“Democracy in Practice: Supporting Parenting Students in Washington” captures how democracy lives beyond the ballot box. For Communities for Our Colleges, democratic practice means shaping the policies and priorities that impact students’ lives — not just through elections, but through active participation in the institutions that govern our shared future.
Growing Student Power: High School and College Leaders Organize for Educational Equity
This fall, Communities for Our Colleges has continued deepening its organizing and leadership development work in Western Washington—this time with a powerful new addition: high school students. Through our fall fellowship program, student organizers from Bothell High School, Everett Community College (EvCC), and South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) have been working together to strengthen outreach, build leadership, and engage their peers in shaping the future of higher education in our state.
Making College More Accessible: Building Student & Community Power in Central Washington
On Saturday, October 25, at Yakima Valley College, Communities for Our Colleges (C4C) brought together more than 80 students, families, and community members for a day of learning, dialogue, and collective action. The gathering—Making College More Accessible—was designed not only to provide information on college admissions, scholarships, and professional licensing but also to cultivate community leadership, strengthen grassroots organizing, and empower our communities to transform the policies that shape their lives.
Advancing Postsecondary Success for Parenting Students in Washington
Last Friday, Communities for Our Colleges (C4C) co-hosted an engaging strategy session focused on the experiences and needs of parenting students pursuing higher education in Washington State. The event, titled “Advancing Postsecondary Success for Parenting Students in Washington,” brought together students, advocates, and institutional leaders to identify solutions that can make college more accessible and equitable for student parents.
Student Power Building Conference 2025
In August 2025, Communities for Our Colleges (C4C) convened ninety-six students and community members from across Washington State in Spokane for the annual Student Power Building Conference. Over three days, participants engaged in trainings, storytelling, policy development, and cultural activities aimed at building a stronger statewide student network and advancing a collective vision for higher education justice. The conference was intentionally bilingual and intergenerational, creating space for students of color, first-generation, immigrant, undocumented, parenting, and low-income students to lead conversations about the future of Washington’s community & technical colleges.
The purpose of this gathering was clear: to transform fear and disempowerment into collective action. In a political moment where immigrant families face threats of deportation and austerity policies threaten public education, the conference served as both a strategy session and an act of defense. Students reaffirmed their commitment to community-led solutions rooted in solidarity, courage, and care.
Continue reading “Student Power Building Conference 2025”Communities for Our Colleges: Advancing Democracy and Equity Across Washington
Across Washington State, Communities for Our Colleges is transforming the lives of community college students while strengthening the fabric of our democracy. This video captures the voices of students whose paths have been opened through equitable access to education, and it highlights how community colleges are vital spaces for racial and economic justice.
In a time when democracy requires us to engage beyond traditional halls of power, Communities for Our Colleges embodies deliberative democracy by centering those often excluded from mainstream political spaces. From advocating for tuition equity to ensuring resources for basic needs, this movement is proving that community colleges are not just educational institutions—they are pillars of a just and participatory society.
Continue reading “Communities for Our Colleges: Advancing Democracy and Equity Across Washington”Students Lead the Way: C4C’s Granger Regional Gathering Builds Power for Free College and Racial Equity
On May 31, 2025, Communities for Our Colleges (C4C) brought together over 40 student leaders from across central and eastern Washington for a powerful Regional Gathering in Granger. Students from Spokane Falls Community College, Spokane Community College, Columbia Basin College, Yakima Valley College, and YVC–Grandview met at the Radio KDNA building to deepen relationships, reflect on the past legislative session, and chart the next phase of their organizing for free college and racial equity.
Harvest Under Pressure: Connecting Immigration, Labor, and the Fight for Student Equity in Washington
In Eastern Washington’s vast farmlands—where apple orchards and hop fields feed our state’s economy—farmworkers are facing a growing storm. Behind every harvest are families whose lives are shaped by shifting immigration policies, unstable labor programs, and the constant fear of deportation.
KING 5’s Facing Race special, “Harvest Under Pressure,” takes viewers inside this reality. It shines a light on the human cost of federal immigration enforcement and how these policies ripple across Washington’s rural communities. The documentary captures the voices of farmworkers who sustain our multibillion-dollar agricultural industry yet live under daily uncertainty, and of farmers struggling to find stable labor amid tightening regulations.
But this crisis doesn’t stop at the fields. It reaches into classrooms and campuses across our state.
Students Rally to Defend Higher Education Funding in Washington
On April 7, 2025, students, educators, and community leaders from across Washington State came together on the steps of the Capitol in Olympia to demand one clear message from lawmakers: no cuts to higher education.
Organized in partnership with the Washington Student Association and the Washington Bus, the Communities for Our Colleges (C4C) team mobilized students from Yakima, Pasco, Spokane, Everett, Tacoma, and Seattle for a Financial Day of Action. The rally called attention to proposals that would slash higher education funding, reduce financial aid, and increase tuition costs.
Students Across WA Demand: No Budget Cuts! Yes to Investments in Higher Education!
On President’s Day, Communities for Our Colleges (C4C) brought together students from throughout Washington state to Olympia to advocate for Free College for All, opportunities for undocumented students, and increased investment in higher education! Over 150 students, faculty, staff, families, and community members joined forces to send a message to our elected officials: No Budget Cuts! Invest in Higher Education! Invest in Our Futures!
Continue reading “Students Across WA Demand: No Budget Cuts! Yes to Investments in Higher Education!”