That August 29th Seattle School Board Meeting? It's Not to Announce the School Closure List

Update 2:

Here's my executive summary of what the Board's Retreat this Thursday from 3-8 pm will cover. 

The agenda for this meeting says the topic is "Goals & Guardrails Drafting for 2025-2030 Strategic Plan." Given the concerning items before the Board like school closures, a huge budget deficit, school shooting deaths, etc., it seems an odd topic.

The agenda also includes documentation of two surveys done by the district. One was for parents, students and staff and the other was for community groups/partners. Both were asked about different topics in SPS as well as what SPS is doing that works and what they are doing that does not work. Both groups wanted more academic rigor, they worry over fiscal issues, how responsive the district is to school communities and community at large and class sizes. 

The Goals and Guardrails section is from the Board's new governance model SOFG (Student Outcome Focused Governance) which states:

It is critical to remember that school systems only exist for one reason: to improve student outcomes. 

End of update

Update: 

Someone asked about a summary. I had just wanted to do something in the middle - which is what this post is. However, I see the point of creating an executive summary and will do that today. 

end of update 

I had thought this Thursday, August 29th meeting might be a special meeting to announce the school closure list. You know, to give school communities the heads up sooner rather than later. 

Nope, district staff are just going to run out the clock for those communities. Because staff are not going to make such a large announcement the week schools open (that would seem just a bit cruel) and I doubt the following week either, and so it would appear they are holding out for the School Board meeting on Wednesday, September 18th. 

But maybe more will be revealed at the Board Special Meeting this Thursday which is, as it turns out,if  the Board's retreat. It's going to be five hours long (!) so that leaves a lot of time to cover a lot of ground. But let's go to the agenda.

Goals & Guardrails Drafting for 2025-2030 Strategic Plan

Oh.

Nothing about closing schools. Nothing about the huge budget deficit. Nothing about safety in high schools despite two student murders at two different high schools. Nothing about the what both budget issues AND closures will do to schools especially after they redraw boundaries.

However, the agenda leads with results of two surveys. One for parents/staff/students and the other for community/partnerships. Here's the results for the first survey.

SPS School Board Community Engagement Survey Thematic Summary of Participant Responses

This document summarizes themes from a Community Engagement Survey to support the SPS School Board in developing goals that reflect the community’s vision and values for student outcomes – what SPS students should know and be able to do. The Board-developed survey included five open-response questions. The responses were individually coded and then collectively analyzed to generate key themes reflecting the overall perspectives of survey participants to each survey prompt. These themes are provided below, and also include the specific codes (and the number of responses) that were applicable to each theme.

Under Demographics we see out of 886 responses, most were from parents/guardians (77%) with SPS school-based staff coming in at 12%. Most of the responses with came from the NE or NW or Central (all about 25%).  Of those who did respond, most identified as White (53%) or Multiracial (31%). I find the latter percentage an interesting development. 

Of those who responded about Student Services:

o Advanced Learner: 38%
o Special Education IEP/504: 27%
o Multilingual Learner: 7%

Highest degree (only adult roles who chose to respond)
o Graduate or professional degree: 62%
o Bachelor’s degree: 33%

o Associate’s degree or technical certificate: 3%
o High school diploma (or equivalent): 1%
o Less than high school: 1%

Questions

To note: The responses were individually coded and then collectively analyzed to generate keythemes reflecting the overall perspectives of survey participants to each survey prompt. These themes are provided below, and also include the specific codes (and the number of responses) that were applicable to each theme.

Reading these, it is unclear to me if these are actual quotes or AI-generated based on the number of similar answers or both.

 

Question 1: How should we be able to describe a graduate of Seattle Public Schools? The answers come from these qualities:

Graduates of Seattle Public Schools are….

College and Career Ready, Academically Prepared, Community and Globally Oriented, Socially and Emotionally Competent, Independent Critical Thinkers

Q2: What knowledge and skills do our students need to have to be successful after high school?

Graduates of Seattle Public Schools can….

2.1. Meet Academic Standards 

2.2. Set Goals and Navigate Options 

2.3. Engage and Collaborate with Diverse Communities 

2.4. Demonstrate Empathy and Social Emotional Skills  

In this particular question I see many items that schools can HELP with but it feels like a BIG amount of SEL. I'm not against SEL - far from it - but making sure that kids can self-regulate, for example, seems a large ask.

Q3: What does educational equity mean to you and how should it be measured? 

Educational equity is...

 3a.1. Access to Educational Opportunities

I see some problematic statements in this section. 

- The kids who are furthest behind in learning should receive the greatest resources.

That's a wide range of kids like both low-income and Special Education. And at what point does this start? In pre-K or K or when?

- Equity in education means that students and families with fewer social and economic privileges are given more resources so that the student may reach proficiency in all their classes. 

I would like to see a drill-down on this sentence as well because it's important to know what "resources" covers because this answer covers "families." 

