Liza Rankin

This is President Rankin.

I am now calling the October 9th, 2024 regular board meeting to order at 422 p.m.

This meeting is being recorded.

We would like to acknowledge that we are on ancestral lands and traditional territories of the Puget Sound Coast Salish people.

Ms. Wilson-Jones, the roll call, please.

Director Briggs.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

HERE.

DIRECTOR CLARK.

PRESENT.

DIRECTOR HERSEY.

Brandon Hersey

HERE.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

DIRECTOR MIZRAHI.

Brandon Hersey

HERE.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

VICE PRESIDENT SARGIO.

Michelle Sarju

PRESENT.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

DIRECTOR TOP.

HERE.

STUDENT MEMBER BRAGG.

Colin Bragg

Here.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Student member Elias.

Here.

Student member Yuen.

And President Rankin.

Liza Rankin

Here.

I will now turn it over to Superintendent Jones for his comments.

Brent Jones

Thank you, President Rankin.

Good evening, everyone.

It's wonderful to see you here tonight.

First, I want to begin with a proclamation for Indigenous Peoples Day.

As per our recent tradition, can we have our student members please read the proclamation?

Safiya Ilyas

A proclamation of Seattle Schools District number one, King County, Seattle, Washington, reaffirming the district's commitment to promote the well-being and growth of every district student, especially of Seattle's American Indian, Alaskan Native, and Indigenous students.

Whereas the Seattle Public Schools recognizes that the indigenous peoples of the land that would later become known as the Americas have occupied these lands since time immemorial.

Sabi Yoon

Whereas the Seattle Public Schools recognizes the fact that Seattle is built upon the homelands and villages of the Coast Salish peoples of this region, without whom the building of the city would not have been possible.

And whereas the Seattle Public Schools values The many contributions made to our community through indigenous people's knowledge, labor, technology, science, philosophy, arts, and a deep cultural contribution that has substantially shaped the charter of the city of Seattle and.

Colin Bragg

Whereas the Seattle Public Schools has a responsibility to oppose the systemic racism towards indigenous people in the United States, which perpetuates high rates of poverty and income inequality, exacerbating discrimination in health, education, and social crises.

And whereas the Seattle Public Schools seeks to combat prejudice and eliminate discrimination stemming from colonization and promote awareness, understanding, and good relations among indigenous people and all other segments of the district.

And,

Safiya Ilyas

Whereas the Seattle Public Schools promotes educational excellence for indigenous peoples through policies and practices that reflect the experiences of indigenous peoples, ensure greater access and opportunity, and honor our nation's indigenous roots, history, and contributions, and

Sabi Yoon

Whereas SB5433 requires the teaching of the history, government, and contemporary issues of the 29 federally recognized tribes of Washington State.

And whereas the School Board of Directors has mandated through policy number 2336 required observances to observe the second Monday of October as Indigenous Peoples Day.

Colin Bragg

Therefore, all schools are encouraged to support the well-being, growth, and growth of American Indian, Alaskan Native, and Indigenous students and recognize the contribution of Native people on October 14th, Indigenous People Day.

October 14th, 2024 is hereby proclaimed as Indigenous People's Day and celebrated across Seattle Public Schools.

Brent Jones

Thank you so much.

This evening we'll be sharing updates with the board on progress monitoring for third grade literacy and seventh grade mathematics.

A brief update on school closures and mergers as aligned with any board direction that we have tonight.

And we will talk about projects critical to focus on for our upcoming levy.

We talk about well-resourced schools and right-sizing.

I want to begin by sharing where we stand with well-resourced schools.

As I shared last meeting, I am listening, we are listening, and we're trying to be responsive.

And later this evening, I will be sharing next steps for moving forward with a significantly smaller number of school consolidations.

In guiding that decision, here are some of what we heard.

Move at the speed of trust.

While we recognize that our enrollment numbers do not align with our current number of schools, we acknowledge the need for community and board support before pursuing large-scale changes.

Family assurance.

Families are seeking clear assurances regarding the services, programs, and supports available during transitions at new schools.

Expanding successful initiatives.

There's strong community interest in enhancing effective programs such as dual language immersion and particular special education services.

We want to collaborate with you to share our successes and attract more families to our schools.

Interconnectedness.

Our school consolidation efforts are closely tied to broader district initiatives aimed at improving academic outcomes and balancing our budget.

We have not gotten this right yet, as I've shared in my message to our community.

Causing anxiety, disruption has never been our objective.

