Seattle Schools Community Forum

You all in Seattle know The Needling, Seattle's Only Real Fake News ? It's like The Onion for Seattle. It can be somewhat amusing in its pokes and digs at Seattle and its denizens and the Seattle Way. However, a new post about school closures in SPS is decidedly unfunny and tasteless and you have to wonder what the real message is (which has little to do with Seattle in specific). Here's the title:  SPS Contracts with IDF to Close All Seattle Schools In case you don't know, the IDF is the Israeli Defense Force. They accompany it with this photo:   You all know that I am not supportive of how Seattle Schools is handling school closures but I do feel compelled to stick up for them here.  The Needling does several things wrong.  One, they give the attribution to Superintendent Brent Jones of several alarming statements. I might not have been so unhappy with this post had they not done that.  Two, clearly they are using Seattle Schools and school closures to feed a bigger m

Following up on the news that the Chinatown Seafair Parade was interrupted because bystanders saw guns present.  The people with the guns were young teens - two 14-year olds and a 13-year old. Two of the three guns were stolen and one modified to be automatic.  Questions abound like: 1) Who stole the guns?  2) How did these kids get the guns? 3) It appears to the eye that there is an uptick of robbery and violence from some very young teens. I recall there has been a wave of crime over in West Seattle using stolen cars that are then used in robberies. And, of course, both the murders in Seattle high schools, with the shooter at Ingraham High School being a young teen. 4) Where are we on the Garfield shooter? 5) Why no safety updates on the planning and work around school safety from Superintendent Brent Jones? Schools are closed so nothing needs to happen? The Seattle Times follows up with this article today,  Many more kids are being shot and killed in King County in 2024. At least 1

Here's what we know from the SPD blotter about this Seafair parade in the ID which a Reddit user wrote about: Seattle PD map shows them receiving a "shots fired" report around 8:11 pm on parade route. That was about when we saw the one group of dance drill girls get stopped and turned around by police and over their radio of near by police heard Shots Fired and to redirect. A little later heard over near by police radio about a suspicious person with firearm. The police did not think shots were fired (and to add to the confusion, I guess there was a cannon that the Seafair pirates used.)  The police detained one guy having a gun which turned out to be a replica. By 9:30ish,  "Police have three individuals in custody and have recovered three firearms. The investigation is ongoing to determine if there are any outstanding suspects." From The Seattle Times: SPD received reports of several youths with handguns near Seventh Avenue South and South Weller Street around

Where some interesting things were said. I must first confess that it has bothered me for some time about Director Gina Topp; she reminds me of somebody but I couldn't put my finger on who. She is clear and measured in her statements, even the ones she puts some teeth into, she seeks answers and you really feel her as a leader. Then, it came to me. She's the female Pete Buttigieg. The meeting last night via Teams had 10 people. There were two press people - me and Tracy Record at the West Seattle Blog. One participant was the former head of SPS CTE Shep Siegel, one was a lunch lady at Denny MS, one was a SPP teacher at a K-8  and the others were parents.  It seemed that closures was the main item on their minds plus concern for their individual schools like Pathfinder. Not one parent seemed to support closures or questioned why it had to be such a large number of schools. This thought came into play later on in the discussion. Director Topp expressed disappointment that the dis

 If you have somehow missed this, there is a document from the ultra right-wing group, The Heritage Foundation, a blueprint of sorts nicknamed Project 2025. Its real name is Mandate for Leadership. This 900-page monstrosity would tear apart much of how our country works. Including public education.  But before I get into the weeds on public education, here's other key points from Vox: Project 2025 proposes that all Department of State employees in leadership roles should be dismissed by the end of January 20, 2025. The project lays out quite aggressive proposals to use federal power to prevent abortions and restrict certain contraceptive coverage. It even says that pornography should be “outlawed” and its creators and distributors should be “imprisoned.” The “Schedule F” plan to reclassify tens of thousands of civil servants as political appointees, so they could be fired and replaced with Trump cronies. Deprioritize fighting climate change, repeal Biden’s clean energy subsidies, f

 I think my guess was correct; Seattle Schools will NOT have any new information on the Closure and Consolidation process in July. And frankly, probably not until right before the next School Board meeting on August 28th.  I also do not see the Board retreat that the Board needs to have before school resumes.  I check both the district and Board calendars regularly and will keep you update. (Sometimes the Board will have dates that the regular calendar does not so, unfortunately, you have to check in both places.) I do see the one brave Board member - Gina Topp - is having a virtual community meeting next Wednesday, July 17th from 6-7 pm.  This meeting will be held remotely with Microsoft Teams. Microsoft Teams Meeting Link