Seattle Schools Community Forum

Update: it appears that former SPS senior staffer Keisha Scarlett is out as superintendent of St Louis Public Schools. Just after a year in that position, she has taken a leave of absence. Scarlett’s recent hires included at least 12 former Seattle administrators and employees from Seattle – with some jobs going to spouses of those coming to SLPS. In addition, SLPS’ new communications chief Phoenix Jackson posted online last week that she would be living in both Houston and St. Louis and “float as needed between two lives and I love that for me,” while managing the essential role. This and the Seattle hires led Board of Education President Toni Cousins to call for an investigation into SLPS hiring and temporarily freeze any additional employment additions. SLPS had also reportedly has gone from having a $17 million budget surplus to facing a potential $35 million shortfall. In addition, teachers and staff in the district were notified that raises approved by the bo...

You all in Seattle know The Needling, Seattle's Only Real Fake News ? It's like The Onion for Seattle. It can be somewhat amusing in its pokes and digs at Seattle and its denizens and the Seattle Way. However, a new post about school closures in SPS is decidedly unfunny and tasteless and you have to wonder what the real message is (which has little to do with Seattle in specific). Here's the title:  SPS Contracts with IDF to Close All Seattle Schools In case you don't know, the IDF is the Israeli Defense Force. They accompany it with this photo:   You all know that I am not supportive of how Seattle Schools is handling school closures but I do feel compelled to stick up for them here.  The Needling does several things wrong.  One, they give the attribution to Superintendent Brent Jones of several alarming statements. I might not have been so unhappy with this post had they not done that.  Two, clearly they are using Seattle Schools and school closures to feed a ...

Following up on the news that the Chinatown Seafair Parade was interrupted because bystanders saw guns present.  The people with the guns were young teens - two 14-year olds and a 13-year old. Two of the three guns were stolen and one modified to be automatic.  Questions abound like: 1) Who stole the guns?  2) How did these kids get the guns? 3) It appears to the eye that there is an uptick of robbery and violence from some very young teens. I recall there has been a wave of crime over in West Seattle using stolen cars that are then used in robberies. And, of course, both the murders in Seattle high schools, with the shooter at Ingraham High School being a young teen. 4) Where are we on the Garfield shooter? 5) Why no safety updates on the planning and work around school safety from Superintendent Brent Jones? Schools are closed so nothing needs to happen? The Seattle Times follows up with this article today,  Many more kids are being shot and killed in King County ...

Here's what we know from the SPD blotter about this Seafair parade in the ID which a Reddit user wrote about: Seattle PD map shows them receiving a "shots fired" report around 8:11 pm on parade route. That was about when we saw the one group of dance drill girls get stopped and turned around by police and over their radio of near by police heard Shots Fired and to redirect. A little later heard over near by police radio about a suspicious person with firearm. The police did not think shots were fired (and to add to the confusion, I guess there was a cannon that the Seafair pirates used.)  The police detained one guy having a gun which turned out to be a replica. By 9:30ish,  "Police have three individuals in custody and have recovered three firearms. The investigation is ongoing to determine if there are any outstanding suspects." From The Seattle Times: SPD received reports of several youths with handguns near Seventh Avenue South and South Weller Street around...

Where some interesting things were said. I must first confess that it has bothered me for some time about Director Gina Topp; she reminds me of somebody but I couldn't put my finger on who. She is clear and measured in her statements, even the ones she puts some teeth into, she seeks answers and you really feel her as a leader. Then, it came to me. She's the female Pete Buttigieg. The meeting last night via Teams had 10 people. There were two press people - me and Tracy Record at the West Seattle Blog. One participant was the former head of SPS CTE Shep Siegel, one was a lunch lady at Denny MS, one was a SPP teacher at a K-8  and the others were parents.  It seemed that closures was the main item on their minds plus concern for their individual schools like Pathfinder. Not one parent seemed to support closures or questioned why it had to be such a large number of schools. This thought came into play later on in the discussion. Director Topp expressed disappointment that the di...

 If you have somehow missed this, there is a document from the ultra right-wing group, The Heritage Foundation, a blueprint of sorts nicknamed Project 2025. Its real name is Mandate for Leadership. This 900-page monstrosity would tear apart much of how our country works. Including public education.  But before I get into the weeds on public education, here's other key points from Vox: Project 2025 proposes that all Department of State employees in leadership roles should be dismissed by the end of January 20, 2025. The project lays out quite aggressive proposals to use federal power to prevent abortions and restrict certain contraceptive coverage. It even says that pornography should be “outlawed” and its creators and distributors should be “imprisoned.” The “Schedule F” plan to reclassify tens of thousands of civil servants as political appointees, so they could be fired and replaced with Trump cronies. Deprioritize fighting climate change, repeal Biden’s clean energy subsidi...

