This and That

November is Native History Month.

“Native history is American history … It’s important to know the truth,” Brown said. “It’s important to know that we are still here. It’s especially problematic when 87% of history contained textbooks presents Native Americans in a pre-1900 context. After the turn of the 20th century, we disappear in textbooks.”

During remote learning, SPS produced video tribal history lessons for elementary and middle school that are still available on SPSTV. Families can also access our American Indian Studies webpage to see some of our work and recommended resources, like the National Museum of the American Indian’s Native Knowledge 360°.

SPS Communication Survey  

The week of Nov. 7, families, staff and community partners will receive a link for the districtwide survey called SCoPE (School Communication Performance Evaluation).  

The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete and will be available in Amharic, Chinese, English Somali, Spanish, Vietnamese. The survey will be open until Nov. 18. 

After you take the survey, could you let me know what they asked (sss.westbrook@gmail.com)? Screenshots would be helpful because exact wording matters. What I find interesting is that it says "school communication" and not district communication.

This project will also include focus groups with students, families, staff and community members. 

Participants will meet virtually with an independent (not SPS) auditor through a secure Zoom meeting. Participants will be able to join on a computer, smartphone or other mobile device from a quiet, private location of their choosing. 

The focus groups will take place November 29 – December 2 and will include sessions with interpreters for our multilingual families. 

The auditor will ask focus groups attendees a set of open-ended questions about the communication efforts of our school district and perceptions of its current image and future challenges. Each of the focus groups will be asked a similar set of questions. 

If you are interested in participating in a focus group, please complete our focus group interest form. 

It appears that anyone can apply, whether in SPS or not. Also, if you do participate in a focus group, let us know how it went.

The information collected in this project will help develop a set of recommendations for SPS to strengthen our communications with our school community. A final report will be presented to the Seattle School Board Audit Committee in March 2023. 

Could this be part of the promised outreach to communities around the SOFG "vision and values of the community?"

From Seattle Public Library on its 2023 Global Reading Challenge:

Hey fourth and fifth graders, are you ready to read, learn and win? The 2023 Global Reading Challenge launches today, with the unveiling of this year’s books.

Now in its 28^th year, the Global Reading Challenge is a reading incentive program between the Library and Seattle Public Schools (SPS). Fourth and fifth graders enrolled in SPS of all reading abilities read the books together and team up for trivia competitions. The semi-finals and City Final competitions, which happen in March 2023, will be in person this year! Find out more at spl.org/GRC.

Looks like Marni Campbell will be the official Executive Director of Operations.

Dr. Marni Campbell has been selected as Executive Director of Operations. In collaboration with schools leadership, she will work with Assistant Superintendent of Operations Fred Podesta and Operations teams to facilitate integration, collaboration, and coordination of school operations with those operational functions reporting to central office departments, including Athletics, Capital Projects and Planning, Coordinated School Health, Culinary Services, Enrollment Planning, Facility Operations, Warehouse, Safety and Security, Special Education, and Transportation.

In this role, Dr. Campbell also will provide direct oversight of the school operations team, Enrollment Planning, Admissions, and Transportation.

From SPS:

The Seattle Promise Scholarship increases access to college for students, particularly those from underrepresented groups. The scholarship is open to all SPS graduates and provides up to two years or 90 credits of tuition at Seattle Central College, North Seattle College, or South Seattle College.  

All SPS graduates are eligible to apply for the Seattle Promise Scholarship, regardless of GPA, income, ability, or country of birth.  

To learn more about how to apply, families can attend one of several upcoming application workshops. At this workshop, students complete the first steps in the scholarship process. They will also describe the next steps in the scholarship process and answer any questions you may have.  

The application for Fall 2023 is now open and due by Feb. 17, 2023.