Seattle Schools Community Forum

  This meeting had two parts. One was an update on SPS' efforts around protecting schools from any federal intervention. Meaning, likely ICE coming in a nd asking about staff/students.  Julia Warth, Board office administrator, talked about the district receiving grants from different federal sources. I assume this was perhaps noting that the feds could put the screws on school districts that don't cooperate. Superintendent Fred Podesta moved onto what schools are being told. The first issue of concern is " the need for better facts." It seems that a lot of rumor gets going and it is difficult to know what is truly happening on the ground.  Associate Superintendent Rocky Torres-Morales said that they need to know factually what is happening and so "if you hear something, see something, say something."  There is to be a large meeting of principals on Friday to go over guidelines for action. Each principal, should they encounter this situation, is to gather ...

From a reader: There has been some personnel movement heralded in the past week - Eckstein Middle school principal is headed to take over at Roosevelt this week, with Ambyr Burrell (Assistant Principal at Hale) assuming the interim principal role at Eckstein - and Rocky Torres Morales has been named as the new Superintendent in Vancouver WA staring July 1.  TJB My comment to that information is that there seems to be a lot of principal churn in the north end.  As to Dr. Torres-Morales leaving, he serves as Associate Superintendent so that will be a fairly big hole for new superintendent, Benjamin Schuldiner, to have to fill. I could see him moving Mike Starosky up from Assistant Superintendent of Academics.  The Seattle School Board is having one meeting this week on Wednesday, the 28th starting at 4:30 pm. It's a Work Session on the Budget. The agenda lists the first item as "Federal Response Update" but there is no further information. I'll try to ask what that'...

  It appears at least one Kent School District high school is having a student walk-out tomorrow over the actions of ICE. Any word on any SPS high schools?  The  NEA  has a good article on student confusion over what is happening.

The Seattle School Board meetings are so fascinating. Well, alternately fascinating and boring. But you have to pay attention or you might miss some nuances.  Highlights - The entire elected Board was there in person (first time). There was one student board member, Sabi Yoon, who ended up with a lot to say. Also, oddly, Director Liza Rankin was in short-sleeves and Director Vivian Song was swaddled in a coat.  - A new item got put on the agenda which was ostensibly an update on Highly Capable services but it got its own presentation which I will post on separately.  - Today is Fred Podesta's 7th anniversary with the district and the last Board meeting where he will be at the dais as superintendent. He was given kudos by Board directors for his work; I thought he looked relieved.  He mentioned that there had been issues about ICE in the SPS community. He said they could not be on SPS property without a warrant* and the principals have had training. He said there w...

Via The Seattle Times :  Aki Kurose Middle School in Hillman City and Cleveland STEM High School in Beacon Hill were sheltering in place Tuesday, after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity was reported in the area, school officials said. On Aki: The middle school was notified by Seattle Public Schools that ICE agents may be trying to draw out families who were warned of ICE activity and are coming to school to pick up their children, said Aki Kurose registrar Katie Jolgren. No ICE activity has been reported in the area yet.   The shelter-in-place order went into effect around noon and was expected to last until the end of the day, Jolgren said. External doors were locked, and students were required to stay inside and couldn’t go to the field or playground. They could only leave if a family member came to pick them up, but it was business as usual inside.   Concerned families have been calling the school, and some parents have picked up their children already ...

There's to be an Executive Session right before the regularly scheduled Board meeting from 4-4:30 pm. I'm thinking it might be the final sign-off for the new superintendent. Here's the agenda for the regular Board meeting that starts at 4:30 pm. I will update this post when I see the list for public testimony. I have to call out the biggest new item that I see which is the return of cancelled Board committees . This can be found under "Introduction Items" number two. It's sponsored by directors Gina Topp, Joe Mizrahi, and Jen LaValle. It will have to be voted on at the next Board meeting but I am hoping for some discussion at this meeting. If approved, President Topp would appoint chairs for each committee and its members.  The committees would be: - Audit (a state-required committee) becoming Audit and Finance - Policy (this would be new and had existed as an Ad Hoc Committee) - Operations (this had been a previous standing committee) They left out the Execut...

And pronto! Folks, as you may be aware, Seattle is a geographically challenged city. Water on two sides, hills, and, as Seattle Schools keeps forgetting - over and over - unstable land. That unstable land comes with its own challenges as in how it will reaction during a big earthquake as well as its bogginess in some areas.  The issue of that instability in the land under the public schools in Seattle comes back time and again but the folks in Capital Projects and Planning never listen. They are the "experts" and there is NO ONE who checks them. The Board asks vague questions and takes any answer staff gives.  Here's the latest from KUOW : Seattle Schools knew there was methane gas beneath its new high school — but skipped some safety measures Are we surprised? You shouldn't be if you read this blog regularly. (Bold mine) Before Seattle Public School spent $300 million to rebuild Rainier Beach High School on a peat bog, scientists hired by the district warned that met...

SPS seems to be at steady-state on these OSPI measures in 2025 . There are some changes, though: - Kindergarten readiness dropped by a lot, from 73.6% to 67.9%. As someone who tutors kindergarteners, this readiness is so important to students getting their best start in learning. Even kids who come in with modest readiness can move much faster than students who come in with pretty much a blank slate.  I might ask the City what they think (given they have a large preschool program embedded in SPS). - 8th grade Reading is dropping slightly while 8th grade Math is mostly the same. - On high school Math, I am perplexed. In 2023, it was 52.3%, 2024, it was 58.3% (a notable climb), but in 2025, it dropped to 49.7%.  - Dual Credit participation (with CTE) is really climbing and again, I'd love to know why that might be. Ditto for without CTE. Parents, thoughts?  - I always smile at the 4-year graduation rate at over 80%, mainly because I don't believe in that stat, given how SPS...

To note, Minneapolis Public Schools announced that they will provide "E-learning" through Feb. 12th for any student who requests it due to the ICE shooting in that city as well as ICE agents who appear to be circling schools, looking for undocumented parents. From NBC News : Just a few hours after an ICE officer ignited nationwide outrage Wednesday by fatally shooting Renee Nicole Good on a snowy street in Minneapolis, U.S. Border Patrol agents clashed with teachers and protesters at a high school less than 3 miles from where the 37-year-old mom was killed. “This is so upsetting,” Carol said Thursday as she tearfully recounted what she had witnessed. “All these men, who were fully armed, suddenly jumped out of the SUVs and started running towards the school.” School was being dismissed at the time, and hundreds of students were walking out of the building, she said. “Some of the teachers and school workers were trying to keep the Border Patrol away from the students, telling ...

A student reporter from the Garfield Messenger (GHS' school newspaper) had an interview with incoming superintendent Ben Shuldiner. The reporter, Rafael Brewer, asked some very good questions. I loved this blunt question: As a cis white male, how do you plan on understanding the community that you’re serving and what is your full plan for community engagement?   I think that any good Superintendent who’s coming from the outside wants to spend as much time as possible in the communities that they’re going to be serving. I have, maybe it’s an audacious plan, I don’t know, but I’d like to visit every single school in Seattle within 100 days.      The other thing that we’re planning on doing is having community meetings in each of the seven districts, because school board directors each represent one of seven districts. The idea is that we’re going to try to have community meetings in each of the seven districts, at least once before the 100 days are up.   So muc...