Chris Reykdal, 52, is running for a third term as Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Born and raised in Tacoma, Reykdal grew up in poverty. He was the youngest of eight children. His family survived on public assistance. His parents only got through middle school. They lost six of the siblings to the foster care system. The parents rebuilt the family, with Reykdal and his sister. He knew that he wanted to go to college and be a teacher. His parents were excited but said, “We don’t know how to help you do that; we hope you have a counselor who will help you.”
Reykdal graduated from Washington State University in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies, minors in Political Science and Geology, and a teaching certificate. After teaching for three years, he realized he was interested in policy changes, leading him to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1997 to ’99, earning a master’s degree in public administration.
As a child, school was a safe place for Reykdal. He worked hard on his own to make strides academically and had a great mentor in his fifth- and sixth- grade teacher, Mrs. Sharon Cruz, he said.
Reykdal said the biggest issue facing students in Washington is continued learning recovery post-Covid.
“Our districts are going to be very limited if we do not fully fund them,” he said. “Peak funding was in 2019. When adjusted for inflation, funding is down $1,000 per student.”
The challenge is a combination of accelerated learning and inadequate resources.
“Math scores are recovering faster because they took a bigger hit; it’s reading that we really have to double down on,” he said.
The pandemic also exacerbated an existing achievement gap.
“It’s clear that schools are not going to solve income inequality, and it’s going to continue to drive disparate opportunities across the board,” Reykdal said.
“However, schools have a role, and the state continues to put half a billion dollars into schools with the highest poverty rates, through federal dollars called the Learning Assistance Program.”
One basic way to help students is to provide meals. “Hunger is the first deficit to learning,” he said. “Students coming to school hungry are unable to focus on academics. Seven hundred thousand kids now get breakfast and lunch at school in Washington.”
Another way to close the achievement gap is with more counselors, to help students who are the first in their family to go to college. “The fastest way to help low-income kids, whose families have never had access to college, is by letting them take college credits in high school,” he said. “They see ‘I can do this.’ ” The result is students graduating from high school who already have started a college transcript.
But for many, instead of planning for college and then work, a better option is to graduate with a plan to get a post-secondary credential.
“I would like to see every student graduate with a post-secondary transition,” Reykdal said. “We have been moving our grad rates up very steadily. We keep talking about a diploma and a transition.”
That could mean an industry credential, a commercial driver’s license, a welding certificate. “The market is really rewarding that right now,” he said. “A high school diploma is a valuable asset that should not be discounted. We live in a world where if everyone got a diploma and a post-secondary credential, the economy of this state would be in the top five for decades.”
Commenting on school shootings Reykdal said, “We have been blessed to not have a mass shooting, as defined by four or more (people), since I have been superintendent, but there have been four individuals who have lost their lives.”
Changes were made across the state in response to a shooting seven years ago. Threat assessments are completed on anyone identified as at risk. “Teams already in place will come in and work with that student,” he said. “That is a very powerful tool along with changing the design of our buildings for fewer points of entry.”
Millions of dollars have also been allocated for preemptive work, with school psychologists and counselors, instead of hardening schools. Washington state prefers a preemptive approach for school safety.
Reykdal said an important point is that Washington state has banned the sale of assault-style weapons since April 2023 except for law enforcement and military, helping to make weapons less accessible to students “We will soon be required to post safe storage guidelines for medication, weapons and ammunition,” he said. Research has shown that deaths due to gun-related accidents, murders or suicides rise according to how many guns are available in general.
As a progressive state, Washington has removed some of the stigma about mental health issues, he said, but it remains a serious issue.
A student survey is completed every two years. “It looks like we have more risk, but perhaps it’s because we are collecting more data. Washington is 11th in the nation in support for student mental health. Schools can’t control social media or other risks, but we can control our response. Our suicide rates are down about 25%.”
Reykdal said he is the most experienced candidate for OSPI. “I got us through a very complicated pandemic. I’ve had every job you can imagine in schools; I’ve been a classroom teacher; I have been a custodian. I have been in the Legislature to see the dynamic of budget and policy in conflict. When you ask why I am running, it’s funding, it’s experience, and keeping our schools public.”
For more information go to www.chrisreykdal.org.
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