I have in previous articles urged the school board to become more proactive.

The research is in: We all know what it takes to truly educate a child.

Regarding ways to improve education, I endeavor to talk about programs that are already successful.

The question I would pose is although we have islands of excellence in the Federal Way School District, what about the average child who doesn’t cause trouble, isn’t a minority or who doesn’t fit in a nice neat category? Here are some suggestions that would be helpful for all students:

A: Have all students in elementary and middle school wear uniforms. Research has shown that wearing uniforms helps bridge the gap between the rich and poor. Parents no longer have to worry about keeping up with the Joneses or getting little Suzy the latest fashion wear. Some of the clothes students wear don’t always seem appropriate for school, especially in this over-sexualized society. We don’t have to look any further than private or Catholic schools to see that wearing uniforms has a positive impact on the conduct and behavior of the majority of students.

B: Teach students a foreign language, starting in elementary school. Research has proven that if children are taught another language, it will improve their overall ability to learn. In a world with few barriers, learning a second language is crucial for the economic well-being of the United States. We are the only industrialized country that doesn’t teach a foreign language starting in elementary school. There are tens of billions of dollars that go unused by school districts because of lack of vision. The Departments of Education and Homeland Security have set aside this money to hire teachers. It is not necessary to pass another levy. It is only necessary to have a vision and the political will to go after the money.

In this uncertain economy, I have no doubt we could find Spanish teachers, French teachers and even teachers who know Latin to fill in this educational gap.

However, this can only happen if you have a school board that is willing to think outside the box and is willing to ask the question, “Why don’t we?”

I have in previous articles talked about the need to develop a serious outreach program — a program that will go to where the parents are instead of vice-versa. Until we are serious about this part of a child’s education, nothing will change. We all know it, but have turned a blind eye to it. We tinker around the edges, then wring our hands and bemoan the fact that not enough parents are involved. We know what we need to do. But I continue to wonder why we don’t do it.

C: Engage our senior citizens. They could help tutor the first and second grades. They could help with reading, teaching ABCs, and a myriad of subjects if they were only asked. Our senior citizens represent an untapped resource, but once again, this takes vision and commitment. I have not seen either from this school board.

D: I urge the school board, since they are involved with several lawsuits, to entertain the idea of filing a lawsuit seeking a waiver from the state-mandated WASL, and seek alternative means of meeting the requirements of the No Child Left Behind act.

I have talked to teachers and administrators, and the one thing they agree on is that the WASL is a useless test. It is no secret that we have spent millions of dollars and wasted precious time teaching to the test. But bureaucrats and experts in Olympia have made a lot of money trying to sell the WASL as something critical to a child’s education.

However, the real victims of this failed test are the kids. I wonder how the staff at OSPI and Terry Bergeson can sleep at night. It amazes me that especially children of color can have a pass rate on the math portion of the WASL as 30 percent — and have that be seen as a victory.

We cannot continue to bury our heads in the sand and think that mediocrity is good enough for our children. If we don’t have a vision of excellence for our children, what vision should we have, and when should we have it?

No excuses.

Walter Backstrom is a Federal Way resident: wkbackstrom@aol.com.