Seattle Schools Community Forum

Update : KIRO is reporting that the district says about 5,000 students walked out.  As well, apparently other districts - Highline, Lake Washington are two - had student walkouts as well. End of update I received a press release this morning about the high school student walk-out.

My only comment at this point is that, sans the technology, this sounds a lot like what Nova does.

From SPD: The Seattle Police Department has increased patrols around Nova High School this morning after suspicious chemicals were found outside  a gender-neutral restroom  shortly after an arson fire was set on campus. Police responded to Nova High School this morning around 7:30 AM after receiving a report someone had set fire to the principal’s office door. The fire was extinguished before it spread. School staff then found a chemical sprayed outside a gender-neutral restroom on campus, and SPD’s Arson/Bomb detectives are investigating whether it is the same substance used to ignite the principal’s office door. Bias Crimes detectives are also reviewing the incident because of the evidence found outside the gender-neutral bathroom. School officials are continuing classes through the day and working closely with police to ensure the safety of students on campus.

The majority of high schools, comprehensive and alternative, will start at 7:50 am (ten minutes earlier than last year) and end at 2:20 pm.  This includes Cleveland STEM, World School and South Lake. The outliers are Center School (8:30 am-3:10 pm), Chief Sealth (8:40 am- 3:10 pm), Hale (8:40 am-3:10 pm) and Nova (8:30 am - 3:00 pm).  So Center School I get because of its location.  Sealth because it's a joint campus with Denny and the district promised to not have the middle school and high school kids come to school at the same time.  Nova?  Well, it is a project-based alternative school so I get that. But Hale? It lives a charmed life and has been able to keep their late start for years (and to this day).   (I personally have never seen any advocacy from Hale's administration for this kind of benefit for other high schools. ) Also, how is that it's okay for Nova, Hale and Sealth all to deliver 10 minutes less a day to students than other high sch...

Monday, April 7th Seattle Council PTSA General Meeting on Monday April 7th from 7-9pm. This will be a good one as the Superintendent will be there, along with top staff to answer questions.  Curriculum and Instruction Meeting from 4:30-6:30 p.m., Agenda Wednesday, April 9th  A really long day for some Board members that includes these meetings: Executive Committee Meeting from 8:30 am-10 am, Agenda Oversight Work Session: Teach&Learning Part 1 from 4-5:30 pm.   This will cover ELL/International programs and Special Education.  There is no mistaking that this is NOT enough time to go over a program and its issues AND allow Board members to ask questions.  It's a very frustrating experience to see this process continuing on.   Presentation: ELL/International programs .  To note: under Threat/Risks: Clear shared vision and mission that is concrete for all SPS staff  - well that's not good. I reviewed the presentation and i...

Will have a more full report later but there is one new item to the agenda (but sadly, no handout): Columbia Annex and Mann Portable Lease Agreements Resolution This should be interesting.   Also quite the discussion about students who bring/show weapons at school and how they should be treated.  There is an RCW around this (one year required suspension for a firearm) and they are trying to proceed from there.  There is both a School Board policy and Superintendent procedure around this issue. Update: As I said in the first post, a lot of talk around weapons brought to school by students.  I found this a baffling discussion but it has to do with the concern around suspended students and what happens to their education.  Director DeBell drily pointed out that if a student brings a firearm to school, he probably is going to be more concerned about the other students (and staff) and their safety. The issue also is that for students who get suspen...

I'm thinking it was a lot of smoke and mirrors on the part of BOTH the "tenants" and the district, these so-called negotiations.  Because that building is wide open, being used in multiple areas, has advertised activities and classes and well, just doesn't look like a building that is shut down in preparation for being renovated.   I checked and I took photos.  Not closed by any stretch of the imagination. I'm thinking it was a lot of smoke and mirrors on the part of BOTH the "tenants" and the district. I've asked and asked the district staff about this and read various Facebook pages and webpages and my conclusion is that there is much more going on here than anyone wants to admit.  When you see people make an "enemies" list that includes the district, the City, and the contractor who is to do the renovation, it makes you wonder. I have asked but have not seen any kind of temporary lease agreement (but now, it's onto public dis...

