Seattle Schools Community Forum

Superintendent Search Watch The Board will be having a "special meeting" on Tuesday, August 26th at 4 pm at the JSCEE. No agenda yet available. According to HYA rep Micah Ali, the "leadership profile" will be shared at that meeting. - Then, from September 1-15, it would be shared with communities. - The application process for candidates will end on September 15th. - September 17th, final update to the Board. - September 26th, slate of candidates presented to Board. This is unlikely to be something the public will have access to as it's a longer list and some candidates may still be at other districts. - October 9-10th, Board picks final candidates. I believe this means those candidates will be announced to the public. - October 13th, Board discussion (so that means a Board meeting) with a pick made between October 15-22nd and the Board making an offer to that candidate. As has been previously stated, even if the candidate who gets the offer then accepts ...

Update One bit of commentary from me. Look at that schedule; it goes on for over a month. The district RARELY stretches out public engagement that long. Maybe because it will be the beginning of the school year and not fair to parents to have meetings all in one week? But to stretch it out like this is interesting. Maybe they are really trying harder on public engagement.   Via SPS email to families: Dear SPS families and staff, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) is excited to invite you to a series of upcoming engagement sessions this fall! These gatherings are a chance for families, staff, students, and community members to come together, share ideas, and help shape the future of Highly Capable services in SPS. The district is especially thrilled to introduce Dr. Paula Montgomery, the new Director of Highly Capable Services. Come meet Dr. Montgomery and be part of the conversation as we work to create more equitable, enriching learning experiences for all students. Your voice matters, ...

Update 2: So I did go back and readThe Times' editorial on the Rivera campaign using their endorsement language to make it look like they endorsed Rivera (when they clearly endorsed Joe Mizrahi). I had forgotten the language around the statement that was used and yes, taken alone, it's a pretty sketchy thing to use.  Also, somehow I had missed the article where The Times DID talk about the Jewish PAC and the flyer in support of Vivian Song. That's on me. Update The Seattle Times is not happy with D4 candidate, Laura Marie Rivera. Her campaign took an excerpt from their endorsement editorial for D4 and used it in a flyer. The Times took exception because the reference makes it sound like they endorsed her and they didn't.   In endorsing Mizrahi before the primary, we noted: “He has four opponents. Among them, Laura Marie Rivera is the strongest, and she clearly has a heart for kids. But her views on fiscal stewardship are not grounded in reality.” Rivera’s campaign extr...

Wednesday, August 13th at Denny International Middle School from 6:30-8:00 pm. This is for the Native American community. Thursday, August 14th at Byrd Barr Place, 722 18th Avenue from 6:30-8:00 pm. This is for the Black community.  The District says: While the sessions will focus on communities we have not yet heard from, as with all Seattle Public School events,  anyone is welcome to attend. Food will be provided at in-person sessions. ASL interpretation will be available. 

Update: On the Ad Hoc Budget Committee meeting: - The members want to tie enrollment numbers to the budget (which goes without saying but it is very important). - Warth talked about asking other districts about their public engagement on budgeting.  - It appears that they will only meet once a month. - The biggest news - which I apologize for not putting in the original post - is this from Director Clark: I'm under doctor's orders to work remotely until I get an approval for in-person work. I am hoping to be cleared after that. Finally. She can keep her health issues private but she should have said this publicly earlier.  end of update Hey Kids, I'm back...from Seattle. Hilariously, I went to the first meeting of  the newly-formed Ad Hoc Committee on Budget. I was the only one there in person (save the Board administrator and doer of ALL that work, Julia Warth). I had thought maybe a couple of the Board directors would be there.  Director Sarah Clark is chair with m...