While we are stepping back to do this at a different scale, I want to reiterate that the underlying facts that led us to pursue consolidation in the first place have not changed.

We continue to face declining enrollment in a number of very small elementary schools.

As we look ahead, I understand that questions remain about the future of closures.

As I've said, we have to proceed at the speed of trust.

Right now, we are focused on earning the trust of our community to move forward with this plan in a way that minimizes disruption and supports our communities.

When we talk about budget, while school consolidation will make us a more efficient system, we recognize that closing five schools still leaves us with a significant fiscal challenge between $90 and $100 million.

Those who have said that closing schools will not solve our entire budget deficit are correct, but ignoring the problem will exacerbate the problem for years to come.

We have been walking the board through possible solutions, and next month the board will take action on educational program reduction.

I see three buckets that we need to tap into going forward to close the gap.

First, we need state authorization for greater flexibility on financing our deficit.

That should support approximately $30 million towards next year's budget.

SECOND, WE NEED ABOUT $40 MILLION IN SUPPORT FROM THE STATE TO FUND AREAS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, TRANSPORTATION, AND MATERIALS.

AND THIRD, WE HAVE TO FIND ABOUT $30 MILLION OF INTERNAL EFFICIENCIES TO MAKE SOME VERY HARD CHOICES.

REQUIRE REDUCING STAFFING, FURTHER EFFICIENCIES IN PROGRAM AND CENTRAL SUPPORT, AND RUN FEWER BUSES AND ADDING A 30-BILL TIME TO REDUCE TRANSPORTATION COSTS.

This formula will help us going into next year.

However, it will not solve our long-term fiscal challenge.

I look forward to returning to the board with solutions and recommendations for how we'll do so.

I want to pivot to the levy.

IT WILL TAKE ALL OF THE SOURCES OF FUNDING WE CAN GET TO BALANCE OUR BUDGET.

WE WILL BE SHARING MORE ABOUT ONE PARTICULAR SOURCE THIS EVENING, OUR LEVEES.

LIKE MOST SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN WASHINGTON STATE, SEATTLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS RELIES ON VOTER APPROVED LEVEES TO FILL IN THE GAP BETWEEN WHAT WE RECEIVE FROM THE STATE AND FEDERAL SOURCES AND WHAT IS NEEDED TO FULLY FUND AND SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS, STAFF AND SCHOOLS.

Tonight, our school board will review recommendations for the renewal of the education programs and operation levy and building excellence capital levy, which are expected to go before voters this February, next February, February 11th, 2025. While these levies won't solve the district's budget deficit, they replace existing levies to continue funding for school operations, special education, classroom technology, safety improvement to schools, as well as renovation and repair of school buildings.

There is no one solution to solving our fiscal challenges.

This will require our community's ongoing partnership and support.

It is clear we will need our families to join us in Olympia to advocate for funding and supporting our schools at this critical juncture.

Now switching gears for a moment, October is National Principals Appreciation Month.

I want to express my sincere gratitude to all of our principals for their incredible leadership.

I had the opportunity to spend parts of yesterday with them and I'm continually impressed by their dedication.

I'm also impressed by such a great start to the school year.

It has been a very smooth last five weeks.

and we're making some real achievement together.

One of our primary goals in SPS is to ensure our students graduate with access to advanced coursework.

We concluded the 23-24 school year on a high note with 16.3% increase in AP exam participation.

Over 6,800 students took AP exams and nearly 80% of them scored three, four, or five, paving their path to college success.

We are committed to continuous improvement as a learning organization, and over the summer and into the new year, we have focused on refining our teaching practices and implementing new instructional materials.

95% of our middle school language arts teachers participated in professional development on new curriculum.

100% of our algebra, geometry, algebra II educators, 200 in total, engaged in professional development on our new math curriculum.

These efforts are laying a strong foundation for the year ahead, ensuring our educators have the necessary tools and skills to support learning effectively.

Some of this is reflected in the progress monitoring that we will see here in a few minutes, and other parts of it are either in goals or in critical inputs under the hood of where we want to go.

So improving results like these requires a sustained partnership with a board.

And I'm happy and honored to have the opportunity to serve as superintendent, a role I don't take lightly.

It's a privilege to serve in the school system that has treated myself and my family with tremendous opportunities in education.

In challenging times, many school districts across the country struggle and even fracture.

I want to thank this board for your support.

Thank you for your commitment to our schools and our students.

And now I want to thank those who have joined us for public comments.

And we are here to continue to listen.

And we have our unbuzz office here today.

