Southeast Seattle Education Coalition Calls For Budget Protections for High Poverty Schools
From the South Seattle Emerald via Beacon Hill International School teacher, Rebecca Chase-Chen:
I would also advocate asking the City for help until funding gets stabilized.
I am writing to call Seattle Public Schools (SPS) to shield high poverty schools from these budget cuts. It is challenging to write this because, in order to prove the importance of this move, some may feel the need to hear about what communities lack. I want to focus on the assets of our community and school: the ways we are strong, resilient, complex and creative, rather than what individuals or groups in our community don’t have. Beacon Hill International School is a vibrant, hardworking community committed to learning, growing and critical thinking.I agree with the premise of shielding high-poverty schools from severe cuts. But what would that cut-off F/RL number be - 50%? 60% 70%?
No school and no child should suffer from the economic turmoil of the proposed budget cuts. And, if SPS spreads the budget cuts “equally” across all schools, there are some schools where the children will suffer more. At schools like Beacon Hill, the majority of children and families live in financial insecurity*, speak languages other than English, and live at the whim of immigration law. These factors can contribute to complex trauma, which among other detrimental effects, can make it harder to learn. School communities that support children who face these challenges should not have to endure equal budget cuts, while other communities with more protective factors can weather cuts with less detrimental long term impact.
One of the key protective factors for people with complex trauma is stable positive relationships. The theme of the district-wide racial equity training this year was positive relationships. Each of the students described above has special positive relationships with adults in the school that help them do their best and learn each day. These are exactly the people whose jobs are at stake in this budget crisis.
While all school communities have children facing challenges, Title 1 schools face higher concentrations of students living with the complex traumas of poverty, racism, and insecurity. We need to prioritize and shield them from budget cuts, which means asking some schools to take larger cuts.
Please join me in making your voice heard, email your school board member at schoolboard@seattleschools.org to ask them to protect high poverty schools, and sign the Southeast Seattle Education Coalition’s petition, translations: Chinese, Spanish, and Vietnamese by Friday, 6 January.
I would also advocate asking the City for help until funding gets stabilized.
Comments
http://sfpublicpress.org/news/2014-02/how-budget-cuts-and-PTA-fundraising-undermined-equity-in-san-francisco-public-schools
SharetheWealth
Middle class
http://blogs.berkeley.edu/2014/02/07/five-ways-to-encourage-giving-to-disadvantaged-public-schools/
"many school districts have recognized that parent fundraising creates inequities between schools. In response, some districts have created centralized education foundations to redistribute funds to schools based on need. Others have prohibited PTAs from raising funds for personnel or professional development, one of the main ways rich schools get ahead of poor ones.
The Santa Monica-Malibu school district embraced both solutions in 2011. Today the district’s education foundation is the only way parents can donate money to support teachers and staff. "
Link to the Santa Monica-Malibu foundation:
http://smmef.org/?/about/faqs
SharetheWealth
Middle Class makes a point that I meant to make -those in the middle will also suffer.
I'll have to think about a foundation for fundraising - that used to be the Alliance but no more. (And I would never trust them with it.)
The Santa Monica-Malibu Foundation says this:
"SMMEF is the fundraising organization that pays for staff and programs at all schools; PTAs cannot fund staff and programs. Remember - SMMEF is the only organization that can fund staff and programs. If you value instructional assistants, arts programs, and important enrichment programs, please donate to SMMEF."
Should I give to both SMMEF and the PTA at my school?
YES! We’re all in this together. Both PTA and the Ed Foundation are critical funding sources for local schools. PTAs raise funds for necessary “stuff” such as supplies, books and equipment at school sites, while your donations to SMMEF fund additional staff and programs at each school."
"Booster Clubs at the high schools are currently not part of centralized fundraising. They play a tremendously important role by targeting unmet needs locally at their school."
Who decides how donations are spent?
The SMMUSD Board of Education determines all programs funded by annual donations to SMMEF. The Superintendent makes recommendations to the Board of Education based on input from the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee (SAC), professional knowledge, and research-based best practices. SAC is a group of District stakeholders, including principals, teachers, staff, parents and community members."
That would be a big NO from me. I would not trust any committee set up by the district and/or a foundation. They have no teachers on their committee, just principals.
How much should I give to SMMEF?
Our first goal is 100% participation. For school district parents, the recommended donation is $700 per child, but every donation, regardless of amount, is greatly appreciated and will impact our students."
And, if you give a lot of money, you get a private dinner with the Superintendent plus other benefits.
Fix AL
Solidarity Forever
Whittier goal : $ 60,000
McGilvra goal : $368,000
Lawton goal : $115,000
Sacajawea goal: $ 70,000
SharetheWealth
Yikes, be careful what you ask for, money like that comes with strings...
--NoMayoralControl
depressing
careful