Seattle Schools Community Forum

Update: Speaker list for tonight's Board meeting (Wednesday, Jan 17) is full, with 20 speakers plus 10 on the waitlist.   Notable on the waitlist is one of the teachers who has been participating in the Gaza protests and was filmed vandalizing the Starbucks Roastery. Here's her topic: Staff safety: addressing recent wave of doxxing and intimidation of SPS employees 2. Student safety: growing need for adequate response from SPS to address how ongoing genocide in Gaza is impacting safety of not just staff but students and the need to break the silence in classrooms about what’s happening in Gaza while offering educational resources and space to learn about what’s happening (and has been happening for 75 years) in a meaningful and truthful way Gotta say, that certainly plays into the hands of those who lambast "activist teachers."  There are also several speakers who want to support "Abdulahi" but I don't know who that is. Anyone?  Also several speak...

I never have been a fan of the targeted universalism push in Seattle Schools.  One problem is that when this was first proposed and staff had a Work Session with the Board, they rolled out stats that were a mixed bag. Meaning, in a couple of measures Black students (all of them, not just boys) had worse stats but, in 3 other categories, Latinos were worse in one, Pacific Islanders were worse in another and Native Americans were worse in still another. I do recalled former director Betty Patu - who is Pacific Islander - saying she didn't understand the push for Black students over these other student groups who were also struggling. But it went through. Another problem - as vividly put on display in today's Danny Westneat column in the Seattle Times - is that there are no real wins yet to this approach. SPS as a district is NOT doing well. One big area that I believe both the Superintendent and Board know about is large number of absentee students. And yet where is the all hand...

You may be wondering why I'm not writing about Seattle Schools. Well, this week the Board and the district have zero public meetings. It's great that they all can come back from two weeks of vacation to have an entire week of not having to talk about anything they are doing. (Not to say they aren't working but it sure isn't forward-facing public work.)    There is an " enrichment funding" bill for charter schools in the legislature.  It is SB 5809. It really should be DOA because of what they want to accomplish with the additional funding. It includes: - amending state law so that charter schools can be eligible to apply for state grants on the same basis as a school district - the State Superintendent would have to calculate a higher amount for charter school teachers as it applies to any school district where the charter school sits.  - supplemental instruction services - Special Education services - Highly Capable Services (insert laughter here as the joke...

 I just heard this story on NPR this morning and for families who are just above low-income or are middle income, this problem is troubling. As NPR says, "The big mistake has to do with inflation." But: The problem now is, all the potential remedies come with a host of complications. In a nutshell: College hopefuls are already waiting longer than usual for their financial aid offers this year, due to the delayed release of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). But what applicants may not realize is that this year's FAFSA also comes with a big mistake – one that will lower the amount of federal financial aid many receive unless it's remedied soon. The U.S. Department of Education is wrestling with whether to fix this mistake in time for this year's financial aid applicants. A last-minute FAFSA change of this magnitude could further delay college aid offers, but it would also mean many students would qualify for more help. What the situatio...

The first item really brings into focus one big issue for ALL districts. Teachers have the absolute right to be who they want to be outside of school but if you have a teacher who is extremely outspoken on an issue that could involve students and their families, what can/should a district do? This comes on the heels of my story about a social studies teacher at Chief Sealth International High School who appears to be bringing in some personal opinion into his classes.  Case in point that is traveling around on local Twitter.  There are at couple of SPS teachers who appear active in protesting Israel's actions in Gaza.  One is Lauren Holloway, a Special Education teacher at Franklin High School who on Saturday was caught on camera vandalizing a Starbucks with pro Hamas graffiti. It said: "Boycott Starbucks end the occupation now." SPS comment: "Seattle Public Schools does not condone vandalism, including unauthorized graffiti, on public or private property. SPS will...

Sadly, another school shooting to report, this one in Iowa.  It happened at a high school (that apparently is 6-12) where a seventeen year old, armed with a shotgun and a handgun, open fired on the first day of classes in the new year. A sixth grader was killed, five others injured and the gunman killed himself. It appears that one person injured was an administrator and the others were students. People who knew the gunman said he had been " bullied relentlessly since elementary school."  "As of July 2021, Iowa does not require a permit to purchase a handgun or carry a firearm in public, but it does mandate a background check for anyone buying a handgun without a permit."    As one reader reported, it is true that Director Vivian Song is throwing her hat into the ring to fill the seat on the City Council vacated by Teresa Mosqueda.  According to the Council's website, the application period is from Wednesday, Jan 3rd to Tuesday, January 9th. As well, in the...

It was an eventful meeting as new Board officers were elected. More on that to come. Agenda It was the first meeting for the newest members, Gina Topp and Evan Briggs, both of whom were silent for most of the meeting.  Two of the student board members were there. Luna Crone-Barón told the Board that the feedback she hears from other students is the need for more engaged listening, saying that " We want to be seen and heard." She also gave a lovely quote from Bell Hooks - Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion.” Member  Aayush Muthuswamy said that it was clear that some high school students cannot read or do math at grade level and that the district is failing those students.  There was also a mention of a "Board Bulletin" that the Board gets weekly(?) from the Superintendent. There used to be a Friday Memo and it went away. I have inquired where this new bulletin might be accessed from the SPS website. President Brandon ...