Seattle School Board Candidate Updates - District 5

This is probably one of best races in terms of the number of solid candidates who know the workings of the district. These would be Vivian Song, Janis White, and Vivian van Gelder. 

One other interesting thing is that part District 5 is in the 37th Dems district. Everyone in this race except van Gelder answered their questionnaire.  

 Allycea Weil

Here's her website. 

Ms Weil is an old-school progressive candidate. She peppers her website with many social justice issues.  Her main issues:

- Find and evaluate the superintendent of schools

I find this one a bit confusing because that actually IS the job of being a Board director. She states that she is a current member of the Equity and Race Advisory Committee and "part of the search for a new superintendent." 

She active in PTO/PTA and advocates PTA fund sharing. 

- Rebuild Trust and a Sustainable Budget

- Empower Youth, Our Educators and Community

My Promise: I will never pivot on my core values of protecting our most vulnerable families and elevating all youth voices. My Promise: I will never pivot on my core values of protecting our most vulnerable families and elevating all youth voices.

I found this statement compelling:

Public schools are beacons for community development and it is time to return to it.

Janis White

Here's her website. 

On the home page are her three issues stated as plainly as you can get:

- Transparent Budgeting

- High Achievement

- Inclusive Learning for All Students

White has been involved in this district for a long time as a leader, especially around students with disabilities. She definitely knows this district. 

She has a section - How Janis Will Fight for Our Students   - where she states the issue and then talks about what she wants to do. 

Through her role as the past president of Seattle's Special Education PTSA, she worked with parents to help publish a comprehensive guide for families, caregivers, and educators to better support students with disabilities and understand their rights. 

A Guide to Special Education in Seattle Public Schools is available online for free.

That guide? Hugely important to so many parents because, as you all know, navigating the SPS system is not easy. 

Update: just saw this on Facebook from White:

I have scheduled three community meetings as a School Board candidate in District 5. All the meetings will be in District 5 as only folks who live in District 5 can vote in the August primary but all are welcome so please feel free to join us.

Sunday, June 22, 10 -11:30 am at Capitol Hill Library (425 Harvard Ave. E.)
Saturday, June 28, 4 - 5:30 pm at Montlake Library (2401 24th Ave. E.)
Sunday, June 29, 4 - 5:30 pm at Douglass Truth Library (2300 E. Yesler Way)

Landon Labosky

Here's his website.

He is currently the Aquatics Manager for the City of Covington. 

He has a Master's in Public Administration and says he has "over ten years of direct management and coaching experience." He is a member of Seattle's LGBTQ+ Commission. He is endorsed by the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. 

He is also endorsed by the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF). They say he is running:

...due to the rise in school voucher programs nationwide, which are diverting funding away from public school institutions while benefiting private charter and religiously affiliated school systems. He sees this as a danger to the survival of the nation’s diverse communities, because communities do not have a say on the curriculum being taught to students in religious private schools.

While the Seattle School District has a progressive demographic, Labosky wants to advocate for statewide issues, such as the actions of school boards on the east side of Washington state targeting trans students and their right to live freely within their school systems.

He mentions none of this at his website. 

From his website:

He offers:

- A passion for collaboration

- Public budgeting experience

- A vision for the success of Seattle students

His priorities:

- Balanced budget (this is required so not so much here)

- Fixed funding sturctures

- Increased communication transparency

- Collaboration between Seattle Public Schools, City of Seattle, and King County

- High-Quality, Equitable Education for Every Student in Seattle Public Schools

Vivan van Gelder

Here's her website. 

Vivian van Gelder is a pragmatic, curious leader who is ready to bring change to our school system. 

Vivian van Gelder is a parent, advocate, and education leader with deep roots in Seattle’s public schools. As Director of Policy and Research for the Southeast Seattle Education Coalition (SESEC), Vivian works to ensure that communities—especially those historically underserved—have a meaningful voice in shaping education policy.