For continuing information on the situation at the Mann building, and the broader issue of the crisis of education for African-American students, interested readers can visit the More4Mann web site . There is a Twitter feed as well at @More4Mann. Other news sources include Africatown Education and Innovation Center , and  Creativity Not Control . I don't know if we will report much on the ACIC or the Mann building going forward, so folks should rely on these other sources for news.

I am beyond baffled about what is going on with the district, the ACEI, Nova and the Mann Building.  I am saying - upfront - that I believe there is much more to this story than we know (there's a backstory there somewhere).  I continue in my belief that it will not turn out well.  I am also dismayed to see this all happening so fast as I wonder if African-American parents - throughout the entire district - have not been consulted and, as has been pointed out previously, no one group is monolithic so no one group can claim to speak for everyone. As we know there was this hastily thrown-together, unadvertised taskforce around some of the groups that were squatting in the Mann building.  Then, I read about the ACEI's plans for the outside of the Mann building and the votes taken on what the district should do.  The district's notes from the last taskforce meeting are here (partial):

I attended the final meeting of the Horace Mann African-American Community Task Force this evening. The meeting was not as well attended as the last one I witnessed, but it was productive. They have a deal. The ACIC is still in the building and operating, but they will leave peaceably so construction can begin. The District would like them out by the end of next week. You may be surprised to learn that they have not made any preparations to move. They haven't even begun to plan their exit. They asked if they could stay until December 31. The answer was no. Africatown may lease space at Columbia or Van Asselt for a year and they may lease one of the portables at the Mann site until February. That remains to be seen. They don't want to cease operations, but I don't know if their financial resources will extend to leasing District property. The deal, such as it is, was actually made between Mark Perry and the NOVA community and the Africatown community. The District is m...

Well, sort of an update.  I am still waiting for a reply to what did or did not happen on September 18th at the Mann building. I am more confused than ever.  It is clear that - for whatever reason - the terms of the lease were  enforced by the district.   I have no idea what is really going on because the terms of the lease are fairly clear.   There was a letter sent to Superintendent Banda on August 1, 2013 from the group, NPARC, the Non-Profit Anti-Racism Coalition, outlining the situation and that they wanted to stay in the Mann building. In the first paragraph, it is noted that NPARC " is an alliance of mainly human service organizations in King Country who are committed to identifying and dismantling institutional and structural racism."  It goes on to name "partners" such as Wellspring Family Services, YMCA, Childhaven" and a couple of others.  The letter then launches into a history and explanation of the situation at Mann. There are no...

The Horace Mann African-American Community Task Force meets for a fourth time tonight. The Central District News has covered the story well and reports progress , though not as much progress as their headline claims nor as much as they originally reported. The article also says " In response Seattle Public Schools formed a task force last month to rethink plans for the 110-year-old school. " But, as was revealed at the third Task Force meeting last week, the District never intended to change course on the Mann building.

There were two issues discussed at the third meeting of the Horace Mann-African American Community Partnerships Task Force. The two issues are not closely linked. The immediate issue is about the Mann building, but that is actually the smaller issue. The Mann building issue was created to bring urgency to the big issue: the failure to educate African-American children in Seattle Public Schools. There isn't much of a natural connection between these two, so it is easy and appropriate to regard them separately.

 Update: Changed headline so as not to upset the more tender-minded readers.  The original title, though, was verbatim and was spoken by a Taskforce member to Superintendent Banda. Charlie and I attended along with Joanna Cullen, a long-time Central resident and public education advocate. I honestly hesitate to put this up but I am because pressure needs to come to bear to end this situation (at least at the Mann building - there are other real and valid issues that the Taskforce is completely right about). (To note: there were at least 25 people in the room, most of whom I did not know and could not read their names from afar.  I apologize for those I can't name.) Bottom line from the meeting: To be clear - the district has said that the remaining groups in the Mann Building need to be out by Wednesday, September 18th. (This date is the one the district has to meet in order to get State dollars to help with the project. They will lose those dollars if they d...

