Seattle Schools Community Forum

 There's this bright HCC parent - Albert J. Wong - who writes at the HCC Seattle Elementary Schools Facebook page. (I hope he runs for the Board someday.) He has some thoughts to share about the upcoming Board elections. (Editor's note; there is brief editing but only because he mentioned things pertinent to only the Facebook page.) Bunches of folks have been confused about the school board race this year. Enough that I'm going to risk writing a (as balanced as possible) public post.   So first, the board in the past half decade is closer to the old supreme court, with 1 swing vote. Thus this election is important because you are either going to reaffirm the current direction or swing it. The swing votes are 2 races: Debbie Carlsen vs Liza Rankin, and Ben Gitenstein vs Evan Briggs.   A choice of Liza + Evan continues the existing trend because Liza is clearly the incumbent. Liza and Chandra Hampson rose out of SCPTSA (note SCPTSA has very little interaction with most PTS...

Update: Sorry to say but I gave up. The meeting started nearly 10 minutes late despite a full agenda. The main problem is that the microphone was not set up properly (maybe have a mic at each end of the table?). You could hear the directors well but many staff do not speak up. Plus, whoever was closest to the mic kept shuffling papers which made it difficult to discern what was being said.  I tweeted this twice, hoping someone might clue in the folks at the meeting but nope. What was interesting is the two presenters from Moss Adams who were virtual ALSO had issues hearing what was being said/asked.  The only updates I can give you are these. One, apparently it's not clear who is in charge/responsible to make sure the background checks/references/ sign-ins get done.  Two, Marni Campbell gave the report on security and safety. She said there were "foundational practices" like limiting entryways, going to the office and signing in every single time you are in the building b...

From KOMO News: The Seattle Police Department (SPD) arrested three people for car theft in north Seattle on Friday. Police said two of the people arrested were juveniles. This incident caused two schools, Nathan Hale High School and Jane Addams Middle School to go into a shelter-in-place for about 30 minutes. Police said the suspects were in a stolen red Kia and added that the car was towed and impounded. Seattle Public Schools (SPS) said no threats were made to these schools related to this incident. "It’s kids 17-18 late teens, in groups, some wearing masks, some who aren't, that are basically praying (sic) on other students coming home from school," said Tod Kibbee, Assistant Chief of patrol operations for SPD. As of this report, SPD said it’s unknown whether the suspects arrested Friday are connected with the recent robberies in the north Seattle/Ballard area. From the SPD Blotter story: The suspect vehicles driven were described to be either a red Kia, gray Hyundai, ...

To again state - I urge you to consider voting for: D1 - Debbie Carlsen D2 - close call here but I would go for Christina Posten  D3 - Ben Gitenstein D6 - Gina Topp A couple of people asked about candidates' stands on different issues so I've checked their campaign websites.  Kids in SPS Topp and Posten both have one child and both are under two. So neither have experience being an SPS parent but Posten was a teacher and principal in SPS so she knows the landscape. Rankin, Rivera Smith, Briggs, and Carlsen have their children in SPS. I believe Gitenstein has one child in private and one in SPS. HCC This was a question at an HCC Facebook page - who supports HCC? Clearly, Liza Rankin is not a fan so she's not a friend to HCC. She says at her website: All students should have access to unique and advanced learning opportunities, and equitable pathways to success with the opportunity to pursue their goals and interests.  Racial bias in the areas of special education, advance...

Well, I tuned into a bit of the Board meeting last night.  I had hoped that someone would say something about the serious situation out in the Ballard area around students being robbed, sometimes at gunpoint. The Superintendent was not there so nothing there. Not a single Board member said anything including President Brandon Hersey. There is no tweets at the district's X page, not even with safety info.  I would assume that Ballard HS and Whitman MS are talking to kids about this issue but where's the district leadership? AWOL Looks like Director Chandra Hampson and Director Liza Rankin, together with the Seattle Council PTSA, want some input on the not-good proposed fiscal policy . Here's a link to that virtual meeting which is on Thursday, November 2nd at 7 pm.   The meeting's purpose: To discuss the school board draft financial policy and how would it affect the district’s financial position.  In a single hour, Rankin and Hampson will be able to explain all fa...

