Puget Sound Educational Service District has released its annual Report to the Community, spotlighting the agency’s journey as well as its commitment to elevating student voices to inform its work—from programs to policies—in service of its End goal: Achieve Success for Each Child and Eliminate the Opportunity Gap by Leading With Racial Equity.

More than ever, it is important for PSESD to lean into the work of creating racially just and humanizing school systems. Ensuring that the agency is effectively serving the educational community is critical, and this year’s Annual Report spotlights its continued commitment to this task. This year’s Report includes a look at the successful addition of student representatives to serve on the PSESD Board of Directors in 2021-2022. “I think it helps them to have us because we give different perspectives, and we get to speak directly on issues that are really important to us, like the issues of gun violence, suicide, and more,” explains King County student representative Mustafa Agha. “It makes me feel more enlightened to hear what the other reps on the student Board have to say. It really is impactful.” 

Also showcased in the report is a look at how PSESD and its partners use Measures of Progress to set the right priorities to advance strategically and help gauge whether, and how, they are working toward specific important outcomes. These outcomes focus on how PSESD functions both as an agency and with partners to support racially just and equitable school systems, and thereby, positively impact student outcomes. This year’s Measures of Progress are viewable on the PSESD website and within the report.

“The Annual Report is our opportunity to share our progress in both becoming an Antiracist Multicultural Organization (ARMCO) and in collaborating with our partners to achieve racially just and humanizing school systems,” comments Superintendent John Welch. “In the 21–22 school year, navigating the challenges of the pandemic continued to add to the ongoing challenge of achieving race equity in education systems across our communities. The report positively demonstrates how we are anchoring our work in accountability and transparency, and how we continue to strive for achieving racially equitable outcomes and living our goal of being an Antiracist Multicultural Organization.”

The interactive, web-based report can be viewed in full online.