This and That, February 5, 2025

Out of Everett from the Daily Herald:

An off-campus Bible education program sued Everett Public Schools in federal court on Thursday, accusing the school district of violating First Amendment law by implementing a number of policies the program said hinder its constitutional rights.

My understanding is that LifeWise is trying to create a legal case that will go to the Supreme Court so that religious groups can get a foot in the door of public schools.

The district says:

“With respect to LifeWise Academy itself, the District will continue to evaluate any requests to participate in District-sponsored events or to distribute its materials in compliance with its policies and procedures which comport with state and federal laws,” wrote the attorney representing the district, Sarah Mack. “Simply because your client disagrees that those policies and procedures should apply to it or to the families and students served by LifeWise Academy does not make them unconstitutional.”

Good news at the SPS website: Five SPS High Schools Recognized on the 2025 AP School Honor Roll

Seattle Public Schools is proud to announce that five of our high schools have earned placement on the 2025 AP School Honor Roll, a national recognition from the College Board celebrating schools that expand access to Advanced Placement (AP) coursework and support strong student outcomes. The AP School Honor Roll includes four levels of distinction: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.

This year, the following SPS high schools earned honors: Lincoln High School – Platinum
Ballard High School – Gold
Garfield High School – Silver
Roosevelt High School – Silver
West Seattle High School – Silver 

I'm a bit surprised to not see Cleveland High in there. To note, these schools - RBHS, Chief Sealth HS and Ingraham HS - don't have AP because they have International Baccalaureate.



Good music news:

Safeway, Seahawks and Pearl Jam Help Keep Washington Middle School Music Program Alive

Seattle City Council President Joy Hollingsworth rallied key partners—including Safeway, the Seattle Seahawks, and members of Pearl Jam—to help support the Washington Middle School music program.

The partnership emerged through the Seahawks’ 50th Season Community Impact Campaign, with Safeway serving as a major supporter, and Pearl Jam joining after learning the program needed financial help.

For Hollingsworth and Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, the cause was deeply personal, as both credit music with shaping their lives. Band Director Kieran Harrison expressed gratitude, noting how meaningful it is for his students to continue developing in such a strong, longstanding program connected to Garfield High School’s renowned music pathway.

From the Seahawks website:

At Washington Middle School, the music programs were at risk of losing funding and being downsized. Over 50 percent of the students at the middle school take music classes. The school didn't have funding for a band director position next year.

A big thank you to all those civic-minded groups and Council President Joy Hollingsworth. 



Bad music news

From The Seattle Times: 3 Seattle-area high schools are Essentially Ellington jazz finalists

What's the bad news? None are SPS high schools. - Not Garfield, not Roosevelt and both had applied. There are relatively new band directors at both Garfield HS and Roosevelt HS.

Todd Stoll, vice president of education at Jazz at Lincoln Center, said over the phone, “The legacy of Garfield and Roosevelt is that more schools are trying to be like them. They inspired the rest of the community.”

The Seattle-area bands invited to the competition are Bothell HS Mountlake Terrace High School, and Shorewood High School.



The National Nordic Museum in Ballard is presenting a lecture that might be of interest, 

Nordic Innovation Series: Educating the Nordic Way on Apr 16, 2026, 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm.

Join us for a presentation and panel discussion with Dr. Marjo Kyllönenof the Helsinki Education Division. Dr. Kyllönen is the lead for implementing the Future School concept and its Vision for Education 2030, which aims to make Helsinki the world's most equitable and effective place to learn. Dr. Kyllönen will share how the Finnish school system nurtures students’ growth and fosters teaching that builds social cohesion. 

Following her talk, Fulbright Finland alumna and local elementary school teacher Kitten Vaa will show how she brings Nordic teaching approaches into her everyday classroom, offering practical insights for adapting these ideas in U.S. schools. 

The session will conclude with a panel discussion and audience Q&A.

The New York Post had a story in December 2025:

Seattle schools quizzing kids as young as 11 on sexual orientation, drug use — and sharing data with 3rd parties

The original story came from The National Review.

According to National Review’s analysis of emails, data sharing agreements, and other related documents, at least eight Washington school districts have participated in the program since its inception, including: Auburn School District, Bellevue School District, Highline School District, Lake Washington School District, Seattle Public Schools, Skykomish School District, Snoqualmie Valley School District, Tukwila School District, and Vashon Island School District. 

The school districts that responded to requests for comment insisted that they do not share the names of student respondents with any third parties. Third parties that obtained the data from the school districts similarly maintained that they prioritized student privacy in their handling of the data. The school districts and the third parties they work with do, however, have access to a level of personal information that many area parents believe jeopardizes student privacy. 

The Department of Education told National Review that the Student Privacy Policy Office launched an investigation into Seattle-area schools over the survey and data-sharing concerns.

Uh oh. Can you imagine what the Trump regime would make of this survey?

This story is not news to this blog - I've written about it for years.

Not everyone working for Seattle Public Schools is on board with the survey program: A middle school counselor within the district explained in a 2019 email thread why her school was refusing to administer the survey to students. 

“It is a super personal survey we are NOT giving to students,” the email, from a Seattle Public School counselor, reads. “Lots of reasons why- too personal, what would we do with the information, not confidential, etc. etc.” As of the 2025–26 school year, however, all twelve Seattle Public Schools middle schools and nine high schools administer Check Yourself.

I forgot to include this story when I put up this post.  The charter school  - "Why Not You Academy" for grades 9-12 in Des Moines started by former Seahawk Russell Wilson  - is closing. They have had abysmal enrollment of just 65 students this year. The lack of transportation  and trying to start during COVID seemed to be some issues.