This and That, October 18, 2026
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.
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 occurring when children were outside while the shooter was inside.
"I know that [with] shelter in place, if kids are on the playground at lunchtime, they do the drill there, but what happens if a bunch of kids are on the bus? And if the lockdown situation is happening because there's a call for a firearm inside the building, is it the best plan to go into the building?" the parent asked.
Jesse O'Quinn, emergency management specialist at Seattle Public Schools, said he would review the school's campus to provide an answer. "You can reach out to your staff at the school, and they will also help you know where, in case something happens, we are going to reunify. And we even have secondary reunification sites," said O'Quinn.
I do recall a situation at Roosevelt HS where something occurred around lunch, the building was locked down and kids were streaming back to the school from lunch. The kids didn't know where to go and for how long.
Two,
At the start of the school year, every school must provide a site plan for reunification sites.
You might ask to see the site plan at your student's school.
The bus contract issues were settled at the beginning of October so those buses will keep rolling.
I will have a separate post on this topic but there is chatter on Reddit from Portland where the specter of school closures is looming. Last week, hundreds of parents stormed a school board meeting.
From the Oregonian: "The room typically holds about 300 people, but the crowd forced its way inside to hear hours of testimony from parents, students and teachers.
Portland Public Schools on Monday unveiled two potential scenarios for a wave of school closures, boundary changes and program shifts that would fundamentally reshape the district, directly impacting students, teachers, staff and families at up to 42 of its 81 schools."
One parent brought up some intriguing ideas:
- prioritizing keeping school communities together.
- giving families in closing school multiple options for school enrollment.
- offering popular option school programs (dual language, highly capable, ESTEM, etc) at some of the newer large elementary schools.
Also, many studies show districts don't save much AND closing schools is harmful to kids.
Still another issue - Brent Jones kinda kicked the can to Shuldiner on redrawing school boundaries. That needs to be addressed soon.
Superintendent Ben Shuldiner had a lengthy interview with the rightwing Washington Policy Center. I have not yet listened to it but here you are.
The Board has a "special" meeting this Wednesday, the 21st at 4:30 pm in the JSCEE Auditorium. It is on "Academics and Goals."
Looking at the presentation I see that middle schools and K-8s will share a math coach among other schools in their region.
There is also a "Graduation" versus "Graduation Plus" definition.
"On-time graduation is the baseline expectation. Graduation Plus ensures that students have demonstrated that they are ready to succeed after they graduate."
Seattle Public Schools is transitioning from Naviance to SchooLinks in 2026-27 to make high school and beyond planning more meaningful for students.
There are quotes from some adults and one was:
"This is so much better than Naviance. I am so glad we made the switch."
– Ingraham High School
Remote Access:
The meeting will be live streamed on SPSTV and broadcast on television on Comcast 26 (standard-def) and 319 (hi-def), Wave 26 (standard-def) and 695 (hi-def), and Century Link 8008 (standard-def) and 8508 (hi-def). To listen by phone, dial 206-800-4125 and use Conference ID 734 207 653#.
Portland Public Schools on Monday unveiled two potential scenarios for a wave of school closures, boundary changes and program shifts that would fundamentally reshape the district, directly impacting students, teachers, staff and families at up to 42 of its 81 schools."
One parent brought up some intriguing ideas:
- prioritizing keeping school communities together.
- giving families in closing school multiple options for school enrollment.
- offering popular option school programs (dual language, highly capable, ESTEM, etc) at some of the newer large elementary schools.
Also, many studies show districts don't save much AND closing schools is harmful to kids.
Still another issue - Brent Jones kinda kicked the can to Shuldiner on redrawing school boundaries. That needs to be addressed soon.
Superintendent Ben Shuldiner had a lengthy interview with the rightwing Washington Policy Center. I have not yet listened to it but here you are.
The Board has a "special" meeting this Wednesday, the 21st at 4:30 pm in the JSCEE Auditorium. It is on "Academics and Goals."
Looking at the presentation I see that middle schools and K-8s will share a math coach among other schools in their region.
There is also a "Graduation" versus "Graduation Plus" definition.
"On-time graduation is the baseline expectation. Graduation Plus ensures that students have demonstrated that they are ready to succeed after they graduate."
Seattle Public Schools is transitioning from Naviance to SchooLinks in 2026-27 to make high school and beyond planning more meaningful for students.
There are quotes from some adults and one was:
"This is so much better than Naviance. I am so glad we made the switch."
– Ingraham High School
Remote Access:
The meeting will be live streamed on SPSTV and broadcast on television on Comcast 26 (standard-def) and 319 (hi-def), Wave 26 (standard-def) and 695 (hi-def), and Century Link 8008 (standard-def) and 8508 (hi-def). To listen by phone, dial 206-800-4125 and use Conference ID 734 207 653#.
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