Higher Education vital to Washington’s economic future

Washington’s educational attainment levels just won’t cut it to meet our state’s future economic needs.

That’s the thesis of a guest column published on The Seattle Times last week authored by chair and executive director of the Washington Student Achievement Council. Maud Daudon, also the CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, and Gene Sharratt called for collaboration between all sectors on the educational spectrum and a shared commitment between state government, educational institutions and local businesses in order to improve educational attainment levels in Washington.

The demand for skilled workers with postsecondary education continues to grow, and yet Washington is seeing a widening gap in achievement between poor and middle-income students, they wrote.

“If our state fails to educate a skilled workforce, employers will fill middle-income jobs by importing talent or relocating,” Daudon and Sharratt write. “We can and we must do better.”

Read the full article on The Seattle Times here.