Transforming Education
The College of Education fulfills its mission by collaborating with poverty-impacted, culturally diverse schools to solve real-world educational challenges and close opportunity and achievement gaps. Our distinctive method places the College's teacher candidates, faculty, research and professional development programs inside schools, where leading-edge teaching practices are developed, tested and refined in real time. Our model prepares outstanding teachers and leaders who are change agents ready to dramatically improve the quality of entire educational systems and make excellent education a daily reality for every student in every community.
The College was ranked #14 by U.S. News and World Report in its 2020 ratings, and #5 among public universities. Seven specialties ranked in the top 12: Curriculum and Instruction, Education Administration and Supervision, Elementary Teacher Education, Secondary Teacher Education and Special Education.
In the past year, College of Education students participated in more than 1,000 practicum experiences for a total of approximately 400,000 hours in 300+ Washington state schools, district offices, nonprofits, colleges and universities, while our doctoral students contribute to numerous research-practice partnerships with youth-serving organizations. Each year, more than 200 teacher candidates fulfill their student teaching requirements in our 28 Ackerley Partner Schools and other poverty-impacted Seattle area schools.
Our alumni are leading change in schools throughout Washington and the nation. Three College of Education alumni are currently community college presidents, while hundreds are superintendents, assistant superintendents, principals or assistant principals. One-third of our teacher graduates work in schools exceeding the Washington state average of 46% of students on free and reduced lunch and more than half of our teachers work in schools with a student racial and ethnic diversity population of over 40%.