Update: KUOW story   The Seattle Police Department said it plans to dispatch a mobile precinct to the area, along with more officers to deter such crimes, but only "when staffing allows." end of update October 23, 2023 Seattle Police Robbery detectives continue to investigate the reported robberies that have occurred near Ballard High School and Whitman Middle School.    Detectives have linked four reported incidents since September 2023. The suspects in these incidents were described as a group of 4-6 subjects. Most of the cases involve 3-6 Black males wearing ski masks or hoodies, but it was also reported an Asian male and Black female may have been involved in one of the incidents. The suspect vehicles driven were described to be either a red Kia, gray Hyundai, and or a red/silver sedan.    The red Kia has been recovered, but police continue to search for the gray Hyundai and red/silver sedan.   The suspects appear to be in their teens, ...

As I previously reported, there has been a spate of muggings around Ballard . It appears to be a group of boys/men in a couple of different cars who swoop down on one or two teenaged kids to take cell phones, money, computers, etc. One incident appears to have included a pistol whipping. My understanding is that the muggings took place against boys. My sources tell me there is to be a meeting on Wednesday with city officials and some members of the Board on this issue.  Sources say: - 10-12 incidents - one boy kidnapped and held in a van for an hour being asked for phone passwords - besides the pistol whipping, other violence (hitting, slapping, etc) - four incidents gun-related If you have an incident you want to add to the list, I have an email of a parent who is collecting information. Please email me at sss.westbrook@gmail.com. The other item is about the rebuilding of Alki Elementary School and challenges to the district's desire for multiple zoning departures. The one issue s...

Here's something interesting that surely might help the discussion over school closures.  There's a mom out there - Beth - who covers Board meetings with tweets. She sounds like a busy mom so she misses some stuff but generally get the major points.  (I did reach out to her for her whole name but I didn't hear back from her.) She's @thebethocracy. Here's her Twitter bio: Passionate about education and safe streets for those walking and rolling here in lovely Seattle She has created this graphic that she has named, Neighborhood Elementary School Data for Seattle Public Schools.  It's quite good with multiple data points for each elementary school. She does include K-8s.  Give it a look-see and let us know if you have any insights after that.

I finally listened to the last Work Session on the Budget . I had a difficult time even finding it on the SPS channel on YouTube. Please note on this issue - you can put in "SPS work session" at YouTube and find numerous meetings. However, for this particular work session, someone labeled it a "special meeting" of the SPS board and you won't find it if you put in work session. The meeting was scheduled for an hour and a half and ran two hours. From the footage, it appears there were about 10 members of the public including watchdog, Chris Jackins. To my astonishment not one but two board members were not in attendance - Michelle Sarju and Brandon Hersey. Also, for pure entertainment value, you can't beat the face of Director Leslie Harris who can be quite funny especially when she looks like the cat who swallowed the canary during some people's remarks. Folks, the news is not good . I'll break out the highlights. I can say that except for a few dire...

Seattle friends, please consider voting for these people for Seattle School Board. The Board is coming into a time of shrinking enrollment, a new governance system that weakens the Board oversight and closing schools. D1 - DEBBIE CARLSEN (the incumbent, Liza Rankin, talks a good game but she sides with staff most of the time; she is not an effective leader). Debbie is bright and would bring non-profit experience and diversity to the Board. D2 - Hard to say because of the lackluster campaigns from both candidates (there are only 2 so they were not in the primary). The incumbent, Lisa Rivera Smith, is bright but easily cowed and this is a time for strength. Her opponent, Christina Posten, is a former SPS principal/teacher, very bright but also somewhat scattered. If I were voting, it would be a reluctant vote for Lisa Rivera Smith. D3 - VOTE FOR BEN GITENSTEIN. He is a fantastic choice - bright, knowledgeable, with leadership skills in place. His opponent, Evan Briggs, does not know the ...