Closing Schools Public Engagement Watch
Update:
It's Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 4:20 pm and I STILL don't see any public engagement meetings on the well-resourced schools plan that includes school closures.
end of update
It is Monday, May 13, 2024 at 4 pm. I still don't see ANY public engagement meetings on the well-resourced schools plan that includes school closures. I had thought for certain I'd see it on the district calendar today because I did hear Communications head Bev Redmond say they would have it up this week (this at the last Board meeting).
But let's see how narrow this window is to have these meetings (I think there should be 7, one for each region in the district but I'd bet it will be just 4. It will be interesting how many directors show up for how many meetings.) Also, look for the district to follow their MO of having meetings scheduled back-to-back.
This week - May 13-18 - is fairly clear but it seems a bit unsporting to just spring some meetings on parents at the end of this week.
Next week - May 20-25 - has a Board meeting on Wednesday (and how many people show up to that should be interesting given what has transpired since the LAST Board meeting).
The week after - May 27-31 might be good but Memorial Day on that Monday chops one day off that week.
The next week - June 3-7 - would be a great week with near zero district meetings.
After that, no way as there is a Board meeting on June 10th AND high school graduations start.
Ditto for the June 17-21 which sees June 19th (Juneteenth) as a holiday and June 21st as the last day of school.
Whatever dates the district picks, they should release ANY documentation that they will be referring to BEFORE the meetings so parents can peruse it and think of questions.
Comments
This race-based mentality has infected every aspect of the District. When Directors Brandon Hersey and Liza Rankin are willing to sign off on the use of racial counts, they've greenlighted the use of racial counts throughout the District by senior staff, school principals, and classroom teachers.
Count up the students by race at the District, and direct funds to schools. Count up the number of students by race in foreign language classes, honors, advanced math, AP science, and music, and when the counts are off, kill the classes. The examples are all described on the pages of this blog over the last five years. They are all based on "equity" defined by the District using racial counts.
Count up the number of kids turning in homework by race, and kill the homework. Count up the number of kids showing up for online class during COVID, and kill the requirement to turn on the camera or actually show up. Instead, just give everyone A's and then act dumb when the test scores plummet.
I have a lot of empathy for kids from low-income families, and a disproportionate number of those kids come from certain racial categories. But if you check the numbers, the District's policies have been about as successful as anyone without a PhD in education would expect.
The District Leadership love to tell the story of the racist HCC program, but that is standard District misdirection. The "manufactured brilliance" of the District's White and Asian students to quote the District's Chief Academic Officer. So the District gutted walk-to-math, gutted school science fairs, gutted field trips, and is now gutting neighborhood schools. These things matter to a lot of people.
Ask an executive at any of the area tech companies, and they will tell you that they recommended against the District for the kids of new hires transferring to the area. Executives at Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Gates, Zillow don't send their own kids to Seattle Public Schools, and they no longer recommend the District to their reports.
When the Supreme Court overturned this practice, the principal of Ballard H.S. resigned in a hissy fit. Since he could not have a rainbow of student colors he wanted out. Too many white kids offended him.
My opinion has always been that students probably get some benefits from being around kids of other races or classes. But they get a bigger benefit from solid reading and math programs. After school events could be music or special club activities instead of sitting on a bus.
A friend of mine back then said she was considered a racist at SPS for having her kids in APP (Highly Capable) programs at Garfield. She just wanted the highest academic offerings possible. I would call it good parenting and her kids now have very successful careers.
Nothing has changed in 20 years except lower enrollments.
District Watcher
So, WHAT is it? Do directors believe that large, homogenously provided services, are really more "equitable?" And what evidence do they have to support that? Are Boardmembers performatively doing austerity to stay out of state receivership? Or is it an ego thing, to remake the school into a new form? And if it does come down to decisions made years ago to build larger schools and then consolidate into those, WHO directed that? I'm so curious what you all think.
Listen
Dear SPS families and staff,
You are invited to join Seattle Public Schools (SPS) for an upcoming community meeting. During these meetings, senior leaders will share information about the proposed plan for creating a system of well-resourced schools that serve students in kindergarten through 5th grade.
A system of well-resourced elementary schools will create a new foundation of stability and consistency that our students and staff need to thrive.
May and June Community Meetings Dates
To ensure SPS families have the greatest opportunity to take part, each meeting will present the same information in locations around our district.
The schedule for well-resourced schools staff meetings will soon be shared with SPS staff.
Saturday, May 25, 10:30 a.m. - noon, Garfield High School, 400 23rd Ave.
Tuesday, May 28, 6 - 7:30 p.m., Roosevelt High School, 1410 NE 66th St.
Saturday, June 1, 10:30 a.m. - noon, Chief Sealth International High School, 2600 SW Thistle St.
Tuesday, June 4, 6 - 7:30 p.m., Zoom meeting
Translation and interpretation services (American Sign Language (ASL), Amharic, Cantonese, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese) will be provided at each meeting based on request. After the online meeting, a recording will be posted to the district website.
We hope you can join us! Take a moment to RSVP or send us your questions. Please complete the form to request accommodation for the meetings.
Our goal is that all schools would include the elements that many of our families, staff, and students said were important during the Well-Resourced Schools Engagement Sessions last fall and earlier this spring.
You can read more about this work, including the well-resourced schools elements on our well-resourced schools webpage. Thank you for joining us for these important conversations!
Sincerely,
Bev Redmond
Chief of Staff
Seattle Public Schools
With the kind of communication and language that SPS consistently uses, I am not at all surprised. Their latest communication about community meetings--which must be the promised community engagement meetings, I assume--mentions absolutely nothing about closures or consolidation. If I was a parent who only relied on communication from SPS, I would have no idea that any type of school closures were coming our way. It's absolutely irresponsible. [One person pointed out in an FB group that one of the meetings (to be held at Garfield HS) is scheduled for the Saturday during Memorial Day weekend. Such dedication to community engagement!]
-drum
You are invited to join Seattle Public Schools (SPS) for an upcoming community meeting. During these meetings, senior leaders will share information about the proposed plan for creating a system of well-resourced schools that serve students in kindergarten through 5th grade.
A system of well-resourced elementary schools will create a new foundation of stability and consistency that our students and staff need to thrive.
May and June Community Meetings Dates
To ensure SPS families have the greatest opportunity to take part, each meeting will present the same information in locations around our district.
The schedule for well-resourced schools staff meetings will soon be shared with SPS staff.
Saturday, May 25, 10:30 a.m. - noon, Garfield High School, 400 23rd Ave.
Tuesday, May 28, 6 - 7:30 p.m., Roosevelt High School, 1410 NE 66th St.
Saturday, June 1, 10:30 a.m. - noon, Chief Sealth International High School, 2600 SW Thistle St.
Tuesday, June 4, 6 - 7:30 p.m., Zoom meeting
Translation and interpretation services (American Sign Language (ASL), Amharic, Cantonese, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese) will be provided at each meeting based on request. After the online meeting, a recording will be posted to the district website.
We hope you can join us! Take a moment to RSVP or send us your questions. Please complete the form to request accommodation for the meetings.
Our goal is that all schools would include the elements that many of our families, staff, and students said were important during the Well-Resourced Schools Engagement Sessions last fall and earlier this spring.
You can read more about this work, including the well-resourced schools elements on our well-resourced schools webpage. Thank you for joining us for these important conversations!
Sincerely,
Bev Redmond
Chief of Staff
Seattle Public Schools
This was sent late yesterday (5/14); 4 meetings just like you guessed.
- OMEP