Quality education begins with quality professionals

Liias bills support development, retention of well-trained school personnel

February 13, 2008

Olympia, WA – Earlier this month, Rep. Marko Liias (D - Mukilteo) hosted a "Community Conversation on Education" in Edmonds. One of the issues that clearly came across was the need for schools to have cohesive teams of highly skilled, talented professionals, from paraprofessionals on up through administrators.

"High quality teachers are immensely important," Liias said. "But those teachers must be complemented by assistants and an administration team that is also of the highest quality. Only then can the students have the best educational experience."

To help support the development and retention of well-trained school personnel, Liias is sponsoring two bills that passed the House today. HB 2869 seeks to build leaders in the educational community by extending bonuses given to nationally-certificated teachers to school principals who continue to maintain their national certification.

"Those who deserve a bonus in recognition of their skills and talents should continue to receive that bonus even if they move into a new role," Liias said. "Plus, quality principals attract quality teachers to their schools, which we want to encourage."

Instructional assistants also play a vital role in the education community, and Liias believes they need to be given ample opportunities for professional development. He is sponsoring HB 2870, which creates a training strand specifically for instructional assistants through the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction's Summer Institutes and January Conference.

"State and federal requirements compel more training for these assistants than ever before," Liias said. "These OSPI events are already funded, so there is little additional cost to add training opportunities for those who provide such critical support to our teachers."

Education consistently ranks as one of the top issues for 21st district residents. Liias' bills were part of a greater package of education bills that cleared the House today. They will next be considered in the Senate. The 2008 legislative session is scheduled to end March 13.

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