This went out from Superintendent Banda to Board members on Friday, August 23rd: Following for your information, is a copy of the invitation sent out this week to potential task force members. I would like to invite you to participate in the Horace Mann-African American Community Partnerships Task Force. This group will provide me with immediate and short-term recommendations on how Seattle Public Schools can partner with the groups and programs currently using the Mann building, ways to align community work and the SPS strategic plan to promote equity and support innovative African-American youth education partnerships, and how this can be achieved while still adhering to the Building Excellence IV schedule related to the Mann building. At the August 21 Board meeting, I asked the School Board to remove an item from the Board agenda that, if approved, would authorize construction to begin on the Mann building.  This action will be brought back to the School Board on September...

In advanced of tonight's School Board meeting , a few updates: - packed speakers list.    Unfortunately, Mr. Garrett, who is one of the leaders of the groups at the Horace Mann building, is on the list.  He generally is not the most graceful and tactful of speakers so I expect that to be an unpleasant two minutes. As well, there are plenty of TFA people, including three of the four new ones up for conditional certification, on the speakers list.  This baffles me (as it has in the past).  Are they speaking to do a pep talk to the Board about themselves?  And, their fearless Seattle leader is speaking as well.  Unless charters come on-line soon (and I don't see this happening), TFA is going to be in trouble.  They are still running the UW program in the red as their numbers stagnate.  Most districts just don't seem interested.  And, with the new Seattle Teacher Residency program, I wonder how both UW and SPS can afford to invest in...

In the "what!?" category, the Times is reporting that the district is "reconsidering" their plans for the Horace Mann building which is to rehouse Nova High School.  There are some pretty unbelievable statements like: - in one place in the article the Times says the district has not been charging rent to any of the groups using the building.  Yet later on, they say that one group was paying $3,300 a month and then sub-leased the building out to another group who then - it seems - sublease to others "paying what they could afford.  (They also paid for heating the building. )  I don't get how paying rent and paying utilities is that unusual for a lease.   -the district is forming ("has formed")  a taskforce (another one?) to study options and see if these programs align with the five-year strategic plan. - the district is "committed" to helping them continue to use Mann or find other space.  Why is this the district's job? The...

And roll. Looks like there is going to be a LOT of activity at the Board meeting on Wednesday.  Apparently we may see: - teachers who are unhappy about the possible class size increase - community organizers unhappy about their exit from the Horace Mann building in order to make way for Nova to come back and now, - the so-called Our Schools group.  Here's their reason to be at the Board meeting: Nearly three years ago, the Seattle School District negotiated a collective bargaining agreement between teachers and the district that outlined strategies for closing Seattle’s opportunity and achievement gaps. Article II Partnership for Closing the Achievement Gap would develop and implement a parent/community engagement process, monitor stability of staff in low-performing schools, monitor data like discipline and attendance records in determining students at-risk for dropping out, and financially support school-level initiatives focused on closing gaps. The Our Schools C...

The Horace Mann building at 24th and Cherry was the home of The NOVA Project for thirty years from 1979 to 2009 when misguided District leadership moved the school to the Meany building for no legitimate reason. New leadership quickly decided to move NOVA back into the Mann building and that has been the District's plan for about two years now. During the brief intervening period the District rented out the building. Many of the programs which leased space in the building during NOVA's brief absence moved in after the District announced plans to bring NOVA home. A tenant, The  Africatown Community Innovation Center  is now trying to oppose the return of NOVA and retain their occupancy of the building. Some among them say that they will refuse to leave. The tenants have no legal basis for refusing to leave. The terms of their lease are clear and their lease terminates this month. The District needs the building to house NOVA, the historical use of the building for the past ...

From the Times : The candidates who were there had some tough talk for Seattle Public Schools. State Sen. Ed Murray said if he were mayor, he would forge a new partnership with the school district to increase the graduation rate. “The school district has to change,” he said, vowing to make improvements in the graduation rate and how money is targeted — or, he said, “Please yell at me and vote me out of office.”   Usually, the school district blames the state Legislature for district problems, so it was interesting to hear that. Ed Murray is my senator and yes, I am a bit surprised to hear him say this.  He hasn't said a lot about Seattle schools in any pre-mayor bid venue.  His advocacy has been limited (and appreciated) to the Legislature.  Without specifics, this isn't much (and I'm still waiting to interview him so we'll see). Also, note to the Times, the district does not blame the Legislature for all its problems; just the funding ones.  ...