by Aspen Ford, Washington State Standard
October 27, 2026
Across Washington state, schools rolled out a support system designed to help high school freshmen over the last few years.
In the Ninth Grade Success initiative, teachers and other school support staff pair up with students dealing with low grades, truancy, poor behavior and more.
A recent state evaluation shows it’s working: More students pass their classes and stay on track to graduate, a report for the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction shows.
“It’s really a student-centered approach,” said Kimberly Tennant, assistant principal at River Ridge High School, part of the North Thurston Public Schools. “We do empathy talks, we talk to their parents, we talk to their teachers. We kind of get a whole picture of the kid and then we think about what the student needs.”
Around 60 schools participate in the program. Those that do typically see a 6 percentage point boost in freshman students passing their classes, according to the evaluation.
Last year, Ninth Grade Success served 50 schools across 32 districts, but there are more schools that have sustained the program without additional funding, said Katy Payne, chief strategy officer for OSPI.
“Ninth grade is a make-or-break year,” said Henterson Carlisle, Northwest regional director for the Center for High School Success, a nonprofit educational organization that partnered with OSPI to help get the program started.
Those involved with the program are “gravely concerned” about funding.
“Every year, until we have multi-year funding or funding that is guaranteed, there’s always a worry,” Carlisle said. “I’m not comfortable saying, oh yeah, we’re going to be here next year.”
OSPI will be requesting $1.5 million each year over the next four years to keep the program running and to expand it to more schools, said Payne.
Lakewood and Stanwood-Camano’s local connection
Local reporting by Justabouts
The state’s enacted 2026 supplemental budget, Section 521(7), provides $1.5 million for Ninth Grade Success in fiscal 2027. The statewide appropriation covers grants to school districts and an annual evaluation of the program.
OSPI’s fiscal 2025 allocation list shows $10,000 for Lakewood School District and $17,750 for Stanwood-Camano under Ninth Grade Success.
Lakewood’s 2024–25 annual report says the grant supported targeted training at Lakewood High School. It describes Student Success Coordinator Jen Brown tracking freshmen’s progress and meeting monthly with students, families, teachers and the ninth-grade team.
The high school’s 2025–26 improvement plan also lists Center for High School Success funding for staff check-ins about academic progress and personal concerns.
Lakewood has also approved CHSS-supported training for this school year. On Sept. 2, 2026, the school board approved travel for Lakewood High School Principal Jeanette Grisham and Dean of Students Jeff Dowhaniuk to attend the center’s leadership summit Nov. 18–20 in Scottsdale, Arizona. The minutes identify the Center for High School Success Grant as the source of funding for travel and related expenses.
Stanwood-Camano was named as a participating district in the program provider’s March 2024 update. Stanwood High School’s May 2025 board report lists a ninth-grade success team among the school’s staff teams.
Stanwood High School’s 2026–27 improvement plan calls for Freshmen Success lessons in English 9, mentoring and additional academic support.
Stanwood-Camano’s 2026–27 participation in the state Ninth Grade Success grant program remains unconfirmed. Justabouts has not verified either district’s current annual state award amount. The $10,000 and $17,750 figures above are fiscal 2025 allocations.
How to read the results
Additional context by Justabouts
The evaluation defines “on track” as first-time ninth graders passing every course they attempted. Researchers compared participating schools with other traditional public high schools in the same county, using historical school records.
The report’s main finding concerns ninth-grade course completion. It describes the finding on eventual high-school graduation as suggestive.
Originally published by Washington State Standard on Oct. 27, 2026. Republished under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 and the publisher’s republishing guidelines. Shortened for republication. The local reporting and explanatory sections were added by Justabouts.
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