Seattle Schools Community Forum

The Seattle Times has an article today about school closures in SPS. When I saw the headline I confess I was puzzled. Why are we revisiting this? But the Times sure got some good quotes from Board members so read on.  When Seattle Public Schools scrapped its school closure plans last November, the district didn’t entirely shut the book on the idea. But with significant leadership changes expected this year, including the departure of Superintendent Brent Jones and potential turnover on the School Board, school closures appear to be dead in the short run. Yes, a new superintendent AND a new majority on the Board certainly would point to at least tabling this idea for quite some time. But, as has been pointed out, the district still has severe financial problems and closing schools would be one way to save at least some money. (On balance, with all the issues around school closures, I'm not for closing schools to save money.) At the time, the School Board rescinded its directio...

 The vehicle that was reported being parked outside of Denny Middle School that sparked fear of ICE turns out to belong to the Seattle Police Department. It appears it was an unmarked car.  From the Times : SPD said the vehicle was “part of a commitment to prevent crime and protect students near schools where violence has become a concern.” “It is not our goal to alarm anyone with our presence as this is an effort to intervene in any issues before they escalate,” SPD wrote. Seattle Public Schools does not allow federal immigration authorities to access its school facilities, buildings or information except when required by law, per district policy . The district’s general counsel’s office needs to review and approve immigration authorities’ requests for access .    Another candidate has appeared at the PDC website. His name is Eric C. Feeny and he is running as a challenger to Sarah Clark in district 2 . Mr. Feeny has a background in start-ups with process consu...

Update:   end of update    From the West Seattle Blog, messaging from Principal Mary Ingraham: It was brought to our attention that a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vehicle was seen in the Southwest Athletic Center parking lot today. The recent announcement regarding the removal of protected areas from immigration enforcement and the possibility of ICE entering schools to deport students is deeply troubling to our district and community. Our school and the SPS Safety and Security team responded immediately and effectively, and our school remains entirely safe. We also followed district procedures regarding immigration. Because our 8th grade students were outdoors on the field during lunch, we brought them inside early. Please know at no point were our students or staff at any risk. We acted proactively to ensure safety. It is confirmed that the vehicle has left the area. I spoke directly with 8th grade students because we believe in being t...

  President Gina Topp, true to form, ran a tight ship for today's special board meeting on the superintendent search. It was to be a 3-hour meeting but the directors didn't have a lot to say so it concluded in an hour and a half.  It does not appear the Board is interested in an interim superintendent so it's full speed ahead on the search for a permanent superintendent. All the board members participated except Director Liza Rankin who is traveling. Director Brandon Hersey said he had a professional colleague - Micah Ali - who was part of an organization that was applying. Mr. Ali is the president of the Compton School Board and I don't see the connection but that's what Hersey stated.  Assistant Superintendent for Finance Kurt Buttleman was at the staff table with three other staffers from contracts and procurement. He said that there had been eight proposals from placement firms and the minimum criteria had weeded out three.  So the Board had five choices to scor...

Seattle School Board candidates have been filing with the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission and there is one big surprise. The seats up are in District 7, 5, 4, and 2.  The District 7 seat is currently held by Brandon Hersey covers the SE part of SPS. Hersey has stated he is not running so this is an open seat. I'd have to go back in time and check but I believe this seat has been held by a person of color for at least two decades.  The District 5 seat is currently held by Michelle Sarju and covers the Central East part of the district. Sarju has stated publicly, several times, that she's leaving but she has filed for the election. Hmmm Others who have thrown their hats in the ring for this seat are Landon Labosky and Janis White. I'll have profiles on them soon.  The District 4 seat is currently held by Joe Mizrahi is in the Central West part of the district. Mizrahi has not said anything publicly about staying or going and has not filed.  The one co...

Out of nowhere, the Seattle Times has this great op-ed on seeking a new superintendent for Seattle Public Schools.  It was written by Nancy Bacon, someone I had never heard of before.  The Times' blurb says: Nancy Bacon : is a nonprofit leadership, governance and organization development specialist.   I looked her up and she has a pretty impressive resume in education and in non-profits.  The moment to pause and reflect is now. Seattle has had a revolving door of superintendents in recent years. Meanwhile, student outcomes remain stagnant, and the district continues to fall short of its own stated goals. Community trust is at a low point. If the system keeps producing the same results, maybe it’s time to question the system itself. She goes on to list three ways that "we can focus on making Seattle Public Schools leader-ready." I think Ms Bacon is an outsider who probably doesn't know a lot of SPS backstory and perhaps not what the last 5 yea...

First up, the Board is having an Ad Hoc Policy Manual Review Committee meeting from 2:30-4:00 pm. This is all part of the Student Outcome Focused Governance (SOFG) that the Board has adopted. The Chair is Director Liza Rankin with member directors Evan Briggs and Sarah Clark. It's a lengthy charting of Action Steps, Committee Recommendations. In the latter part of the documentation there is color-coded actions for the Committee around Policy Series 1000, which are about Board Directors, the Superintendent, and that relationship.  The ones in dark orange "would likely exceed the scope of the Committee's work and timelines, but the Committee could more feasibly make a recommendation that such a policy be developed or significantly amended in the future." These include: - Board Code of Conduct - Board Engagement - Board-Superintendent Relationship - Evaluation of the Superintendent  Or maybe, the Board wants to wait for the next superintendent. Hmmm.  Oh and the district...