Seattle Schools Community Forum

Posts to come: SPS is (quietly) bringing in more tech, both in the classroom and to "help" students. What's up with that? The concern over student test scores since before COVID What's at the top of your wish list for Superintendent Shuldiner to get done? From KUOW: WA falls again in national education ranking. The new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows Washington dropped from 27th in the nation to 31st overall. The findings are based on data from 2024. Last year, the state fell one spot. A little over a decade ago, it ranked 20th. Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction remains skeptical of the research and contends that the state has “made progress in every area” covered in the report. The Kids Count Data Book captures statistics across the country on children’s economic well-being, education, health, and family and community life. The 2026 report marks the organization’s 37th year of publication. And here's a sad piece of data:...

  I see that Seattle Schools' high school graduations are well underway.  Congratulations to all the graduates  AND their parents/guardians  AND  teachers and administrators  AND staff.  Best of luck with your bright futures, Graduates! As well, I see Wednesday is the last school day of the year. Have a great summer!  As for the Board, they had a Retreat yesterday at B. F. Day Elementary School. Here's the agenda . I have not reviewed it but I'll let you know if I see anything pressing.  There is an Operations Committee meeting on Tuesday, the 16th, from 9:30-11:30 am. Agenda   It's mainly a review of upcoming contracts to be approved at the July 8th Board meeting. There is a half-hour at the end to talk about the Student Assignment Transition Plan. There are no links for documentation. There is a District 2 Community Meeting on Tuesday, the 16th, from 6-7 pm at the Ballard Library, sponsored by Director Kathleen Smith. All are we...

  Update: The Seattle Times had an article on this topic and the comments were interesting. Here are the main takeaways: - Shuldiner comes off very well to many people. Examples: This new leader is great. Ben Shuldiner is actually listening and fixing Seattle Public Schools! Thank you! Thank you Shuldiner, a breath of fresh air in Seattle's landscape.  If the SPS project team had done community outreach 4 years ago then this location would have been chosen 4 years ago. The real problem here was the failure to communicate with the public, and Ben Shuldiner fixed that! - Some doubt it will happen anytime soon (and, after Parks and Rec approval and EIS. I personally think it could get done in two years after approvals. - Some harangue or praise the Wallingford neighborhood for not allowing it next the school (as well as Hamilton IMS). The neighbors against it are more worried about themselves then they are the kids who need to facilities. So was the abandonment of the Walli...

Update: I had written about a story out of Tacoma about a stabbing at a high school there. One boy stabbed six people. Turns out that it was an argument over a vape pen. A girl, not involved in the fight, told the police that the boys who were stabbed were going to jump the suspect. As well, campus security saw him being beaten before he fought back.  A vape pen.  As well, there is a story in today's Seattle Times that I want to put out there because it's nearly summer and school will be out and teens like to be out and about.  A 13-year-old boy was charged Tuesday with first-degree manslaughter, accused of  recklessly causing the death of his 17-year-old cousin  when he racked the slide of a .45-caliber handgun, causing the weapon to fire inside an apartment in Seattle’s Rainier Valley, according to King County prosecutors. So that's bad enough. However, During the police investigation, detectives learned the residents of the apartment were in the process of m...

From the HC community on Facebook: Reminder about this webinar on Thursday afternoon. If you are interested in advocating for improved HC services or even just understanding the implication of the rules for your own child, there should be something useful for everyone! • What's new in WAC (Washington Administrative Code) 392-170 and what it requires of school districts • How universal screening works and what it means for your child or school • How identification and placement are changing — and key protections against exclusion • What the new rules mean for families of multilingual learners, twice exceptional (2e) students, and other underserved groups • What to expect heading into the 2026–27 school year Washington's new Highly Capable rules take effect this June. These updates make significant changes to HiCap Programs including improvements to identification practices, increased access, types of services, notifications, reporting, and more. Join us for a free virtual event ...

The agenda of the Seattle School Board meeting last Wednesday, June 3, didn't really look all that promising. But there were a few items that ended up being quite interesting. Two Board members - Joe Mizrahi and Evan Briggs - came in after the meeting started. Board reports included Director Vivian Song who explained that the proposals that the Board took to WSSDA were mostly rejected. She also mentioned - as chair of the Audit and Finance Committee - that they are working on the audit of HR. I can't wait to see how that turns out. There were a scant 14 people on the Public Testimony list. One of them was former employee, Tracy Castro Gill. I was surprised to see her there as I thought she would never darken the doors of SPS again.She was fairly subdued and polite (in the past, she would generally glare at people when speaking). She explained that her group, Washington Ethnic Studies Now, had created, with others, an ethnic studies curriculum, She said that now the SPS Ethnic...

  From   FOX13 News: The Seattle City Council honored Amarr Murphy-Paine on Tuesday (June 2nd). He's the Garfield High School student who was shot and killed in 2024 outside the school. There was a round of applause as the Seattle City Council leaders proclaimed "Amarr Murphy-Paine Day" at the start of the city council meeting. From the Garfield High School website: On Thursday, June 4, from 4:30–7:30 p.m., the GHS and greater neighborhood community is invited to gather on the front steps of Garfield High School at 23rd & Jefferson. We will come together through art, shared memory, music, and dialogue. Community members are invited to help create chalk art, paint the front steps purple and white with messages of hope and resilience, and enjoy music, the Double Dutch Divas, a dunk tank, hot dogs from the grill, and other activities. On Friday, June 5, from 9 a.m.–3 p.m., Garfield will partner with Bloodworks Northwest to host the 2nd Annual GHS Blood Drive in the Gar...