And we also have an ASL interpreter here to increase our efforts to have inclusion.

So thank you very much.

And back to you, President Rankin.

Oh, one more thing.

I'm sorry.

This is a big deal.

DR. DAVID BAKER, NOBEL PRIZE WINNER IN CHEMISTRY, IS A GARFIELD HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE CLASS OF 1980. SO WE HAVE A NOBEL PRIZE WINNER COMING OUT OF SEATTLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

Liza Rankin

That's really cool.

Thank you.

Thank you, Dr. Jones.

And I appreciate the forthrightness about the challenges ahead, especially due to our budget.

No one solution is going to solve our problems.

And we all need to work together for students and make the best of it and move forward.

Slight change to the agenda.

We're actually going to recess now into executive session.

And we come back, it will probably be about time for public testimony.

So we'll rearrange a little bit and we'll do public testimony when we come back and then do progress monitoring.

So it is 4.35.

The board is immediately recessing into executive session to review the performance of a public employee.

We anticipate returning in 30 minutes at 5.05 p.m.

minutes and expected to end at 520.

Michelle Sarju

OKAY.

ARE WE ALL READY?

OKAY.

WE WILL NOW GO TO PUBLIC TESTIMONY.

BOARD PROCEDURE 1430BP PROVIDES THE RULES FOR TESTIMONY.

AND I ASK THAT SPEAKERS ARE RESPECTFUL OF THESE RULES.

I WILL SUMMARIZE SOME IMPORTANT PARTS OF THIS PROCEDURE.

Testimony will be taken today from those individuals called from our public testimony list and, if applicable, the waiting list, which are included on today's agenda posting on the school board website.

And babies are welcome in here with their noise.

Only those who are called by name should unmute their phones or step forward to the podium and only one person should speak at a time.

Listed speakers may cede their time to another person when the listed speaker's name is called.

The total amount of time allowed will not exceed two minutes for the combined number of speakers.

Time will not be restarted after the new speaker begins.

and the new speaker will not be called again later if they are on the testimony list or waiting list.

Those who do not wish to have time ceded to them may decline and retain their place on the testimony or wait list.

The majority of the speaker's time should be spent on the topic they've indicated they wish to speak about.

The board expects the same standard of civility for those participating in public comment as the board expects of itself.

As board vice president, I have the right to and will interrupt any speaker who fails to observe the standard of civility required by board procedure 1430BP.

A speaker who refuses or fails to comply with these guidelines or who otherwise substantially disrupts the orderly operation of this meeting may be asked to leave the meeting.

So we're not gonna have to do that.

Staff will now read off the testimony speakers.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Thank you, Vice President Sarju.

For today's testimony, I want to note a couple notes for those who are here in person and also online.

I'm going to endeavor to pronounce your name correctly, but please do reintroduce yourself to the board as I will not get all of your pronunciations correct.

Also, if you are remote, you should just have had unmute enabled so that you can unmute when it's time, when you hear your name, and you'll press star six to unmute on the conference call line.

We do have, in addition to ASL interpretation available on the video stream and here in the room, We do have a Spanish interpreter who will be supporting with testimony tonight for a couple of speakers.

I do not believe we yet have the interpreter on the line, but I will pivot to them so that they can give instructions when it is time.

So the first speaker today is going to be Mariko Fujita, followed by Alice Appleton and then Alexandra Borowiecki.

So first is Mariko.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Before I start the time, one more announcement.

When you see that the light, the red light is shining, that means that your testimony time has already been exhausted rather than an indication that it is running out.

Okay.

Mariko Fujita

I'm Mariko Fujita, a parent from John Stanford International School, and it seems there's much misunderstanding of dual language immersion, its history, its function, its draw for families.

I am Yonsei, fourth generation Japanese American.

This makes my children Gosei, fifth generation.

As Gosei, you learn young that your family suffered under Executive Order 9066, which sent Japanese Americans to internment camps during World War II.

You learn of the culture loss due to assimilation, especially in the aftermath of this racist policy.

For many, that culture loss was their language.

I share this history with you as it is baked into the founding of DLI in Seattle.

JSI is opened in 2000 with tracks in Japanese and Spanish, languages recommended by business community.

But the chosen location was significant.

Pre-war maps show a cluster of Japanese holdings in the area that is now Wallingford.

This community was scattered by internment with many families unable to return.

The Seattle Public Schools of the 90s enacted a unique form of restorative justice to the Japanese American community in the creation of a Japanese public school in Wallingford.

