Seattle Schools Community Forum

I know we just got through a tumultuous and exciting midterm season. (And we have just one more race to call in Alaska and I have no doubt that Mary Peltola will prevail.)  But in 2025, there were important races in Seattle for the School Board. Four seats, a majority, were up. One important issue was Student Outcome Focused Governance (SOFG) which had taken ahold of the Board like a fever. But most of the candidates running clearly said they did not support it.  Indeed, those candidates were elected. Director Liza Rankin who was not up for reelection seemed sulky about the whole thing, trying to say SOFG was misrepresented. And after spending about $125,000 on SOFG "training," it seemed like it was over. Board committees came back into being but unfortunately, we still have just the one Board meeting a month.  However, it appears that governance between the Superintendent and Board is back but under a new name - Delegation Policies.  I urge you to write NOW to the B...

This problem perhaps doesn't need an all-caps that but it is worrying.  I was looking over some of the Board committee agendas. This particular item came from the Finance and Audit Committee f rom November 3, 2026. I may have to go back and see if I can listen to the discussion. There was a presentation given by upper management on "Culinary Services and Transportation."  The first item in the PowerPoint under Culinary Services is this: SPS and the City are now using September and October actuals to refine the annual cost estimate, establish an accurate reimbursement methodology, and develop the contract amendment needed for continued implementation through the remainder of the 2026-2027 school year. The next page is sobering: 51 City Funded Meal Sites September Data • Breakfast 2025 - 16,272 • Breakfast 2006 - 26,408 • Year over year increase: 62.3% • Lunch 2025 - 97,703 • Lunch 2026 - 139,182 • Year over year increase: 45.3% I'm guessing that the cost of living as w...

Of course, this being Veterans Day I do want to recognize all the veterans who served who are part of Seattle Public Schools. Thank you for your service.  This was sent to SPS staff this week (bold mine): Dear SPS Staff,  I am pleased to officially announce two important appointments to our senior leadership team. Devin Gurley will serve as Assistant Superintendent of Special Programs, and Marcus Harden will serve as Assistant Superintendent of Student and Family Support.  These appointments bring two experienced, student-centered leaders into key roles while marking an important step in streamlining how our district leadership team is organized.  Many of you already know Devin. She has served Seattle Public Schools for more than two decades, beginning as a special education teacher and continuing through a series of district leadership roles, including Program Specialist, Supervisor, Director, and Executive Director of Special Education.  As Assistant Superinte...

Update: I have talked to people and pondered this issue. I would agree that 60 days is a long time for families to wait for a hearing.  In this particular case, it is the case that a lengthy period of time would run into Open Enrollment which would then likely hurt those families more.  I just do not like that it seems that no one - not the Board nor staff - got on this sooner. I do not like BARs that are intro'ed and voted on at the same meeting. I realize that it may feel like an emergency to some but it also looks suspicious.  The BAR does define "an instructional site." An instructional site is defined as a facility or building that houses one or more Seattle Public Schools classrooms. The facility or building may be one site of a multi registered school and include a physical location not on a school campus, but is where participating students regularly receive the majority of their classroom instruction.  The Superintendent has the authority to close instr...

In a Special Meeting last night the Seattle School Board vote to fight the use of the newly passed initiative on banning trans girls from cisgirl sports teams. They apparently had an Executive Session first (which means no one heard their discussion) and then took a public vote. Here is their resolution . Their summary: This Board action would approve Board Resolution No. 2026/27-11 authorizing legal action regarding Initiative Measure No. IL26-638.   The Board earlier took a formal position opposing Initiative Measure No. IL26-638.   The proposed resolution would reaffirm the Board’s commitment to a Seattle Public Schools where students are afforded equitable access to education and opportunity in schools that are safe, inclusive, affirming, and supportive for all children, consistent with the Board’s prior resolution. Some of their thinking underlines that the Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association has had an inclusionary policy in sports since 2007. They also point...

 Via Facebook: Second semester is your chance to reset the room. You know your students now. You also know the moments when the room gets loud, attention slips, and a lesson stalls before it starts. What if you had practical tools to help every student regulate, refocus, and feel like they belong, while earning PD hours that actually matter? Grab your FREE ticket to TeacherPalooza 2026 November 10-12th 100% ONLINE | 3 days PD Certificates Issued for Live Attendees T eacherPalooza is a free online conference designed to help you head into second semester with practical strategies, renewed confidence, and a community that believes our greatest educational superpowers are deeply human. Across three interactive, 75-minute sessions, you’ll learn how to protect critical thinking in the age of AI, read and steady the emotions behind every reaction, and build a classroom powered by belonging and purpose. DAY 1: HUMAN INTELLIGENCE Tuesday, November 10th at 7–8:15pm ET AI may be changi...

Posted yesterday; Bold mine "Dear Seattle Public Schools Community, I hope this newsletter finds you well. I am so happy to write to you all this week. As many of you know, the district, alongside many families, educators, and community members, has been working diligently to adjust our technology rules and regulations. When I arrived in Seattle, it was clear that the district had steered too heavily into an overreliance on technology, especially regarding the percentage of screen time our children were exposed to during the school day. Over the summer, we worked hard to develop a step-by-step methodology to keep student learning front and center while addressing a dependency on screen time and technology that seems to pervade our classrooms and district writ large. In September, the district, alongside our partners at Seattle Families for Intentional Technology, held a press conference to announce our first foray into stricter controls around technology use: https://youtu.be/yVOb...

Way back in the olden days when my kids were in school, I gave tours at their school. What was the number one question? " Do the kids have access to computers?" I was very proud to say yes, we have brand-new Apple computers in our computer lab. Then, as time went on, it was "do you have computers in the classroom?" And all the way to today when every single kid in SPS has a laptop or pad assigned to them. What is the difference? The actual computer is hardware and AI is software . That is a huge difference. When my kids were in school, it was actually being able to learn to type on a computer and use various shortcuts to help that use. Additionally, librarians now had another task which was to guide students in how to look for information in valid ways that didn't take all day. It was also learning PowerPoint to do presentations. All useful and good stuff. AI is not that. AI doesn't reduce the number of sites to find information, it expands them. AI doesn...