Seattle Schools Community Forum

 FYI "Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is expanding thanks to my new organization, Community Book Project Take a look at how you can get FREE books for kids aged 0-5!   From Imagination Library of Washington "New organization and funding partner, Community Book Project, has partnered with program affiliate, Africatown Community Land Trust to bring the Imagination Library to more families King County. New zip codes include: 98103 98106 98107 98109 98116 98117 98119 98126 98136 98199 Children from birth up to age five can get a FREE book in the mail every month, register them today!" visit Community Book Project to learn more.   Not part of the zip codes listed above? This program is expanding widely."  

Today is June 6. (Not forgetting that it is D-Day; my father and his brothers were in WWII.)  No, it's the 6th day of June. That means 6 days have gone by without any kind of scheduling of public engagement about closing/consolidating schools.  The Superintendent promised that public engagement would start in June. To note, I see that Director Rankin and some staff are saying it's just "consolidation." In fact Director Lisa Rivera Smith said she would not vote to "close" schools.  Well, if they shut down McGilvra's building and move that community to the new Montlake building and call it the "M" school, guess what? They will STILL BE CLOSING A SCHOOL.  That ANY director is operating on the BS is a disgrace.  I was on the last closure and consolidation committee and it's a BIG F'ing deal. Schools close on the 30th, with closure for Juneteenth on the 19th.  So subtract six days from June (30 days) minus Juneteenth and you get...23 days....

As you may recall, the Seattle School Board and the Superintendent are embracing a new form of governance called Student Outcomes Focused Governance (SOFG). A LOT of time and money are going to this endeavor. (How much is unclear and I am still waiting for numbers from a public disclosure request.) I'm on several public education twitterfeeds as well as receiving email updates from several sources. I just happened to see this one from :   Where they are having a multi-part webinar series on: Should School Boards Run Schools? A virtual conference series on school governance I'm late to this party that started in early May so I will have to go back and check out the webinars I missed. But I tuned in last week and quite to my surprise, there were a couple of familiar faces on the panel with this topic: Do school boards govern, or are they rubber stamps? Speaker: Robin Lake,...

 This request comes from Fuse Washington and you can bet I'll be weighing in.  Our 2023 Progressive Voters Guide research is well underway. As a grassroots organization, we’re looking to our members for ideas about candidates and ballot measures you’d like to see featured in this year’s guide. Whether they’re an up-and-coming progressive city council member, an obscure but important local ballot measure, or a conservative candidate pushing a MAGA agenda, we want to hear your thoughts on your elections in your county or city. We’ve set up a simple form where you can nominate one candidate or ten who you think we should include in the guide. You can also submit information about conservative candidates we should avoid. We’ll compile all the nominations from Fuse members and use it to inform our recommendations used by 1 in 10 Washington voters. Help us write the most comprehensive Progressive Voters Guide possible by giving us your input on local candidates or iss...

 From KIRO TV , a story about not one but two elementary school principals in the Northshore School District who were caught at a QFC high on cocaine in late April. And with a loaded gun. Wonder if the Northshore School Board is gonna sit on their hands and say nothing to their superintendent. Just like the Seattle School Board would do. The incident has now led to two elementary school principals in the Northshore School District – husband and wife, Michael and Meghan Griffin – to be placed on administrative leave. Michael Griffin is the principal at Sunrise Elementary, while Meghan Griffin is the principal at Moorlands Elementary. She wrote in her opening line, “Our recreational drug use began about a year ago while on vacation. It increased recently.” She went on to detail her husband’s worsening paranoia. “Michael and I went to see our primary care doctor on March 22, 2023. The doctor told us we needed to stop the use of cocaine and that at the next check-up, the doct...

Update 2: From the Times on Saturday, Garfield High School and Nova High School are to reopen on Monday. Both in-person classes and all after school activities will resume on Monday,   they  wrote. Seattle Public Schools has contracted for additional security to be outside both schools all week, the principals wrote, and there will be additional support from the district’s safety and security team. Seattle police will also be starting a patrol emphasis in the area to provide a police presence,  they wrote. Garfield will host a meeting about safety and security for students, families and staff on Monday evening at 7 p.m. Regarding school building security, Jones said that in addition to increased police patrols, the district will send added private security to Garfield and Nova over the next week.  If anyone attends the Garfield High safety meeting on Monday, do let us know how it goes.   Superintendent Jones: “Folks need to know that we are seeking help or...

It appears that Janai Ray, a candidate for District 2, is out of that race. From Ballotpedia: The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Lisa Rivera Smith and Christina Posten advanced from the primary for Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors District 2. Withdrawn or disqualified candidates Janai Ray (Nonpartisan) That leaves incumbent Lisa Rivera Smith and former principal Christina Posten as the only two candidates , hence the cancellation of the primary for this race. Also, I have been unable to contact Evan Briggs in District 3 nor Maryanne Wood in the District 6.  If you know how to reach them, please let me know. Neither appear to have campaign websites yet.