This act became more meaningful when it became an option school a decade ago.

Suddenly, the scattered Japanese community had an option to reclaim their language and culture.

My family lives in South Seattle.

Our only access to DLI is through the option, and we are not alone.

In my daughter's class, all but one of the Japanese speakers lives outside the geo zone.

Over half the class are of Japanese heritage, and again, almost all attend from outside the geo zone.

The first district proposals missed the mark when you converted option DLI schools to neighborhood schools.

You missed that we are able to fill and strengthen DLI by virtue of their accessibility district wide.

By eliminating the option nature of these schools, you would effectively dismantle their DLI programs.

You would boot out the kids who have a cultural connection to Spanish or Japanese, and you would cut off access for the native speakers who make it a strong and viable program.

In coming months, commit to deeper learning of these programs and the communities they serve.

Allow families to opt into schools where our cultures are celebrated, not erased.

Preserve our option.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is going to be Alice Appleton.

It will be Alice Appleton.

But before we go to Alice, we do now have a Spanish interpreter on the line, Melissa.

And I just want to go to Melissa for a moment so that Melissa can give instructions for our speaker who will be using interpretation.

So Melissa, we will need the caller to press star six to unmute when they hear their name.

Melissa, do you want to provide those instructions in Spanish?

Well, we will try and figure that out.

Perhaps we don't yet quite have our interpreter.

Let's go to Alice Appleton for testimony.

I'm Alice Appleton.

Alice Appleton

I feed my time to Susan Malatesta in the room.

Susan Malatesta

Hi.

Sorry.

My son started preschool in the fall of 2020. I dropped him off wearing his backpack that was too big for him, and of course he was wearing a mask.

And a few weeks in, we started getting the feedback.

He can't sit for circle time, he talks nonstop, and he holds the class up because he can't transition.

Program after program made it clear that he didn't have the skills to be at school.

And after we enrolled in our fourth preschool, we were advised to have him evaluated.

At age five, we learned that my son has a disability that explains his struggle.

Despite every preschool's best intentions, my son was treated like the bad kid.

There were frequent admonishments, warnings, timeouts, much more than his peers.

And he started feeling like the bad kid.

His trust in teachers was low.

We were uncertain what school would look like for our son.

Prior to starting kindergarten, I met with the team at McGillivray to set up his IEP.

The principal, the special education teacher, Ms. Dimple, and his kindergarten teacher, Ms. Poole.

I shared the preschool feedback and my son's diagnosis, and they were so warm and unflinching, I left with hope I didn't have.

With the help of the team at McGillivray, Gus is thriving.

He loves school.

He has made friends and succeeds academically.

He was even chosen as McGillivray Charter Champ one month.

The letter from the principal is still on our refrigerator.

And the best part is now he says to me, Mom, I'm a good kid.

On our fifth try, Gus has finally settled into school at McGillivray.

But now we're terrified that SPS could close McGillivray and how that disruption will set him back.

There are kids and families at so many of our schools who have worked so hard to settle in.

Closing schools harms students, could further destabilize enrollment, and won't fix the deficit.

Please vote no.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Alexandra Borowiecki.

Alice Appleton

Hi, this is Alexandra from the .

I am giving my time to Cara Golgar representing Sacajawea.

Kara Golgert

CARA GOLGAR Hello, and good evening.

My name is Kara Golgert, and I am an educator at Sacajawea.

I didn't realize I was quite this early.

I am here to tell you tonight that wasting $4 million by not voting yes to push forward the BEX levy would be a short-sighted, poor move.

Sacajawea community is an inclusive school community that serves a lot of students with IEP services, 77 out of our 221. That's 35%.

That's really high and we know we're a small school.

We want more students.

We want a building that supports inclusion.

The design that was done over the last two years includes things like grade levels together with our intensive services so inclusion can happen not kindergarten to fifth grade but with their grade level peers chronologically we planned things like bathrooms where an adult can help a student and Independence can grow.

Please don't waste the $4 million by letting it slide down the hill like our current building is and rebuild a school for the future, the next 60 years that is needed to be replicated across our district.

We have early learning.

We need those spaces.

That's where we can grow our district and bring it in, serve all of our students together, every student.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Rebecca Meredith.

Rebecca will be followed by Sarah Naugh and then Elias Kast.

Is Rebecca Meredith in the room?

She's coming.

She's here.

OK, excellent.

Rebecca Meredith

Hi, good evening.

My name is Becca Meredith, and I'm ceding my time to Kevin Bray.