Vivian’s commitment to public education is both personal and professional. She has served in multiple leadership roles on school PTAs across Seattle and on the Seattle Council PTSA, bringing parents together to advocate for stronger, more equitable schools.

She helped start FACES, (Families and Communities for Equity in Schools) which supports pooling PTA money to help underserved schools. 

With a background in both education and the legal field, Vivian understands how policy, budgeting, and governance shape student experiences in the classroom. 

One thing I mightly dislike is when a candidate is vague about their background. The above statement tells me very little. I shouldn't have to go looking for what that means. She is a lawyer. 

Also to note, as part of her work with the SESEC, she wrote a report, "Left to Chance: Student Outcomes in Seattle Public Schools, a forensic history, 1990-2024. I read this report and, as someone who was around for most of that time, I find some issues. I think it might make a good separate post. There is a link at her website. 

Vivian Song

Here's her website. 

Her priorities:

- Equity, Excellence, and Accountability

- Stable, Fully Funded Schools - we need a proactive, long-term financial strategy that focuses on growth, not contraction.

- A Diverse Portfolio of Schools for a Diverse Community

- Prioritizing Student Safety and Well-Being

- Accountable, Transparent, and Inclusive Leadership

I am a current Seattle Public Schools parent, finance professional, and former School Board Director running to bring accountable, community-rooted leadership to our schools. 

She has been volunteering with youth and immigrant communities for more than 25 years and is currently a board director at the Denise Louie Education Center, a Head Start provider, and Jewish Family Service, a refugee resettlement and human services agency. Vivian is a founding leader of Make Us Visible Washington, the authors of SB 5574, a bill to require the inclusion of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islanders in K-12 social studies curriculum. She is a champion for progressive taxes and is currently on the board of Children’s Alliance.

A daughter of immigrants, she started her education as an English as a Second Language student (Multilingual Learner). Her public elementary school teacher was the first to identify her hearing disability. 

She holds a BA in Economics from Harvard University and a MBA from Harvard Business School. Her professional career has been in private sector finance. She holds a certificate in Education Finance from Georgetown McCourt School of Public Policy and completed coursework in School Accounting from the Washington Association for School Business Officials.

Her list of endorsements is long and includes 8 current and former Board directors. 

I find Song's website to be the most in-depth of ALL the candidates in ANY race. 

Currently, she does not appear to have an out-of-home job. 

Julissa Sanchez

Here is her website. Sanchez is a Latina, SPS alum with a student at Garfield High School. 

She is the Director of Advocacy at CHOOSE180. 

CHOOSE 180 has expanded to offer nine programs to support young people, dismantle oppressive systems, and provide access to resources and opportunities. She (Sanchez) works for collective liberation, intergenerational healing, cultural resistance, empowerment of our Young People and transformative justice.

From her website:

I’m running for school board to ensure that the voices and lived experiences of Black, Brown, immigrant, ELL, LGBTQ+ and refugee students are not just heard — but centered — in the policies and budgets that shape Seattle Public Schools.

As the district moves through a time of leadership transition, we need strong, community-rooted voices at the table — voices that understand the barriers our students face, and are bold enough to challenge the status quo.

I believe every student — regardless of race, language, immigration status, or zip code — deserves a high-quality education that prepares them for success in college, career, and life. My vision is a district where:

• Students from immigrant, undocumented, and refugee families feel safe, seen, and supported in every school.

• Every child is valued for who they are — with schools that affirm their culture, language, and identity.

• Educators are equipped with the training, resources, and support they need to teach equitably and effectively.

• Families and comunidades are not just invited, but empowered to engage as partners in our children’s education.

From her LinkedIn page:

Julissa’s journey in advocacy is deeply rooted in community and her passion for culture, decolonization, healing, and transformative justice. This passion led her to pursue a Latin American Studies degree with a Human Rights minor at the U.W. She is dedicated to collective liberation through policy reform, cultural education, and transformative justice. .