Seattle Schools Community Forum

Today I heard a report on the Today Show about Discovery Elementary School in Loudoun County, Virginia. It's a school with over 600 students, a third of them free/reduced lunch level. Minorities make up the majority of the school. Want to know a fun fact about this school? Discovery Elementary School in Loudoun County, Virginia, is nearly surrounded by 11 data centers within a half-mile radius, with two more currently under construction State-issued permits show well over 200 backup diesel generators near the school. In the story, moms are concerned about air quality. One mom says when her daughter comes out of school, she always thinks it smells like smoke. And it's not just air quality, it's also a buzzing noise that has been reported coming from multiple data centers. Environmental calculations indicate that a single backup generator running at full capacity can emit pollutants equivalent to over 100 semi-trucks (18-wheelers).   Many data centers use diesel back-up gene...

First, I note there is zero, zip, zilch at the SPS website on this topic. Ditto on Facebook. The district is clearly trying to keep the information on possible mergers to a "need to know" basis. Meaning, they'll decide what you need to know and when. Let's start with the reporting from the Seattle Times.  Their list did not differ from my original list.  Their article includes the October 25th Superintendent's Newsletter where he tries to explain his thinking. He does indeed lay some blame at the feet of the district.  And the time for change is now. For years, the specter of school mergers has hung over the district like a pall, shadowing every decision. Over the years, the district has opened and closed schools, with seemingly questionable plans and lack of forethought. The district has been known to close a building only to open it again, even though very little changed. I know the fear of closing a school, your school, creates unease and uncertainty. And of c...

Update: The Queen Anne ES and John Hay ES meeting is at Queen Anne from 6:00-7:30 pm on Monday, December 7th. end of update There are to be at series of meetings at schools (presumably the intake schools) with one other nearby school that is likely to see consolidation.  Here's what the basic email looks like but I will provide a full list as I see them. Dear Cedar Park and James Baldwin Families, We warmly invite you to join us on Monday, December 14, 2026, from 6:00-7:30 p.m., for a family conversation with Superintendent Shuldiner regarding the proposed merger of Cedar Park and James Baldwin for the 2027-2028 school year. We recognize that this proposal may bring questions, concerns, and many different emotions for families in both school communities. This conversation is an opportunity to come together, hear information, ask questions, share your perspectives, and begin building connections with one another. This work is currently in Phase 1, focused on listening, learning, and...

Look where former JSCEE staffers Katrina Hunt and Sarah Pritchett-Goodman landed - it's called Eiren and it's their consulting firm. EIREN is an executive and organizational advisory firm that helps senior leaders, executive teams, boards, and organizations navigate complexity, make consequential decisions, strengthen leadership, and shape what comes next.   EIREN is led by two experienced systems leaders whose careers have been shaped by leading through complexity from inside organizations—not simply advising them from the outside. THE EIREN APPROACH See clearly. Connect what matters. Shape what comes next. My observation, from over the years, is that many people who used to work in upper management at JSCEE tend to try consulting.  SPS is asking for high school students to be part of the Memorial Stadium Art Wall Program. This opportunity gives students the chance to create public art inspired by the meaning and legacy of Memorial Stadium and the role it plays in Seattle’s ...

Kids, time to stroll down memory lane. I recall when I became a parent activist that there many long-termers before me. I tried to honor their work and give credit where credit is due. Some never wanted to see their names in print and I honored that as well. And now I'm the long-termer but yes, the day will come when I, too, will hang up my keyboard. What happens to this blog I will leave to my readers to decide on. How am I amused? Well, there are several new parent advocates out there. I think most of them do good work. One reminds me of my former writing partner, Charlie Mas, who was a calm take-no-prisoners guy in his writing. (And oddly, he and his wife live in Tucson now.) However, one of these people told me in an email that my blog was good for historical SPS references (true) but I "wasn't on the ground and didn't know what was going on in the schools." I did find his statement disrespectful, almost like patting me on the head and telling me to sit down....

Apparently there is a plan by Seattle Schools to "merge" some elementary and K-8 schools. Now closing a school has a multi-step legal process but merger? I don't think so.  Here is how I have been hearing (the first school is the one closing and moving): - Sandpoint ES is merging with Laurelhurst. - Sacajawea is merging with John Rogers. - Orca K-8 is merging with MLK, Jr. (Orca's middle school population would move to Mercer MS) - Rainier View is merging with Rising Star ES. - Cedar Park is merging with James Baldwin. - Sanislo is merging with Highland Park. - John Hay is merging with Queen Anne. - Stevens is merging with Montlake. This information came via an email to staff that wasn't supposed to be "shared." I suspect this is not the entire list.  The larger schools receiving students have been renovated for about 500+ students in them.  Reddit is burning up with many questions. The main one I hear - a question that has been asked for lo a many year ...