Thank you.

Kevin Bray

Hi, my name is Kevin Bray.

I'm a parent of two Seattle public school students and I'm here today to voice my opposition to the closure of schools and cuts in the classroom.

School closures will do nothing but harm our students.

There is a large amount of evidence from studies done around the country that show school closures are detrimental to student learning.

My daughter is a prime example of students who will be harmed by school closures.

Her name is Ori and is enrolled in the medically fragile class at Orca K through eight.

Ori has experienced many challenges in her life starting at birth.

She requires around the clock care for all her needs.

One of the most important things she needs is an education and therapies that are given to her through school.

In order for kids like my daughter to learn and thrive, they need stability and routine.

It is absolutely vital for children like her to have that sense of familiarity, security, and routine in order to excel.

I could list many examples of times SPS has dropped the ball regarding her education.

During the COVID pandemic, when the school district shifted to remote learning, she was promised in-person services due to her unique medical condition.

But no matter how much we asked and reminded SPS, they never materialized.

In addition, SPS shifted her teachers around on multiple occasions and consolidated the two medically fragile classrooms at ORCA.

Not only did she have to repeatedly get familiar with a new teacher, it meant there was now time for all, these disruptions caused Ori to miss out on so much and it was quite apparent how much she regressed during this time due to poor management of SPS.

Having your school closed would be another blow to our education and ability to thrive.

This is unacceptable.

The staff at ORCA are amazing and they pour their hearts into their work and make sure all the kids in the classroom have every opportunity to succeed, but they are being undermined by SPS leadership.

Please do not close any schools.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

I want to do a quick check to see if we have our Spanish interpreter on the line.

Do we have Spanish interpretation available?

If you're on the line, you may need to press star six to unmute.

I think we must be still working on getting the interpreter back on the line.

The next speaker on the list is Sarah Nau.

Sarah, did you want to provide a testimony now or if you're, I'm not sure if you're able to, if you're on the line yet, but we can circle back with an interpreter.

Hi, this is Sarah Noah.

Can you hear me okay?

Yes, we can hear you.

And I know that you had indicated that the testimony would be in Spanish, but we do not yet have our interpreter.

I'm happy to come back later.

Sarah Nau

So the trick is she has her English class at 6 p.m., so I do not know that that is going to be feasible given the timing of the situation.

I do have permission from the woman that I would like to cede my time to to read her testimony in English after she is finished, if that's okay with the board.

Yes.

Or we can have her give her testimony in Spanish and y'all can try to work through it on your own.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

I think whichever one you would elect, we'll make sure the board receives an interpretation or translation as needed to support their understanding.

Sarah Nau

okay um okay my name is sarah na i'm from cedar park community and i would like to feed my time to jessica samayoya jessica

Ellie Wilson-Jones

sarah since i think you've pretty clearly seeded your time on the record we can come back and call jessica later too oh i'm sorry you did say that she had to go but we are not hearing her on the line if you want to read the testimony we want to do what we can to make sure that the board is able to hear it so we can follow up as well all right i'm trying to translate to harvey a text at the moment um so it just might take a second

Sarah Nau

She's really passionate and wants to speak, and so I really want to give her that opportunity.

Max Drewes

This is working like it's supposed to.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

I believe we might have an interpreter on the line.

Is Estefani on the line?

Estefani if you're on the line if you could unmute and introduce yourself.

Sarah, would you like us to go to the next speaker and then swing back?

Sarah Nau

Sure.

If you could do that.

I just finished this class at 6, but we'll try to figure it out in the background.

I appreciate it.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Thank you.

OK.

I will come back to you after two more speakers.

The next speaker, then, is going to be Elias Kass.

Elias, if you're online, please press star 6 to unmute.

I'm gonna go past Elias, but I will come back and try again.

Alexander Roos.

Alex Wakeman-Rouse

Hi, my name is Alex Wakeman-Rouse.

I'm gonna cede most of my time, but I first wanna say thank you to Director Clark directly.

Her op-ed is the leadership that we need.

Really urge you to listen to her.

Vote no on the resolution to close schools.

Don't close schools, and I cede the rest of my time to Tia from the Center School.

Tia Hiller

My name is Tia Hiller.

I am enrolled Klinken Haida and I'm a Cinnaboy Sioux and Gros Ventre from Montana and I'm Cowichan First Nations.

I'm currently a senior at the Center School.

I went to Licton Springs for all of my middle school years and enjoyed my experience there and would have gone to Indian Heritage High School if it weren't closed down.

which my late father and many of my aunties and my uncles have gone to Indian Heritage as well.

