs on the campuses of South Seattle Community College, Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake, and Columbia Basin College in Pasco. The academic offerings vary by site and range from bachelor’s degrees in education to master’s degrees in school administration. A dual admission agreement between Heritage and each of its partners allows students to move seamlessly from their associate’s degree studies into a bachelor’s program. The university has even expanded its partnerships by forming a similar agreement with Highline Community College in Des Moines, Washington and expects the number of partnering community colleges to grow. With a student body that is 55% Hispanic and 90% Pell Grant eligible, graduates of their education programs are preparing teachers for projected changes in K-12 student demographics.
Meet State Need Grant recipients from Heritage University
New Program Rewards Savings Habits of Low-income Students
Imagine having the kind of return on a modest investment that pays off five-fold [500%] or eight-fold in just three years? Just a pipe dream in today’s economy? Hardly. For some students attending an ICW college, this is a real possibility.
In late October, ICW launched a new program called the Matched College Savings Program that is specifically designed to reward the savings habits of very low-income students with matching funds that can only be used to help pay for tuition, books and other college-related supplies. The students who are eligible to participate must be at or below 200% of poverty level. There are about 4000 students at our ten ICW colleges who meet this criteria.
Here’s how the program works:
- Students must be enrolled at one of the participating ICW colleges statewide
- Enrolled students must save a minimum amount each month , for example $25 for a minimum of 6 months
- Students must also complete a ten hour financial education course before they are eligible to withdraw funds
- For every dollar a student saves, it is matched by both federal funds and non-federal or private dollars, ranging from a ratio of 2:1 to 8:1
- Students can be enrolled in the program for three years
The potential of the match is what makes this program exciting for students. For example: A student personally saves $800 over 3 years. Using a 5:1 match ratio, the student is eligible to receive $4,000 in federal and private matching money. The student then has $4,800 to use toward the cost of his/her tuition, books or supplies.
“We think the program has a lot of appeal to individual, corporate or foundation donors that value students learning good savings habits that help them meet their goal of going to college. And to have their savings matched is an added incentive to stay in school and complete their education. It’s a great example of giving students a ‘hand-up’ with their education vs. a hand out”, says Anne Cassidy, Director of Development at ICW.
For more information about this program, please contact: Anne Cassidy Anne@ICWashington.org or 206/623-4494.
This year, give the gift of education. A gift to the ICW Scholarship Fund helps lower-income students stay in school and complete their education.
100% of all gifts received will be distributed to our member colleges to help students with the cost of their tuition. Your gift, when combined with the generosity of others, has a larger than life impact on the student who receives it.
Join ICW members in welcoming the holiday season. Events may require tickets.
The Gonzaga Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kevin Hekmatpanah, will present its winter concert at Monday, Dec. 6 at the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox. The event will feature Liszts Les Preludes; the poetic intermezzo from Mascagnis opera Cavalleria Rusticana; the famous and brilliant overture to William Tell by Rossini, and the Mount Olympus of concertos, the violin concerto by Brahms.
PEACE: A PLU Christmas
Pacific Lutheran University's popular Christmas concerts perform on Saturday December 4 (Portland) and Monday, December 6 (Seattle) with the Choir of the West, University Chorale and members of the University Symphony Orchestra presenting joyous anthems, processionals, carols, narration and audience participation.
The Saint Martin's University Chorale will usher in the Christmas season with the annual Procession of Carols and Candlelight Mass on Sunday, December 5th at 5pm. This family event, which is free and open to the public, begins in Saint Martin's Old Main building in Lacey.
On Friday, December 3, Seattle Pacific University hosts "Tradition", an evening of live music, storytelling, and hot cider. Students, alumni, and community members, particularly with families, are invited to share in the festivities. The Sacred Sounds concert at Benaroya Hall took place on November 29 and 30.
The Seattle University Choirs present A Festival of Christmas on Friday, December 3, and Sunday, December 5 , at St. Joseph Church (18th E. and E. Aloha). The concert includes works by Jean-Baptiste Lully, Tomas Luis de Vittoria, William Grant Still, Zoltan Kodaly and SU Choral Music director Joy Sherman, as well as guest artist Indra Thomas, internationally renowned for her opera and recital performances. For more information call (206) 296-5372 or visit the link above.
University of Puget Sound will host a Celebration of Chanukah including latkes, dreidles, menorahs on December 2, the Adelphian Choir on December 4 and 5 exploring music from the Congo, Eastern Europe, Israel, Cuba, and other points around the globe , and the Festival of Lessons and Carols on Sunday, December 5, the traditional Christmas service that was developed in 1918 at King’s College, University of Cambridge, England, to provide a colorful celebration that gave voice to local families' anticipation of Christmas.
Walla Walla University presents its annual Christmas concert on Saturday, December 10. Call (509) 527-2561 for more information.
The Whitman College Department of Music presents a combined Fall Concert with the Whitman Chorale on December 4. A student led Chanukah party will be on December 3.
Annual Whitworth Christmas Festival Concert with the Whitworth Choir, Whitworth Women's Choir, Whitworth Men's Chorus and student instrumentalists will be held on December 4 (Seattle), December 5 (Bellevue), and December 10 (Spokane).
Independent Colleges of Washington wishes you a happy holiday, and thanks you for your support of students, our member colleges, and higher education in Washington.
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