Update - if you cannot follow the blog rules - which have been stated over and over - I will not print your comment. Give yourself a name/moniker. I'm hearing that Rainier View Elementary will "merge" with Rising Star Elementary next school year. Apparently the Superintendent will be making an announcement this week. Isn't this technically closing a school? Hmmm. I ask because there legal steps that must be taken to close a school building. Rising Star ES is about 11 minutes (3 miles) north of Rainier View ES. There was a story in the South Seattle Emerald about the Community Passageways Safe Passage Program. Beyond the updates on a program that SPS uses, I read some good questions. One, At the most recent meeting, parents asked about shelter-in-place and lockdown drills, in the wake of a shooting on Sept. 24 that left a man wounded on 42nd Avenue South. One parent expressed concerns about reunification sites and the possibility of a shelter-in-place order occurri...

Update: the Camas High School girls cross-country team won the district meet on Wednesday. But it was not pretty, according to The Seattle Times: A transgender runner on the Camas High School girls cross-country team, who has been at the center of political controversy in recent weeks, placed second at a district meet in Southwest Washington on Wednesday afternoon. She helped her team secure the district title. The transgender athlete competed in the boys category during the first race of the season before switching to the girls category in a Sept. 15 race and onward. What came before?  Last week, more than a dozen Camas runners walked off the start line in protest of their transgender teammate’s participation and others have decided to forgo the rest of their season. Opponents of transgender girls competing in youth sports organized a “Camas Courage” rally to support “girls’ sports and fair play” ahead of the district meet. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association...

Good news for SPS - I nteragency Academy’s Recovery Campus is celebrating national accreditation for its work supporting students in their academic and recovery journeys. Interagency is the only Washington State public recovery high school that meets national standards. From SPS Communications: The recognition marks an important milestone for a program that has supported students and families for more than a decade. The Interagency Recovery Campus grew from a partnership between Seattle Public Schools and King County Behavioral Health and Recovery Division and is Washington’s only public recovery high school. The campus provides a supportive, sober environment where students in grades 9–12 can work toward their academic, career and recovery goals. Students have access to academic support, individualized recovery plans, on-site substance use counseling, sober support groups and connections to additional resources. And the program is making a difference. From 2015–2025, 67% of students...

This story comes from the West Seattle Blog on Friday, the 9th: Local school warns families about ‘growing encampment The local school in question is Chief Sealth International High School. Below is an email sent to CSIHS families by campus administration. Hello Chief Sealth’s Families, We are aware of the growing encampment within Longfellow Creek (east of Chief Sealth). We have reported it to Find It, Fix It App ( seattle.gov/customer-service-bureau/find-it-fix-it-mobile-app ). We encourage you to do the same! For safety reasons, please ask your student(s) to avoid the area at this time. Thank you, CSIHS Admin The WS Blog said: It seems startling that the district wouldn’t have a better way to surface safety concerns than Find It Fix It, so we’ll be following up with SPS on Monday. One commenter sats there is another encampment just one block from Bailey Gatzert ES.  If I were a parent, I'd be calling electeds. This already happened before and lasted a year. There is no reason fo...

I found this article at the Seattle Special Education Facebook page - how to plan inclusive events so they are accessible to all. Pass this along to leaders at your school. The actual article has a checklist. There will be a trick-or-treat event at the Seattle Children's Autism Center for Halloween. 

 Google guru  Dan Russell is a friend of mine. His blog, Search ReSearch can help you do better research in many ways. He had this to say about: How to Verify Assertions in an Age of Infinite Noise I n these tumultuous days of AI-slop and intentional misdirection HOW do you determine if something is true or not? Here's my attempt to outline a reasonable way to figure this out. (Along with teaching tips for teachers who need to help students in the AI-era.) Via PNW Parent Education Facebook page: From ChatGPT to Claude, Roblox to Instagram, from YouTube and TikTok... our kids are growing up in a hyper-connected world. We are excited to partner with media/technology expert, Dr. Devorah Heitner, to learn about how we can support our kids as they grow up in this world. Join us to learn: - How caregivers can mentor children as they grow up on Roblox, Instagram, TikTok, and other social media apps - How caregivers can help kids use AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and others ...