Seattle Schools Community Forum

 Via SPS Communications: Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Seattle Skills Center are teaming up to offer internship opportunities for high school students to earn both credit and compensation this summer.  Ninth grade students can explore coding and careers in tech with Tech Quest. Students interested in education can support social emotional learning among elementary-age students with Education Quest, and students can deep-dive into biology at the Allen Institute’s Open Science Quest!    Internship Opportunities   Amazon Periscope   July 13-24; 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Monday through Friday with in-person orientation during the week of June 22  A two-week career intensive at Amazon South Lake Union campus for current 10th grade students. Students receive ongoing mentorship from Amazon leadership, earn 0.25 CTE credit, and a $400 gift card upon completion  Career Quest   July 6-30; Class on Mondays from ...

By bad pattern, I mean SPS senior leadership has allowed suspect coaches and athletes to come in from outside the district and miraculously lead sports teams to championships, only to be gone the next year. It's just ridiculous AND SPS gets dinged by the state group overseeing high school athletics each time.  Here's the latest about phenom Tyran Stokes, the nation's top high school basketball player, who transferred into Rainier Beach High School. This comes from J425 , a substack journal on Washington state prep sports.  I note that J425 does not use the word "alleged" but I will for all their reporting printed here.  The athletic eligibility of Tyran Stokes, the nation’s top high school basketball recruit, remains under scrutiny on the eve of the WIAA 3A State Tournament after numerous published reports say his transfer to a Seattle public school involved an eligibility review process that omitted multiple details — including a violent disciplinary record at hi...

 I came across a district "memo" on Athletics from the Office of Accountability to the Board. It's dated January 28, 2026.  This would be Ted Howard's office. I would love to share it with you but I must have somehow deleted the link. It starts with a " Vision for Athletics" which basically says that sports are good for K-12 students for reasons like " student engagement, academic growth, physical health, social belonging, leadership developments, and positive mental health outcomes as well as resilience, confidence, collaboration, and connection to school."  These outcomes directly support the district's commitment to academic success and whole child development.  Then the memo gets to the meat of the matter - costs. Their idea is Pay for Play wherein students ' parents pay for their student to participate in sports. (I'm assuming they mean district sponsored sports.)  Cost Context is the cost for the district. Elementary: $150-$300 Mi...

There are two meetings this week for the Superintendent and the Board, both are on Wednesday, March 4th. (I note that the next Board meeting is next Wednesday, March 11th; there is no agenda yet.) The first one is an Executive Session at 4 pm, to review the performance of a public employee. Executive Sessions are not open to the public.  The second meeting is a Board Special Meeting: Budget Work Session and a Work Session for Goals and Guardrails starting at 4:30 pm.  The agenda for the second meeting only has a presentation for the Budget Work Session and it's quite interesting. The presenters will be Superintendent Ben Shuldiner and Dr. Kurt Buttleman, Assistant Superintendent of Finance.   Legislative - The district notes that the state legislative session will end next week on March 12th.  As of 2/24/26, anticipated changes in State funding for SPS:  - Reduction of ~$1.1 million in bus depreciation reimbursement  - Reduction in BEST grant program...

There was a Shelter in Place this week for two southend schools but this time it was Franklin High School and John Muir Elementary. They are one mile apart. Apparently there was shooting going on somewhere between the schools. According to the Times, the police caught the shooters. I am trying to get further info on the shooters. No shots were near either school and the students were safe.  So that makes about eight schools in a month in the southend that have experienced shelter-in-place, This is clearly a problem with teen boys getting guns. From the SPD dashboard: Just before 1:00 p.m., patrol officers responded to reports of gunfire in the 3300 block of Wetmore Avenue South. There, police recovered multiple shell casings. Witnesses reported seeing two suspects running from the area. Officers caught the two suspects and detained them. They recovered a handgun with an extended magazine and an auto sear or “switch” that converts the weapon into automatic fire. While investigating,...

One, I'm speaking of employee security - free from HIB (harassment, intimidation, and bullying) by administrators.  Two, I'm speaking of student security - free from fear of other students who use HIB and/or threats of violence.  I had a long talk with a trusted source who knows SPS on an educator/administrator level. It's clear to me that there are STILL senior-level people who seem to act unfettered by anyone above them AND they get away with it.  On Employee Security My info is that there is an HIB investigation going about the alleged behavior of Dr. Mike McCarthy who is the NE Executive Director. Apparently (and allegedly) he makes mysognistic statements to women administrators who work in the various schools in his region especially at the middle and high school level. Those would be Eckstein MS, Jane Addams MS, Nathan Hale HS, and Roosevelt HS.  I note that Dr. McCarthy came out of the U.S. Army, having been part of that group for 25 years in the U.S. Army Nat...