From The Seattle Times: (I’m doing this on my phone so a bit wonky.) https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/seattle-school-board-primary-whos-ahead-in-early-count/ Two races saw clear and dominant front runners while another is neck and neck. D2 is the close race between Director Sarah Clark and challenger, Kathleen Smith. Clark got 43.6% of the vote and Smith received 44.8. Eric Feeny received 11.1% of the vote. How Clark and Smith might split his 11% is anyone’s guess.  I eyeballed the vote count and this was the race with the most votes at about 16k.  In D4, incumbent Joe Mizrahi received 67.4% of the vote while second place went to Laura Marie Rivera at 18.4%. This was the race with the smallest vote count at 11k. In D5 , Vivian Song got a big 72.3% of the vote while second place went to Janis White at 16.4%. This race had about 14k votes.  I’m think the amount for each race might be based on the size of the director district. I do recall when they redrew...

The Board has created a new Ad Hoc Committee on the Budget and it will have its first meeting this Thursday, August 7th, in the Board conference room from 1:30-2:30pm. The Chair is Director Sarah Clark with Members Joe Mizrahi and Liza Rankin.  I would guess from that short timeframe, the time is going to be used to create an outline of the work. There is no agenda available yet.  The New York Times had a timely article this morning: I t’s Time for That Often-Dreaded Task: Buying Back-to-School Supplies Parents of children in kindergarten through high school are spending an average of $144, and that’s coming as families are feeling financial stress. That seems like a lot of money on top of maybe a new backpack, lunchbox, shoes, and clothes.  “I dread it,” said Rachael Rayes, a speech therapist and mother of two boys in Kenner, La., who wrote about school supply  shopping  on the New Orleans Mom website. “I hate it more than matching socks.” And teachers? Accord...

 From The NY Times (gifted article):  Democrats Disagree (Again). This Time, It’s About School Vouchers. A moderate group that has tried to rally Democrats around school choice faces divisions over private-school vouchers. Know who that "moderate group" is? DFER, Democrats for Education Reform, which I thought had mostly gone away.  D.F.E.R. has prominent allies, including Arne Duncan, Mr. Obama’s former secretary of education, who is working for the group as a consultant. But its new stance in favor of vouchers is provocative within the party — so much so that two former leaders of the organization have quit and are creating a rival group that will oppose vouchers, while supporting other forms of school choice. Mr. Trump’s private-school choice program is funded by a federal tax credit, and will offer families of most income levels scholarships that can be used for private-school tuition, tutoring or other education expenses. Arne Duncan, again? Nope. Drump wants to hel...

 I am trying to contact candidates for interviews. I am using the email addresses they all supplied on their King County Elections sheet. It has been slow going.  If anyone has an email they feel okay passing along, please send it to me at:  sss.westbrook@gmail.com I particularly would like to reach: - Janis White - Sarah Clark - Kathleen Smith   Thanks! 

Update 3: Thank you to all for helping to try to flesh this story out. Let's look at the new information. - The Kids Table website is one page. They do not explain in any detail at their one-page website exactly how their process works except to say this: TKT will be a first-of-its-kind grassroots organization - contributions will be capped at $1,200 per year, $100 per month - broadly supported, nimble, hard hitting and built for sustainable action into the future. Each month, subscribers will receive this newsletter, offering political analysis and transparency into how your money is being spent. - A couple of readers then sent a link to The Cholent , "Seattle's Only Jewish Newsletter." This particular post starts with one error - they claim there are only two Seattle School Board seats up and that's not true for the primary or the general elections.  The overall vibe I get from reading this post on The Kids Table is that younger Jews (under 40) feel ignored b...

 Update: The meeting was late as President Gina Topp let people know their Executive Session would be done in 8 minutes (and that was almost on the nose).  As I mentioned, Clark and Briggs were there virtually. I'm just going to say that unless it's illness or some emergency, directors need to be in those chairs. This is one of the few times when people can see directors in person and in action and maybe chat them up during breaks. Virtual is not and never will be a great substitute for in-person.   Superintendent Fred Podesta was on the dais as well. Topp started the meeting saying thank you to the public for taking the superintendent search survey and the deadline for that is August 4th.   Again, she mentioned a community engagement meeting tomorrow, July 31st, at James Baldwin Elementary at 6 pm. I believe it will be Topp and Rankin.  The first meeting of the new Ad Hoc Budget Committee is Thursday, August 7th. I don't have a time or place but will ...