Seattle Schools Community Forum

Of course, this being Veterans Day I do want to recognize all the veterans who served who are part of Seattle Public Schools. Thank you for your service.  This was sent to SPS staff this week (bold mine): Dear SPS Staff,  I am pleased to officially announce two important appointments to our senior leadership team. Devin Gurley will serve as Assistant Superintendent of Special Programs, and Marcus Harden will serve as Assistant Superintendent of Student and Family Support.  These appointments bring two experienced, student-centered leaders into key roles while marking an important step in streamlining how our district leadership team is organized.  Many of you already know Devin. She has served Seattle Public Schools for more than two decades, beginning as a special education teacher and continuing through a series of district leadership roles, including Program Specialist, Supervisor, Director, and Executive Director of Special Education.  As Assistant Superinte...

This BAR (Board Action Report) is from the upcoming regular school board meeting next Wednesday, November 18th, starting at 4:30 pm. On the agenda is this BAR -  Approval of revisions to Board Policy No 6883, School and Instructional Site Closures This comes from Director Joe Mizrahi and states (partial): The attached revisions to Board Policy 6883, School and Instructional Site Closures better align the District's policy with RCW 28A.335.020 and the Washington State School Directors' Association's model policy. The proposed revisions: •   Allow for the Board to hold public hearings earlier in the school closure process by removing the 30-day waiting period •   Continue to require that hearings for each school be held in the geographic region or school facility itself, where possible. •   Continue to require a final proposal and final public hearing before the Board decision. •   Place authority with the Superintendent for instructional site closures, and requir...

In a Special Meeting last night the Seattle School Board vote to fight the use of the newly passed initiative on banning trans girls from cisgirl sports teams. They apparently had an Executive Session first (which means no one heard their discussion) and then took a public vote. Here is their resolution . Their summary: This Board action would approve Board Resolution No. 2026/27-11 authorizing legal action regarding Initiative Measure No. IL26-638.   The Board earlier took a formal position opposing Initiative Measure No. IL26-638.   The proposed resolution would reaffirm the Board’s commitment to a Seattle Public Schools where students are afforded equitable access to education and opportunity in schools that are safe, inclusive, affirming, and supportive for all children, consistent with the Board’s prior resolution. Some of their thinking underlines that the Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association has had an inclusionary policy in sports since 2007. They also point...

 Via Facebook: Second semester is your chance to reset the room. You know your students now. You also know the moments when the room gets loud, attention slips, and a lesson stalls before it starts. What if you had practical tools to help every student regulate, refocus, and feel like they belong, while earning PD hours that actually matter? Grab your FREE ticket to TeacherPalooza 2026 November 10-12th 100% ONLINE | 3 days PD Certificates Issued for Live Attendees T eacherPalooza is a free online conference designed to help you head into second semester with practical strategies, renewed confidence, and a community that believes our greatest educational superpowers are deeply human. Across three interactive, 75-minute sessions, you’ll learn how to protect critical thinking in the age of AI, read and steady the emotions behind every reaction, and build a classroom powered by belonging and purpose. DAY 1: HUMAN INTELLIGENCE Tuesday, November 10th at 7–8:15pm ET AI may be changi...

Posted yesterday; Bold mine "Dear Seattle Public Schools Community, I hope this newsletter finds you well. I am so happy to write to you all this week. As many of you know, the district, alongside many families, educators, and community members, has been working diligently to adjust our technology rules and regulations. When I arrived in Seattle, it was clear that the district had steered too heavily into an overreliance on technology, especially regarding the percentage of screen time our children were exposed to during the school day. Over the summer, we worked hard to develop a step-by-step methodology to keep student learning front and center while addressing a dependency on screen time and technology that seems to pervade our classrooms and district writ large. In September, the district, alongside our partners at Seattle Families for Intentional Technology, held a press conference to announce our first foray into stricter controls around technology use: https://youtu.be/yVOb...

Way back in the olden days when my kids were in school, I gave tours at their school. What was the number one question? " Do the kids have access to computers?" I was very proud to say yes, we have brand-new Apple computers in our computer lab. Then, as time went on, it was "do you have computers in the classroom?" And all the way to today when every single kid in SPS has a laptop or pad assigned to them. What is the difference? The actual computer is hardware and AI is software . That is a huge difference. When my kids were in school, it was actually being able to learn to type on a computer and use various shortcuts to help that use. Additionally, librarians now had another task which was to guide students in how to look for information in valid ways that didn't take all day. It was also learning PowerPoint to do presentations. All useful and good stuff. AI is not that. AI doesn't reduce the number of sites to find information, it expands them. AI doesn...