Seattle Schools Community Forum

Update: Via The Seattle Times : Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 nationally ranked boys basketball recruit, has enrolled at Rainier Beach for his high school senior season and was on campus Thursday, according to multiple reports.   The 6-7, 230-pound small forward joins a decorated program that went 28-3 last season en route to winning its 10th state title. We've heard this story many times from RBHS as well as from Nathan Hale HS and from Garfield HS and it doesn't always turn out well. But always, best of luck to RBHS. Re Stokes: Stokes is eligible to play for Rainier Beach per the WIAA rulebook’s section 18.12.2.1, which requires “a student whose transfer to a new school or school district is based on a bona fide change of residence to a new school or school district due to an actual physical relocation of and with the entire family unit to a different residence and coupled with termination of all occupancy of their previous residence.” Stokes withdrew from Notre Dame in Sherman Oa...

Grrrrr. Really, it's generally just me and Chris Jackins who ask hard questions about the spending of the capital levies known as BEX and BTA (Building Excellence and Buildings, Technology, and Athletics/Academics). But folks, I believe it is the ultimate slush fund for the district and it's wrong. You might ask how can it be a slush fund when voters are told what the dollars will be used for? Because there are dollars from many past BEX and BTA levies. The district does NOT spend all of it. Some comes from "underspend" but my belief is that they hold on to dollars to get interest from it and keep that capital pot o' dollars going. (I have a hard time believing there is much "underspend" given how often Capital asks for overrun dollars from the Board. The district rarely gives a final overview of costs for each project.) I understand having some capital funds as a rainy day solution but there are schools with real and ongoing maintenance issues and they ...

Activist SPS parent Albert J. Wong wrote this piece on his Medium page ,  The Stranger Should Cover SPS Consistently or Consider NOT Endorsing in Seattle School Board Races Basically, Until The Stranger   demonstrates a deeper understanding of the school district and consistently tracks the impact of its endorsements there, you should recuse yourselves from endorsing school board candidates entirely . I concur with what he says. I tried to reach out to The Stranger's editor in late summer to talk about Board endorsements. I never heard back (and I had something of an intro from someone connected to The Stranger). And the stats he gives about The Stranger and Board elections is stunning.  (If you have not heard of Wong before, he is data wonk (akin to former director Eden Mack) and a good one.  He also has a website - SPS By the Numbers - with a lot of data on SPS.  When I reached voting age, my older classmates told me to start every election with the “Election...

 I missed this and TODAY, the 11th, is the last day to apply. Seattle Public Schools is starting a School Day Task Force to take a close look at how the school day is organized for all grade levels. This group will review topics like lunch schedules, start and end times, and ways to better support students’ learning, safety, extracurricular activities, and peer connections during the school day.  We are looking for students, families, teachers, school leaders, and community members from elementary, middle, and high schools to join us in this work. The task force will meet 1-2 times a month from December through May, mostly online. We want to hear your experiences and ideas to help shape recommendations for the future.   Apply by Tuesday, Nov. 11:   School Day Task Force Application   Thank you for helping us build a better school day experience for every student!  The district has an announcement   on the nomination for Ben Shuldiner to be the ne...

Lots to talk about so let's go. First up, a "guest rant" at The Stranger by former Board director, Lisa Rivera. She tells readers how The Stranger got their D2 race pick - Katie Smith - wrong and they should have endorsed Sarah Clark. This was published on Monday, Nov. 3 so it was a really last-minute effort. Rivera lays out a very good case. But she also throws in a lot of finger-wagging like "representation" (Clark would be the remaining black director) and "she knows the ropes." Frankly, I would take a more qualified candidate than one who just knows the ropes, see Evan Briggs next election cycle. Would Kathleen Smith “do a fine job” as a school board director, as The Stranger’s luke-warm endorsement stated? Maybe. Heck, I’ll even give it a “probably,” as I believe any number of people would “do a fine job” if given the chance—and the runway. What really matters are the values a director is guided by, and the proficiency to put them into action. So...

Update 4: I contact the Lansing School District for comment and here it is: Statement Board of Education Lansing School District November 6, 2025 Re: Superintendent Position - Seattle Public Schools The Board of Education sincerely thanks Superintendent Shuldiner for his leadership, dedication, and service to the district during his tenure. The district remains focused on maintaining high educational standards and supporting students, staff, and the community as we move forward in selecting the next superintendent. The Board is committed to a smooth and effective transition. Updates regarding interim leadership and the superintendent search will be shared as they become available. end of update Update 3: The Wikipedia page on him.   When Ben Shuldiner attended  Harvard University  as an undergraduate, he became involved in labor activism and was selected to join the inaugural class of the  AFL–CIO 's Union Summer, where he worked organizing day care workers in urban...