Two hundred forty years ago, the Continental army survived a brutal winter at Valley Forge and marched forth to win America’s freedom. This February, our freedom flourishes and Spokane’s vitality marches forth on a number of fronts, but our most prominent forward momentum is on the education front. This is encouraging news this winter as education unleashes vision, endurance and ultimately triumph. The wellspring of Spokane’s Renaissance is arguably a resurgent optimism fueled by educational achievements across the spectrum.

Primary education is receiving significant facelifts regionally. Cheney School District will be vetting contracts in 2018 to support strong student growth at the elementary, middle and high school levels through 2028 from a transformative $52 million bond last year. The energized Spokane Valley School Districts are wisely remembering to care for all their students, including a growing number of homeless children, by supporting Spokane Valley HEART, an imaginative collaborative program of local government and area shelter and housing providers to ensure educational stability for students in transitional housing situations.

Charter schools like Pride Prep and Spokane International Academy are expanding deeper learning opportunities for a growing population of students, and our biggest school district, Spokane Public Schools, is ambitiously expanding achievement in remarkable ways, from solidifying a new middle school grade configuration to making a commitment to seeking improvements detailed in a 2017 special education outside audit.

While primary and secondary education form the core of our educational prosperity, our future promise is buoyed by the higher education luminary schools that ring our city. Our stout Community Colleges of Spokane, our soaring EWU and our passionate Gonzaga and Whitworth Universities make Spokane a bastion of unlimited opportunity. In the center is WSU’s growing Spokane medical campus, home of the new medical school. The rising school is the dream of the late WSU President Dr. Elson Floyd, who used the last months of his legendary life to make that dream a reality. Spokane’s Renaissance continues because our educational dreams are becoming reality.

Col. Brian Newberry, USAF (retired) is the current executive director of Leadership Spokane, and the former Commander, 92 ARW, Fairchild AFB.