I feel that Licton Springs shouldn't be on any list to be closed down, and it is now one of the only Native-focused schools in the Seattle area.

It should be prioritized to stay as the land is spiritually important to indigenous peoples.

When I went to Licton Springs, I feel as though it gave me a sense of community that I didn't have at my prior schools.

I gained connections through that community and bonds that I still have now and hold close to me.

Through Licton Springs, I found my current organization, which has helped me grow a lot through relationships, taking on responsibilities, and giving me a sense of belonging and community.

Without Licton Springs, I don't think I would be the person that I am today, nor have the connections or bonds that I do.

And the last thing that I will say is bring back Indian Heritage High School for the benefit of indigenous youth and non-indigenous youth.

And as it has benefited many students in the past, and if it were reopened, it would again give our community what we need.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Rebecca Binns.

Rebecca Binns.

After Rebecca, I will go back to Sarah and to, I think it was Jessica.

Rebecca Binns

Rebecca Binns, Graham Hill parent, former SPS teacher.

I've been hearing the word equity thrown around a lot lately, and it leaves me with some questions.

88% of non-high poverty schools have smaller class sizes in kindergarten than we have at Graham Hill at 24 and 25. How is that equitable?

Only 5% of major capital building dollars spent on elementaries and K-8s were used in southeast Seattle from 2018 to present.

How is that equitable?

How is the district practicing equity when they publicize school closure information only electronically in English?

I spent two weeks frantically translating flyers into seven languages and distributing them to our families because the district made no effort to ensure our families were informed.

And many had no idea their school was slated to close.

Graham Hill has 33 fourth graders in a single classroom.

More than half are multilingual.

30% receive special education services.

And the district told us this week they won't fund another position unless we need two.

How is that equitable?

How is it equitable to deny giving high poverty tier one and two equity schools needed teachers when our enrollment was 21 students higher than projected?

All other high poverty schools with our enrollment were granted 13 classroom teachers in the spring, but enrollment guessed wrong.

So our students are suffering.

How is it equitable to spare the schools who got the most speaking slots at the last school board meeting while slating neighborhood schools for closures because our voices weren't the loudest in the room?

The mismanagement of funds and the dissonance between the vision and actual practices of this district administration need to be addressed.

Please stop using the word equity until you can show us you understand the meaning of the word.

As it currently stands, you are failing those students furthest from educational justice.

You are failing Southeast Seattle and you must do better.

Don't close Graham Hill or neighborhood schools and give our students the teachers they deserve.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

I'm going to go back now to Sarah Nau.

Sarah, are you on the line?

I want to let you know that I know that you only have six minutes before the other speaker needs to leave, but we have not been able to get an interpreter back on the line.

So I understand that you do have the testimony in writing if, let's see, I'm sorry, I forgot the other speaker's name.

If Jessica wants to deliver her testimony in Spanish, then you could also do it in, then you could offer the written portion.

Whatever works for you two, we wanna make sure this works.

Liza Rankin

Ellie, can we, sorry, can we have the speaker in Spanish and then did Sarah say that she had it written in English?

Can we just read them both?

Ellie Wilson-Jones

So I was thinking that the testimony could be given in Spanish followed by Sarah reading the written.

Liza Rankin

Perfect, thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Sarah, is that possible?

Sarah Nau

That would be great for me.

I think we have, I think Jessica should be okay to go.

Jessica?

Ellie Wilson-Jones

I do not see Jessica unmuted, so Jessica will need to press star six.

I think somebody in the crowd helped me out.

Estrella?

Seis.

Seis, thank you.

I'm not seeing Jessica's phone number on the line anymore.

Sarah Nau

I'm not.

I really.

Jessica

Sorry, go ahead.

Hello, can you hear me?

Yes.

Yes.

Hello, I'm Jessica.

Hello, Jessica.

Hola a todos, gracias por darme la oportunidad de expresarles lo que significa para mi hija y para mí la escuela Cedar Park.

¿Voy a tener un intérprete?

¿Soy quién?

Soy Jessica, mamá de Abby, de cinco años.

Somos de Guatemala.

Tenemos cinco meses viviendo en este país.

No ha sido nada fácil dejar todo lo que conocemos atrás, nuestra cultura, nuestra comida, a nuestra gente.

Desde que llegamos a este país nos hemos sentido como extrañas, sin conocer a nadie, todo nuevo, un sistema diferente.

