In continued support of our strategic plan goals, we will maintain our system-wide focus on Highline's “Big 4” priorities:
- Secondary Redesign
- Literacy and Language Development
- Inclusionary Practices
- Student Support Systems
Take a look below for an overview of where we’ve been and what's ahead!
Secondary Redesign
Over the last two years, our secondary teams have partnered with students and community to identify ways to increase rigor and relevance for students. These efforts have resulted in new approaches and opportunities for students in 2025-26, including:
- Highline High School transitioned to a four-period day to allow for deeper learning.
- Tyee High School launched a Health Professionals Pathway at Tyee.
Our work doesn’t stop here—secondary redesign continues this year with a strong focus on making sure every student is ready for life after high school.
Literacy and Language Development
In 2024-25, we focused on creating literacy rich learning environments and ensuring opportunities for students to engage intentionally with texts regularly across the school day and across content areas, in addition to providing explicit instruction in areas such as foundational skills and vocabulary development.
This year we’re building on that foundation by:
- Adding supplemental instructional resources in many elementary schools
- Increasing opportunities for middle and high school students to participate in thoughtful academic discussions to support overall comprehension
- Using data to monitor progress in their reading journey
- Implementation of Ellevation, a platform that helps educators plan and monitor English language development more effectively
Inclusionary Practices
Inclusion means every student belongs—and learns—together with their peers. Last year, more Highline schools put inclusionary practices into action, supporting students with disabilities and diverse learning needs in general education classrooms.
As a result of these efforts, 89% of our students who receive special education services spent 40% or more of their school day learning in a general education setting during the 2024-25 school year.
This year, we will continue to expand support to our fourth cohort of schools, applying lessons learned from previous cohorts.
Student Supports
We want every student to get the right support at the right time. It starts with strong, high-quality teaching for all students. If additional help is needed, teachers use data to guide the next steps.
In 2024-25, schools built stronger team structures-— educator teams that use data to guide decisions about teaching and student support. These teams focused on ensuring strong Tier 1 instruction, meaning high-quality, grade-level teaching that all students receive. Some focus schools also piloted new MTSS tools.
In 2025-26, we will continue to focus on:
- Using data to identify student needs
- Monitoring the impact of tiered interventions
- Ensuring every student receives the right support at the right time
We’ll continue to share updates on these priorities throughout the year, so you can see how we’re working together to help every student thrive.