Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

UW Spring Breakers Team Up With Rural And Tribal Schools For Student-Led Teaching

https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/WEB-Mp3-Alt-spring-break-EJ-033018.mp3

Spring break is in full swing for some students. This season, 80 students from the University of Washington skipped the beach and headed for more rural parts of the state.

It happened through the UW Pipeline Project, an alternative spring break program that connects university students to public schools around the state.

The schools are often tucked away in places like Omak and Brewster or on tribal lands like White Swan High School on the Yakama Nation.

Danah Kowdan is a senior at UW. She spent her spring break at Campbell Farm in Wapato, where she taught 6th graders about hydropower.

It was her first time visiting Central Washington.

“There’s a lot of cultural shock,” Kowdan said. “I just saw how underfunded and underrepresented these schools are. That’s very shocking to me because there’s very untapped potential there.”

Kowdan knows the power of education and equity firsthand. Her grandmother was illiterate, and she’s proud to come from a family of Somali immigrants.

“It’s a symbiotic relationship. They’re teaching me as much as I’m teaching them,” Kowdan said.

This year, the UW Pipeline Project connected 1,200 K through 12th grade students at 17 schools around the state. The project is also celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Danah Kowdan's name.

Related Stories:

How School Walkouts Test Student Rights And School Responsibilities

Wednesday morning, March 14, students at schools across the country — including Washington, Oregon and Idaho — will walk out of their classrooms. The plan is for them to leave school — or at least gather in the hallway — for 17 minutes. That’s one minute for each of the victims in last month’s school shooting in Parkland, Fla. The walkout has galvanized teens nationwide and raised questions for schools about how to handle protests. Continue Reading How School Walkouts Test Student Rights And School Responsibilities Read More » NPR News March 13, 2018

Oregon Class Size Bill Misses Legislative Deadline

One of the most significant education bills in the Oregon legislature this session appears to be dead. The bill was aimed at limiting class size. Continue Reading Oregon Class Size Bill Misses Legislative Deadline Read More » Rob Manning February 27, 2018

Idaho Senate Committee Keeps Climate Change In New Science Standards

An Idaho Senate panel voted February 22 to retain all references to man-made climate change in proposed science standards for K-12 education, which could end a three-year fight over the rules. Continue Reading Idaho Senate Committee Keeps Climate Change In New Science Standards Read More » NWPB News February 23, 2018