 I think my guess was correct; Seattle Schools will NOT have any new information on the Closure and Consolidation process in July. And frankly, probably not until right before the next School Board meeting on August 28th.  I also do not see the Board retreat that the Board needs to have before school resumes.  I check both the district and Board calendars regularly and will keep you update. (Sometimes the Board will have dates that the regular calendar does not so, unfortunately, you have to check in both places.) I do see the one brave Board member - Gina Topp - is having a virtual community meeting next Wednesday, July 17th from 6-7 pm.  This meeting will be held remotely with Microsoft Teams. Microsoft Teams Meeting Link

 I see that there was another teen murder in the Puget Sound region , this time at Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood. A 13-girl who was with friends at the mall was shot as an argument nearby her got out of hand and a gun was fired. From the Times: (Jayda Woods Johnson) A rising eighth grader at Brier Terrace Middle School in Edmonds, Woods-Johnson was funny, sweet and kind with an infectious smile, a contagious laugh and caring friendship, her friends and family said at the candlelight vigil Sunday.  Police alleged a 16-year-old boy pulled out a handgun and fired at the group of teenagers. The boy was booked into the Denney Juvenile Justice Center in Everett, and later released from custody after posting $500,000 bail.  I am baffled by two things. One, why was this kid not held - without bail - in a juvenile facility until charged?  I am aware his mother brought him into the police station which is great. But it is startling that he was able to post bail and j...

Here's how SFUSD is handling their "resources" and schools plan.  First, they call it the " Resource Alignment Initiative" or RAI. Here's what they say it is: SFUSD began the Resource Alignment Initiative in August 2023 in response to declining student enrollment, declining revenue, staffing challenges, and deteriorating buildings. The District’s resources are simply stretched too thin, and this is impacting the ability to achieve SFUSD’s ambitious five-year student outcome goals. The Resource Alignment Initiative is our roadmap for the critical work we must do as a school district to move us toward a future where every student attends a strong school, our educators have the resources and support to excel, and our community grows stronger. The initiative has five focus areas to address our challenges in multiple ways. None of them alone will help us achieve our goals. Learn more about each focus area below. Under the direction of Superintende...

The story is called Abused by the Badge ; I hope this gift link works because it's important reading. As well, in the context of bringing back SPD or SROs back to Seattle Schools, something to consider.  I want to say from the start that the majority of police officers in this country put their lives on the line every single day. It's an extremely tough job and given the guns in this country, a very scary one. But too often, when a few officers commit crimes, their union bends over backwards to save them. Unions should NOT protect their worst members.  A Washington Post investigation has found that over the past two decades, hundreds of law enforcement officers in the United States have sexually abused children while officials at every level of the criminal justice system have failed to protect kids, punish abusers and prevent additional crimes. Police and sheriff’s departments have enabled predators by botching background checks, ignoring red flags and mishandling inve...

Jones' two-year contract is up and the Board is now negotiating with him to stay on. I have heard no talk of him walking away. There are several issues to consider. The number one issue is - where would the money come from for a raise?  Interestingly, at last night's Board meeting, the principals' contract item on the agenda had been pulled. Earlier in the day I had written to the head of Budget, Linda Sebring, and asked her this: So the PASS contract seems - to me - like a replay of the SEA contract. Meaning, a contract that SPS cannot afford. I looked at your budget presentation and was surprised to see on the Expenditures by State Activity page, that the principals’ budget had already been gone up from 2022-2023 to 2023-2024 by about $4M. Now I know that bump up is not all that money going to salaries but for principal supported activities. As well, the Board voted to negotiate with Superintendent Jones for his contracted salary. If he gets a raise, where are those dol...

 I knew that San Francisco Unified School District was on the Student Outcome Focused Governance (SOFG) train but didn't know just how much. (Fun Fact: I lived in the Bay Area and, at one point, right in San Francisco. A very happy time in my life.) Here's a link to their website and oh man! what a plethora of real information. There is no comparison to the SPS website.  So first, let's compare what it looks like for "Goals and Guardrails." Please note that each district has chosen different names for similar goals as well as the number of the goal. However, SPS doesn't cover as broad a spectrum of issues as SFUSD does.  As well, you can see the fine hand of SOFG guru, A.J. Crabill, except that the SPS versions come across fairly harshly while SFUSD's seem to have a kinder, gentler tone. Whose fine hand made the SPS versions harsher? I'd bet it was former director Chandra Hampson.   SPS Guardrail 1: Engagement The superintendent will not allow schoo...