3a.2. High Quality Instruction 

This one says "with high expectations." What does that mean? It doesn't mean "will meet" because they join "will meet" OR "surpass high expectations." 

3a.3. Well-Resourced Programs and Services

 3a.4. Personalized Choices and Pathways

This is one section where I had the most problem with the responses.

- It means having a wide range of options and opportunities. Supports for those who need them. Challenges for those who need them.

- Meeting every child where they are at. This means having options for all children whether struggling to meet standards or well beyond standards.

- Equity means families having choice for what works and doesn’t work for them.*

- Understanding the unique needs, challenges, and talents that each student brings to the table, and
tailoring opportunities to meet them where they are.*

- Equity to me means equal opportunities for all students. Being able to make informed choices for myself for my child and having the ability to carry those out**

* Choice. That is a very loaded word today. How far does it go and how much does "choice" cost when you are drilling down to the individual family level?

**Equal versus equity - do they meet in the same place at the same time? Or does equity trump?

3a.5. Centering Underrepresented Students

Educational equity should be measured by...

3b.1. Student, Family, and Teacher Feedback

I found the responses here interesting like "Measure it by parent and child satisfaction." 

3b.2. Academic Performance

3b.3. Student Growth

3b.4. Participation and Access

Here's where the role of PTAs might come in if we are comparing what is available school to school. Should a program that is at a few schools and works well with PTA funding end because other schools can't afford it?

Q4: What is SPS doing that is working and should continue?

 The most common elements that respondents named as working well were...

Quality Educators and Staff

This is an encouraging section with glowing reviews of teachers, staff and principals. 

4.2. Neighborhood and Community Connections  

4.3. Options for Schools and Programs

4.4. Dual language Programs

4.5. Highly Capable Cohort (HCC) 

4.6. Social and emotional learning

Another BIG vote of confidence in the SEL program that I believe is in most elementaries and middle schools.

 

Q5: What is SPS doing that is not working and that should be stopped?

The most common elements in respondents named as not working well were...

5.1. Highly Capable Cohort Program Change

5.2. Lack of Focus on Academic Rigor, High Expectations or Accountability

Also fascinating because the responses reflect that parents don't think there ARE high standards. 

5.3. High Student-to-Teacher Ratios and Lack of Supports

5.4. District Fiscal Management

Ouch. 

5.5. District Transparency and Communication

Double ouch.

 

Here's the second survey and its results.

SPS Board of Directors & Community Partner Meetings Feedback Analysis Memo 

During spring of 2024, SPS board directors met with 20 different partner organizations and community groups to collect feedback in alignment with the co-current community engagement survey. Attendance at those meetings averaged 19 people and a full list of partner organizations is included in the appendix. Directors took notes on community partner attendee responses to the same reflection questions that were asked of the community in the recent board engagement outreach. Those findings are summarized here in reference to the themes developed from the July community engagement survey, organized in order of the questions as they were asked.

Same questions as parents and staff but responses are coded by how many people gave the same answer.

I found this grouping of responses emphasized "individual learning plans" and "specific needs." I just don't think that SEA would find this realistic and I wonder how to bridge that gap in the classroom.

"Unique elements" for a Seattle graduate:

• Confidence in and prideful of their experience with SPS (6)

• Social justice orientation through capacities such as anti-racism, equity, and attention to power dynamics (6)
• Multilingual in their ability to speak at least one other language than English (5)

Detail to the vision of what a graduate would know and be able to do:

• Financial literacy in students’ abilities to know about how finance works in their own lives and the broader world around them (5)

This group thought what was working well:

 • Neighborhood and community connections in schools whose connection with community partners and families is caring and supportive, and who find ways to involve families in the daily life of the school (5)
• Dual language programs and other multilingual language learning supports and opportunities (4)
• Quality educators and staff who are committed to showing up for students and demographically reflective of the student body (3)

 As well, four groups emphasized the work the district was doing to promote equity for underserved students, through either the programs that they supported or in the ways the school was oriented to support a specific group of historically marginalized students.

What needs improvement?

- lack of academic rigor/expectations or accountability 

- incorporating curriculum like Ethnic Studies and Since Time Immemorial

- how responsive the district is to family and student voices 

- large class sizes

At the end of this section, they list the groups who met with Board members. I was quite surprised to see "Ethnic Studies Now" given how the head of that group was summarily let go from SPS. Hmm.

 

Now for the Goals and Guardrails section, this is straight out of the SOFG model (Student Outcomes Focused Governance.) Makes my eyes glaze over. If this is the roadmap, it HAS to be tailored to SPS and written in a manner that is easily understandable.

But it is an interesting clash of ideas between what parents and community stated and what this section says. For example: 

It is critical to remember that school systems only exist for one reason: to improve student outcomes. 

If the above is truly what the Board and Superintendent believe, where is the proof that this is working?