This and That, May 27, 2026

 Interesting op-ed from an SPS senior, Dorothea Kaste:

I’m a student. I’m in favor of a stronger SPS cellphone ban

The quality of the op-ed is excellent and she makes some good points. 

A policy that is not fully “away for the day” will always be a nightmare to maintain, especially because of the burden it places on teachers. “[enforcing the policy] would take five or 10 minutes, six times a day,” says one of my teachers.

One of the most common concerns about an all-day phone policy in high schools is how to handle off-campus lunch and open campuses where students have different schedules due to programs like Running Start. But schools around the country have figured it out — why can’t we? High schools in other states (and five miles away on Mercer Island!) are making it work and are not allowing a minor logistical challenge to cost students a good education.

 

A huge GOOD LUCK wish to Hamilton's Raven Amrhein who is at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D. C. as the top contender from Washington state. 

They’ll join about 250 of the nation’s top spellers May 27–28, competing on Scripps Sports and ION in front of a national audience.  

And here's a story to inspire some grit in your own student:

The Hamilton International Middle School seventh grader has been on a spelling journey that started back in second grade at Cascadia Elementary. Though their initial try was unsuccessful, Raven turned mistakes into fuel. There was the time “brocade” got an unexpected ‘qu’ makeover and the unforgettable showdown with “procrustean.” Each miss became a permanent memory filed under: Never messing that up again. 

Fast forward and Raven’s glow-up is the stuff of spelling legend. By fifth grade, they were winning their school bee. Then came regionals—second place in 2024, fourth place in 2025—and finally, sweet victory in 2026. 

 

What's happening in Seattle Schools this week?

Seems like a lull at SPS this week. Next week sees the Policy Committee meet a week from today (no agenda yet available). Same day is the regular Board meeting at JSCEE, starting at 4:30 pm and no agenda yet available. 

There's a Board Special meeting about the sale of a donated piece of land on June 4th. Per the donation, all proceeds will go to benefit Leschi Elementary School. The estimate for the sale is roughly $855,000. Wonder if Leschi gets a vote in how the money is used. 

And hold onto your hats - next Saturday, June 6th, there will be an actual community meeting with a Board director. It's only an hour at the Montlake library from 2-3 pm but kudos to Director Vivian Song for hosting it. I'd be willing to bet a couple of other directors might piggyback onto this meeting. 

Elsewhere in Washington state - these stories via my colleagues at the KSD (Kent School District) Discussion Group on Facebook. 

- In Kent SD, a former SPS employee, Israel Vela, became superintendent years back and now allegedly wants a payout to go away. 

- In Longview SD, yet another superintendent trying to keep seemingly criminal behavior under wraps. 

The acting superintendent of Longview Public Schools says three more employees have been placed on leave in connection to the sexual assault investigation at Mark Morris High School.

Acting superintendent Patti Bowen announced on Friday that three additional employees had been placed on administrative leave effective immediately.

Bowen did not name the employees who were placed on leave, or give any other details about their roles in the district or at Mark Morris HS.

A day earlier, Longview Public Schools superintendent Karen Cloninger was arrested on charges of tampering with a witness, failure to report, and obstructing a law enforcement officer during the investigation.

Cloninger’s arrest comes after two students at Mark Morris High School were arrested and charged in February with rape and sexual assaults dating back to November of last year. According to court documents, a 14-year-old victim told investigators he experienced as many as six assaults by varsity team members since Thanksgiving.

It appears that what may have started as hazing by a team turned into assault. 

The key here is that school district employees are ALL mandatory reporters but Cloninger was trying to tamp that down. 

Police said they contacted Cloninger on Feb. 5 after social media reports spread, and were told the district had investigated and handled it internally.

Court documents show at one point, Cloninger told the school principal and the district’s executive director of communications and operations not to call any attorney and to let the parents involved know they had investigated and taken appropriate disciplinary steps.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Cloninger then told the principal, “You better figure this out, you better do it right cause this is a career killer.” She also allegedly shot down recommendations to emergency remove the students, schedule a “standup meeting” and send out a letter or communication to parents and staff.

Staff were told short-term suspensions would be the only discipline or result, according to the court documents.

Cloninger was only placed on administrative leave AFTER her arrest. 

So question to SPS staff and teachers out there - do you have to get permission from your boss to report something? Will it hurt your job if you do report it without permission? 

You have often heard me complain about how slowly SPS fulfills public disclosure requests. Turns out, I'm not wrong.