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Board approves amendments to Graduation Alliance contracts to continue reengagement services
Summary
Tacoma School District approved an amendment and a purchase-order increase for Graduation Alliance to continue reengaging students who have left traditional schools. Board members asked for follow-up data on how many students are reengaged and the typical duration of service.
The Tacoma School District Board of Directors approved Amendment No. 4 to contract TSD-2017 with Graduation Alliance, estimated at $321,084 for the 2025–26 school year, and approved an increase to purchase order 27461 to $296,228.82 to close out the 2024–25 year.
Graduation Alliance is an independent provider the district contracts with to reengage students who have left comprehensive high schools or are credit-deficient. District staff described the program as able to work with older students — including those up to age 25 under the vendor’s model — and reimbursed on a per-student, success-based basis. The superintendent’s office said the funding source for the work is the district’s Internet Academy (TOL).
Board members asked for more data about how many students Graduation Alliance reengages, over what time periods, and what student outcomes look like. District staff said the program operates on a month-to-month reengagement basis and that they would provide counts and percentage impacts to the board after the meeting. The board did not receive those numbers during the session.
The board approved the amendment and the purchase-order increase by voice vote with no recorded opposition.
Background and scope: district staff explained that students eligible for the specific Willie Stewart program must be credit-deficient and in a specified age band (generally 16–22 for that state-defined pathway). Students who are later reengaged through Graduation Alliance may pursue a high school diploma or a GED; the vendor is contracted and reimbursed based on successful reengagement and earned credits. Staff said the vendor often works across multi-year cohorts rather than as a single graduating class.
The district will provide the requested follow-up figures about reengaged students, months of service, and the share of the eligible population that the vendor is serving.
Votes and next steps: the two items concerning Graduation Alliance passed on voice vote. Staff committed to returning quantitative reengagement data to the board.
