Seattle Schools Community Forum

 I'll let the Times give you the news: Money woes put Bellevue School District under state oversight Bellevue joins eight other districts across Washington that are also under state oversight, and it’s possible more could come. The announcement was made at Thursday’s school board meeting. The approximately 20,000-student district east of Lake Washington is home to some of the area’s wealthiest people. But in the last couple of years, the community has seen elementary schools close and more than a hundred teachers and staff let go to cut costs.     The landmark ruling McCleary v. State of Washington, which capped how much money districts could collect from local levies, hurt Bellevue. It’s a property-rich district that relied on local levy funds to provide high-quality teaching. For Bellevue, the cap meant that starting in 2019, the district couldn’t collect as much as it used to from its residents, meaning a loss of $15 million each year.    “There are so man...

Via Seattle Human Services: Free summer meals are back! This summer kids and teens ages 1-18 can receive a free meal at 40+ sites across Seattle, weekdays from June 25-August 22.  Visit bit.ly/3L5tEB0 to find a location near you. Please tell your communities about this.

Update: There's a blog called Post Millennial and local radio host, Ari Hoffman, wrote about the Hale issue. He got a copy of the compliant filed in King County Superior Court by the parents of the girl.  It is quite detailed. This girl was the only Jewish member of the softball team and started hearing antisemitic slurs after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.  Despite the family reporting this to Principal Jackson, the lawsuit claims the school took no meaningful action. Jackson allegedly acknowledged that the harassment was frequent and severe but failed to implement safety measures or disciplinary steps. Even requests to preserve hallway security footage from an incident where the student was spat on were ignored and the family believes the video was deleted. That last charge is pretty serious. If the school had video that the family requested in a timely manner and then the video is gone, that's not good. In one instance, a swastika was drawn on a bench ...

 I have several articles on AI in the classroom that I'd like to group and then write a post. Today is not that day BUT I call to your attention this item from the Action Network : Please write to your US Senators today, to demand that they eliminate any language from the budget bill that would prevent or dissuade states and localities from passing laws on AI to protect the privacy, safety, education and the well-being of our children.  This provision is a total giveaway to big Tech and is a massive interference with the ability of communities to regulate the use of this potentially damaging technology.  For more on how AI expansion threatens student privacy and could undermine human-centered education, see the presentation we gave at the  NPE conference here .  Feel free to change the title of the email, or any other details to make the letter more personal. Thank you! Can you imagine a federal law that preempts states' from trying to protect children?  Th...

 The district may have closed for the summer but the work goes on to find a new superintendent. Links for virtual meetings available here . Superintendent Search – Family & Community Engagement Session June 21 @ 3:00 pm at Cleveland High School Superintendent Search – Single Language Engagement (American Sign Language) June 24 @ 6:00 pm CANCELLED – School Board Community Engagement – James Baldwin Elementary June 25 @ 5:30 pm Memorial Stadium Open House Farewell June 26   4-7 pm at Memorial Stadium - free Superintendent Search - Single Language Engagement (Spanish) June 26th at 6 pm Virtual Superintendent Search - Single Language Engagement (Somali) June 26 at 7:15 pm Virtual Superintendent Search - Virtual meeting for all June 27th at 6 pm Superintendent Search - Single Language Engagement (Vietnamese) June 27th at 7:15 pm Virtual Superintendent Search - Virtual meeting for all June 28th at 10 am Regular Board Meeting July 2 at 4:15 pm

From SPS Communications: The 2025 high school graduations marked the last time we will celebrate in the current version of Seattle Public Schools’ Memorial Stadium—an iconic venue that has hosted generations of students and families.  Beginning this summer, a  major construction project  will begin to replace the stadium with a new, modern facility. Graduation ceremonies in 2026 and 2027 will take place at alternative locations while the new Memorial Stadium is under construction.   To help us select the best venues, we invite you to complete a brief online survey. Your input is important—please submit your responses by Friday, June 27.   English, Amharic, Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese Surveys Somali Survey Somali Survey (once complete, email your response to  epmo@seattleschools.org )  As a reminder, the district is having an open house next Thursday, the 26th from 4-7 pm to say farewell to original Memorial Stadium.  For additional infor...