Seattle School Board Candidates Speak

 The district now has the video statements that each applicant vying for one of the two empty spots on the Seattle School Board. 

To view them, navigate to this page and then the video links are in the right-hand column. 

District Four

 Gabby Gonzalez talked about being an immigrant at 13, learning English through ESL at school and attending a magnet high school in a back neighborhood. She says she wants to turn around the "negative perceptions" about SPS and that she loves numbers and her work is based in data analytics. 

Joe Mizrahi . He is from a refugee family and went to law school. He has three children in SPS. While he didn't say the magic phrase of SOFG, I believe he's pretty much on board. He said that he had the support of Teresa Mosqueda and Girmay Zahilay and one other but I couldn't quite get the name. 

Rachelle Olden talked about being a Black woman raised by a single mom and the power of public education. She spoke in Spanish at one point (she has said she is fluent).

Laura Marie Rivera talked about being a mom, an educator and a non-profit professional. In talking about helping students, she did mention the trades and it was good to hear that. She mentioned that her family has experienced learning disabilities and she wanted to be a part of making that work.

Thoughts 

I think for actual information, Gonzalez (she gave her nickname) had the best presentation. Joe Mizrahi speaks very quickly and so it was hard to be sure what he was saying through his video speech. I found what Olden said to be non-specific. Nothing wrong with what she said but more like cotton-candy talk. In this group, Laura Marie Rivera has the most knowledge about SPS. 

District Two

Carol Thompson has lived in Seattle 20 years. She said there are community-minded families and teachers in SPS. She cited concern over lack of progress in district goals. She said there were complex issues that need a person with a solid professional background. 

Sarah Clark, said she wants to give back to community and is lived in Seattle her entire life. She mentioned a church youth group she was part of that worked building homes in Mexico. She said she was offering service in fostering success in youth. She read most of her speech so, like

Eric Fenney has two kids in SPS. He said his focus would be funding, creative ideas, agility, and responsiveness.  He also said, "I will support and champion requests I get from our community." 2He also mentioned networking with other districts so as to not reinvent the wheel. He spoke of "structural bottlenecks" but I'm not sure what he was referencing.

Ramona Hattendorf supports inclusive education and her mantra is "equal opportunity to benefit." She talked about her wide-ranging background, including helping to redefining basic education, fighting against cuts in education dollars and that she is the director of non-profit for people with disabilities. 

Thoughts

I think that Thompson comes across as a very serious person. 

Clark seemed a bit distance as she read her entire speech. 

Thompson did say she had "skin in the game"  because she has kids in the system. Does that matter to people? It appears Sarah Clark has no children but she did mention her concern for her niece's education. 

Eric Fenney had a quiet yet determined tone. He, like Gabby Gonzalez in D4, had more specifics than the other candidates. I like his idea of a coalition of urban schools in our region. 

Hattendorf certainly knows this district and the players in the legislature. She is the one most likely to be able to hit the ground running if she is selected.