Aiden Carroll

Y con la gran barrera del idioma.

There we go.

Okay.

The interpreter, you can go right ahead.

Thank you.

Okay.

Jessica

Okay.

I am Jessica, mother of Holly.

She's five years old and she's in kindergarten.

We are from Guatemala.

We have five months living in this country.

It's not been easy living behind everything we know.

Pero desde que llegamos.

But since we arrived.

Sintiéndonos como extrañas.

Feeling really weird, like a foreigner.

In Cedar Park, todo cambió para nosotras.

In Cedar Park, everything changed for us.

This is a magnificent school with an excellent administrative team.

And exceptional teachers.

With a very a strong community and really friendly.

Everybody here know each other and support one another.

It's the best education our Our siblings can receive.

Our children can receive.

Allison

Sorry.

Jessica

It's worth it to preserve places like this one.

Which they But they fulfill the intellectual and the soul of everybody.

And they help us to be better every day.

And to the best of our families.

Gracias.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Thank you for your patience in wading through that and also to our interpreter.

Our next speaker is Aiden Carroll.

Aiden Carroll

So I'm going to cede my time after I point out we all got to tell the city and the state to fix the zoning that's causing it unaffordable for native families and others to live here.

Enrollment is down because we haven't legalized town homes and condos everywhere so we can all afford to live here again.

Sarah Sense Wilson

Hello, my name is Sarah Sense-Wilson.

I'm Ogallala Lakota.

I'm a grandmother of a Seattle public school student.

Here he is right here, Wayland.

I'm also chair of the Urban Native Education Alliance.

And we're here today to stand in support for Indian education.

Licton Springs K-8 and Hichuseta Indian ed programs.

UNEA has for over 17 years provided guidance, consultation, volunteer support, and resources to improve Indian education throughout the Seattle area.

UNEA has been unwavering in our commitment to lift up the voices and the visibility of Indigenous students through mentoring, civic engagement, culture-based learning.

We have provided Seattle Public School with testimony on our concerns with the mismanagement, the misguided, and misinformed practices related to services for Native students.

We urge Seattle Public School leadership to address the data genocide.

Undercounting and the inaccurate data collecting methods are resulting in underfunding for our students.

UNEA has repeatedly requested comprehensive reports on Indian education, We are well aware that Title VI funding is at all time low.

I mean, I've been in Indian Ed doing this work since I was a student myself, so many decades.

So currently, this is the lowest it has ever been.

We again remind Seattle Public Schools that they have a responsibility to work in partnership with our Native community for access and opportunities to resources specifically for Native students.

Commit to honoring your agreement for Licton Springs to fully realize its Native identity.

Collaborate with communities, CBOs, and tribes to develop a framework for Native-focused instruction, curriculum, and school culture.

We call for transparency with your Seattle Public School Board on your appointed native liaison.

What qualifies them?

Who are they?

What are they doing?

How are they engaging with community?

We are pro-alternative schools.

We are pro-option schools.

We are here in solidarity with the no school closures and bring back Indian Heritage High School.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is going to be Kate Huber.

Kate Huber.

And we've had a number of people ceding testimony to other folks.

If I call somebody's name who has already had a testimony slot ceded to them, please let me know so that we can make sure we go to the next speaker.

But Kate Huber is next on our list.

Brandon Hersey

One catch real quick, love the signs.

For our folks who are joining in, the tallest sign blocks the camera, that black camera in the back.

I just want to make sure that everybody who's at home can see, so just keep that in mind.

Ingrid Norvet

Hi, I'm Kate, and I am ceding my time to Ingrid Norvet.

My name is Ingrid.

I'm a freshman at Ballard High School, and I attended Catherine Blaine from kindergarten until last spring.

I love Blaine.

I love the teachers, the community, the awesome principal, the short walk from my home.

But my concern here is not limited to the potential closure of Blaine.

My concern is illustrated by the proposal to close Blaine.

Blaine sits in the middle of our neighborhood next to the retail center, literally in the same building as the community center where before and after school programs are run.

It shares a property line with our community pool and many play fields and parks.

And it's just down the street from the library.

So you see the location itself is problematic for a big empty building.

And it is in direct conflict with the city planning efforts around it being a 15 minute city.

Between the new 500 low-income homes slated at Fort Lawton and the 133 condos approved across the street from Blaine, that's a lot of new families.

This condo developer is a change maker and convinced the city to allow this building seven stories.

The current tallest building in our town center is three.

More will certainly follow as they have in Ballard, Columbia City, and more.

