Education News Roundup
In sad news, there has been a school shooting in Minneapolis at a private Catholic pre-K-8 school.
Via Reuters:A shooting at a Minneapolis school on Wednesday left three people including the shooter dead and about 20 injured, a Justice Department official said. Children were at a morning mass when shooting began, local media reported. Monday was their first day of school.
Five patients from the shooting have been transferred to Children’s Minnesota-Minneapolis Hospital, a pediatric trauma center, a hospital spokesperson told the Washington Post.
Founded in 1923, the school says it focuses on Christian values and civic-mindedness.
Also in Minneapolis, on Tuesday there was a drive-by shooting at a Catholic high school that left one person dead and six others wounded.
Mayor Jacob Frey had these observations:
Do not think of these as just somebody else's kids. Think of this as if it were your own," Frey said.
"Children are dead. Their families that have a deceased child. You cannot put into words the gravity, the tragedy or the absolute pain of this situation."
"Don't just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now - these kids were literally praying," Frey added.
What I can observe from early on is there is a slight pickup in shootings at private schools. Most school shootings occur at rural and suburban high schools and almost never at private schools. I'm not sure I'd call it a trend but I always had the vibe that private school parents felt their kids were much safer.
From The Seattle Times, comes a story out of Mercer Island where parents and students are unhappy with how that district handles sexual harassment and abuse of students by teachers. And the teacher got a payout to leave. Bold mine.
The response follows an investigation by InvestigateWest and Mercer Island Reporter regarding longtime English and journalism teacher Gary “Chris” Twombley, who was accused of sexually abusing or inappropriately pursuing at least two teenage students going back to 2016. Twombley was quietly put on paid administrative leave in 2023 for over a year before his formal resignation in February 2025. The King County prosecuting attorney’s office concluded that sexual misconduct had occurred “beyond a reasonable doubt,” but charges weren’t filed because the statute of limitations at the time had passed.
The school district has faced criticism for its handling of Twombley’s separation from the district. Students and parents weren’t notified of the misconduct and resignation until Aug. 8 — a year and a half after he was put on paid leave. The misconduct was initially brought to light by a Mercer Island parent, Brian Gaspar, who had heard rumors about Twombley and sought more information through public records requests. The school district only disclosed Twombley’s separation after learning a news story was being written.
Rundle has stressed that no public announcement was made regarding Twombley’s resignation in order to protect the victim’s identity. But many parents, students and community members have challenged the district’s response, stressing that the student’s anonymity could have been protected while also notifying the community of the public safety risk.
One Board member was not happy:
“Transparency is not about exposing names or compromising confidentiality. It is about sharing what happened, what was done, and what we are learning,” said (David) D’Souza, who served on the school board from December 2015 to December 2023 and was unaware of the allegations made against Twombley.
“In the past, we have communicated openly about antisemitism, threats of violence, bullying, and racial issues, while safeguarding student identities,” he continued. “These disclosures have allowed the community to understand, trust, and partner in solutions. This situation should have been handled the same way.”
Three out of the five school board members — Deborah Lurie, Jody Lee and Maggie Tai Tucker — stood by the superintendent’s decision, suggesting that the community efforts to publicly disclose Twombley’s actions were for political gain.
“Some things should be out of bounds for politics,” Lee said during the meeting.
Tom Acker, a Mercer Island resident and former City Council member, challenged the school leaders’ motives in keeping Twombley’s resignation quiet.
I assume that comment by Lee is a worry over school board elections.
And the superintendent?
When asked if there would be any changes in how situations of alleged misconduct are handled moving forward — and how the public is notified — he said it was “hard to tell.”
“Every situation is so different,” he added.
You'd think this might be a learning lesson for other districts, no?
From the West Seattle Blog, notice about the use of other sport complexes now that Memorial Stadium is closed for renovation.
West Seattle’s southernmost stadium, Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle), will have a busier season than usual, since Memorial Stadium – also owned by Seattle Public Schools – is out of commission for its rebuild. Rainier Beach, Garfield, and Franklin all have home games scheduled there, as well as Chief Sealth IHS and West Seattle HS.
The reopening of Memorial Stadium is scheduled for Fall 2027.
Last week, Washington Superintendent Chris Reykdal said results from a spring survey of school districts across Washington found 75% will have a policy in place when students return this year.
Roughly half of those policies restrict device use during instruction time only, while a third outright ban students from using them at all from the first to last school bells.
The story includes a link to a 75-page document listing what ALL the districts are doing. The strongest restrictions appear to be similar for most K-8 Washington State students.
Elementary and middle school students in Richland are expected to have their cellphones turned off and in their backpack throughout the entire school day, including during lunch and in the hallways.
Elsewhere in the nation:
At least 31 states and Washington, D.C., require school districts to restrict students’ use in schools in one form or another, according to an article tracking legislation from Education Week.
Just four states — Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina and Utah — require all districts to prohibit any and all use of personal devices during the school day.
Public schools across the U.S. in recent years have cracked down on cellphones as growing research shows a correlation between increased use and more anxiety, bullying, depression and distractions.
A 2024 October survey conducted by Pew Research Center found nearly 70% of Americans support cellphone bans in class and 36% support all-day bans.
Still, young students have been largely resistant to changes in their media consumption. Nearly 95% of students age 13-17 in a 2023 Surgeon General’s report said they use social media apps like TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram “almost constantly.”
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