Almost every school in Calfornia and the nation suffers from an achievement gap in which students who are disadvantaged and students in racial minority groups under-perform, as measured by standardized tests. The causes of this disparity are complex and the solutions elusive. However, many schools have created effective programs to dramatically narrow or close this gap.

At Washington, while each and every subgroup of students improved their test scores in the last few years, the achievement gap continues to be a stark reminder of how far we have to go.

Washington's PTA created the Educational Equity Alliance, a project to raise money to support programs that close the achievement gap, including:

• Extra literacy coaching and other literacy programs
• Advanced training for teachers
• Bilingual books and English Learner Support