To help guide our work in the final year of our current strategic plan, we asked our community to weigh in on how resources should be allocated across our four priority areas:
- Inclusionary Practices
- Literacy and Language Development
- Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)
- Secondary Redesign
More than 265 ideas were shared across four ThoughtExchanges, with nearly 5,400 ratings by 332 participants.
A strong majority of 78% of participants reported they know at least a little bit about the development process, up from 69% in January.
Thank you to everyone who shared your thoughts. Here's what we heard.
Inclusionary Practices
What We’re Hearing
Our community emphasized the need for more staffing and training to support inclusion. They called for additional paraeducators, special education teachers and mental health professionals. Smaller class sizes, stronger support for behavioral needs, and deeper professional development were also named as priorities.
What We’re Doing
We’re committed to inclusive schools where every student feels a sense of belonging and receives the support they need—right alongside their peers. Through our inclusion cohort model, more schools are shifting away from separate programs toward services provided within the general education classroom.
We continue to invest in staff training and advocate for staffing levels that allow every student to be seen, heard and supported. Highline maintains lower class sizes than the state funds because we know it makes a difference.
At the same time, state funding for special education continues to fall short. We are using local levy dollars to fill the gap—and we are actively advocating for increased state support so every student can thrive.
This year, the state legislature committed to some additional funding to cover special education. However, it is not enough to fully fund, and we will need to continue to rely on our local levy.
Literacy and Language Development
What We’re Hearing
Families and staff want high-quality texts, flexible writing instruction, and strong foundational skills, including phonics. They emphasized the need for small-group support, decodable books, and targeted help for dual language learners. Reducing screen time and increasing access to physical books also surfaced as priorities.
What We’re Doing
Improving literacy starts with listening—especially to our students and teachers. This year, district and school leaders are visiting classrooms across Highline to observe literacy instruction in action and talk directly with students about their learning.
We’ve seen young readers sounding out words, reading independently and practicing research skills. Students have shared what helps them learn—like reading in small groups with a teacher or getting support when they’re stuck. These insights are helping us strengthen literacy instruction across the district.
Alongside classroom visits, we continue to invest in professional learning and use research-based tools, including our board-adopted literacy curriculum ARC Core. This year’s updates focus on foundational skills like phonics, spelling and fluency—along with clearer pacing and more structured opportunities to practice reading.
In our dual language schools, we’re updating guidance to ensure students build literacy in both languages. We're also exploring supplemental materials to meet the diverse learning needs of our students.
Learning Assistance Program (LAP) funds support this work by funding literacy specialist roles at many elementary schools and sustaining small-group and one-on-one interventions. Several schools use funds to support targeted instruction using formative assessments like iReady. These resources help accelerate student learning and reduce barriers to success.
Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)
What We’re Hearing
Our community voiced support for MTSS—and a desire to see it implemented more consistently across schools. Key priorities include scheduling intervention blocks, improving Tier 1-3 supports, and increasing training. They also emphasized the importance of family engagement, multilingual resources and clear protocols for behavior and academic interventions.
What We’re Doing
MTSS is a foundational framework in Highline to ensure every student receives the right support or enrichment to succeed. We’re growing our system through team-driven leadership, data-based decisions, and integrated academic, behavioral, and social-emotional supports.
To strengthen MTSS across Highline, we’ve launched a District MTSS Implementation Team (DMIT), made up of school and central office staff. This team meets regularly to create tools, align resources, and guide training. Four focus schools—Parkside, Mount View, Pacific, and Evergreen—are receiving targeted coaching and are helping shape the rollout of MTSS districtwide.
We’re also increasing professional learning and coordination to make sure MTSS is both equitable and effective, with culturally relevant, evidence-based practices at every tier.
Secondary Redesign
What We’re Hearing
Families and staff want secondary schools to feel more connected to real life—and to be more responsive to student needs. They emphasized the importance of accurate student data, smaller learning communities, more planning time for teachers, and deep, interdisciplinary learning. There’s strong support for project-based instruction, timely feedback, stronger communication, meaningful social studies, and training aligned with brain science and student well-being.
What We’re Doing
We’re redesigning our comprehensive high schools to ensure every student graduates prepared for the future they choose. After more than a year of listening sessions, schools are now turning vision into action. Each high school is taking a tailored approach:
- Evergreen is expanding dual-credit opportunities with the goal of helping students graduate with an AA degree.
- Tyee is launching a Health Sciences pathway, including hands-on learning with a hospital partner.
- Mount Rainier is broadening access to the International Baccalaureate program.
- Highline High is implementing a four-period block schedule to make space for deeper, project-based learning.
Across schools, we’re focusing on real-world relevance and academic rigor—while continuing to gather feedback from students, families and staff to guide our next steps.