District Students Attend LEAP Conference

Students from the Edmonds School District were among 600+ WA state students attending the 2008 LEAP Education Conference and Legislative Day in Tacoma. The annual event was sponsored by the Latino/a Educational Achievement Program (LEAP). Parents, educators and administrators from the district also attended, rounding out the team of representatives from our schools. Attendance was supported by the Articulation Council between Edmonds Community College and the ESD, which works to facilitate the transition between high school and college.

LEAP, founded in 1998, advocates for policies and legislation that contribute to improving academic opportunites and achievement for Latino/a students in WA state.

[LEAP] addresses the serious issues of the academic achievement gap, our alarming drop out rates, and the isolation many of our Hispanic students experience in school classrooms across the state.
~Yvonne Lopez Morton, Commission on Hispanic Affairs, March, 2007

Students attended workshops on academic success, student leadership, and the path to higher education. Students also had the opportunity to meet with state legislators, see first hand how our state's government operates, and learn about the importance of civic engagement in their communities.

Students also had the chance to learn more about the DREAM Act, which would provide a path for temporary legal residency to certain undocumented students, provided they work towards permanent legal residency by completing two years of college or military service.

Our students came back informed and inspired to address the educational opportunities and achievement of Latino/a students in their home schools, and to seek out student leadership roles. We're very proud of our student participants.