Seattle Schools Announces Meetings on the Highly Capable Program

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, and your feedback will help us grow and improve. We hope you will join us at one of the sessions listed below:
Regional Meetings (6:30–7:30 p.m., specific location details will be shared soon):
Tuesday, Sept. 16 – Southeast Region
Tuesday, Sept. 30 – Southwest Region
Tuesday, Oct. 7 – Central Region
Tuesday, Oct. 14 – Northeast Region
Tuesday, Oct. 21 – Northwest Region
Tuesday, Oct. 28 - Virtual Session (6:30-7:30 p.m.)
Saturday, Nov. 8 In-Person at John Stanford Center (11 a.m.-noon):
Want to share your thoughts ahead of the meetings? Please provide feedback via ThoughtExchange.
Need interpretation services at the engagement sessions? Please fill out an interpreter request form.
Amharic
Chinese
Somali
Spanish
Vietnamese
American Sign Language
We look forward to hearing your stories, ideas, and hopes for the future. Let’s work together to make SPS a place where every student thrives. Questions? Email us at HiCap@seattleschools.org.
Sincerely,
Department of Highly Capable Services


Comments

Anonymous said…
Paula Montgomery was very professional, perceptive, and kind in her meeting with our family about middle school math earlier this summer. She earned our confidence and gratitude. I expect these meeting could be similarly productive and worth the time of all involved. SPS Family
8/14/25, 9:50 PM
Anonymous said…
Perhaps this is doing double duty as some kind of marketing/recruiting tool. “Look at us, we do advanced learning again!”
8/15/25, 10:02 AM
Outsider said…
How are (alleged) HC and/or AL services actually organized now? The cited email comes from the "Department of Highly Capable Services" and Paula Montgomery is "Director of Highly Capable Services" but the SPS website still makes reference to the "Advanced Learning Department." Are these just the same thing, and the labels are applied somewhat loosely? Or is the "advanced learning" phrase being gradually purged, so it will only be "highly capable" in the future? Or are there actually two departments, perhaps one inside the other?

Also, who is head of the Department of Transparent Opacity? That's who seems to really run the place.
8/15/25, 1:15 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday Open Thread

The speaker list is up for the Board meeting tomorrow; not as packed as I thought with just four people on the waitlist. The majority of the speakers are speaking on high school boundaries (with several wanting to talk about Ballard High). There are only three of us speaking about the Green Dot resolution asking the City to not grant the zoning departures that Green Dot has requested.  It's me, long-time watchdog, Chris Jackins, and the head of the Washington State Charter Schools Association, Patrick D'Amelio.  (I knew Mr. D'Amelio when he headed the Alliance for Education and Big Brothers and Big Sisters; he's a stand-up guy.)
Read more

Nepotism in Seattle Schools

Update: Following a scandal at Aki Kurose Middle School, apparently the district has pulled the principal, Caine Lowery who leaves Aki for a promotion to Central Office to support/train/guide principals. Hmm. I also note that former Rainier View Elementary principal Anitra Jones, who was removed from that school, still doesn't show up on the staff roster at Rainier Beach High School where it was stated she would be. Where is she? Who knows?  end of update   This is going to be a difficult post to write because it is sad to see what looks like a norm now at JSCEE. The norm I speak of is largely an occurrence with principals as well as JSCEE senior staff. I also know that this is not going to surprise most who works at JSCEE. The norm I'm referring to is the one where some personnel have personal connections within the district that sees them moving between jobs and even getting promoted based on those relationships. In short, nepotism.  This district is risk-adverse wh...
Read more