Closing Blaine is very short-sighted.

It is the only proposed closure I can speak to with confidence, but it really makes me wonder about the integrity of this right-sizing plan.

Lastly, we cannot allow ourselves to wrap this problem of funding up in a big defeatist public schools are failing wrapper.

It's unnecessary in a city like Seattle.

Let's aim for vibrancy and thriving, not mediocrity and assumed attrition.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Next is Kelly Eileen Willems.

Kelly Eileen Willems.

Kelly Alleen-Willems

I'm Kelly Eileen Willems, Sanislo parent.

If you want to talk about equity, let's talk about Sanislo.

Sanislo is made up of 80% students of color and nearly 60% free reduced lunch eligible kids.

As a Sanislo parent, I love my school.

But I'm fighting, not just for my school, but for all schools.

But sometimes telling the story of one school can be helpful.

So I'm not going to talk broadly about how we need to push the state to fully fund all Washington schools.

We do.

We must.

I'm going to ask you to think from one kid's perspective.

Let's say you're a fourth grader at Sanislo.

Your first year of school was a virtual one, kindergarten during the pandemic.

If the October reshuffle hits later this month, you will be reassigned a teacher and have to restart settling into the school year.

Let's say you find out in January that your school is closing.

Suddenly you have a big transition ahead to a new place, new people, and the shock of suddenly going to a school twice as big.

But get this, the next year you have to do it all again.

The transition to middle school is big enough.

Add the instability of the pandemic, the reshuffle, the closures.

How do you think kids furthest from educational justice will handle such instabilities?

Please tell me what you're going to offer that fourth grader.

Tell us what you're gonna offer all kids to minimize the inevitable damage these closures will have.

Damage to short and long-term mental health, behavioral health, and learning outcomes.

Hopefully these students land in well-resourced schools that bring them added benefits once they settle in.

But in reality, the budget shortfall means that impacts will likely affect them even after they land.

And you're ignoring the very real situation you can't just memory wipe these kids and plop them in a new school as if transition needs no financial and logistical kid-facing support.

The financial cost of transition support should be factored into your calculations of how much will actually be saved in the event of a closure.

I truly doubt closing five schools solves the impossible problem you face.

but I know this will create more problems.

Negative impacts on kids, neighborhoods, businesses, enrollment.

If I could leave you one big ask, please be focused on consequences, financially, socially, emotionally, educationally, and show your work.

Alice Appleton

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Erin Combs.

Erin Combs.

After Erin will be Brianna Herman-Brand and then Michelle Campbell.

Erin Combs

Hi, my name is Erin Combs and I'm ceding my time to Landon.

Landon

I'm Landon.

These statistics reflect the systemic barriers and challenges experienced by Seattle American Indian students and families.

A report from Native Action Network had a few helpful stats for Seattle Public Schools.

American Indian and Alaska Native students from 2021 to 2022, 0.4% of student population, 229 identified as American Indian and Alaska Native.

Low income was 34% and special ed was 17.6.

Right now, there are 2,483 school-age American Indian and Alaska Native kids in Seattle.

Across all school grades, American Indian and Alaska Native students had lower percent rates to the topic of belonging compared to all other students.

Washington State American Indian and Alaska Native dropout rate is highest of all ethnic groups, being 26.6%.

Ongoing data genocide due to the egregious antiquated data gathering practices designed to erase American Indian and Alaska Native population.

And our poverty rate is the highest of all ethnic groups as well, being 34%.

Kayla Harstad

Hi, I'm Kayla Harstad.

I'm a senior at the University of Washington.

I'm an alumni of Ingram High School and a recipient of the Seattle School Scholarship.

But most importantly, I'm an aunt to an indigenous student in Seattle Public School District.

My nephew's experiences as an indigenous student are limited, transactional, and are at the long-term satisfaction of the institution.

It is long past time for Seattle School Board to care for Native education.

We refuse to be pushed around yet again to fit your needs in your narrative.

The Seattle School Board is constantly giving performative acknowledgements and efforts, but it's time to give a proper acknowledgement to who we are and keep native schools open.

Save Lipton Springs, bring back Indian heritage, and our community deserves better.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Brianna Herman-Brand.

Brianna Herman-Brand.

Briana Herman-Brand

Hello.

My name is Brianna.

I'm a parent of a third grader at Sanislo Elementary.

Sanislo is a vibrant, multicultural community.

There's music in the hallways when we arrive in the morning.

There's Double Dutch and Ultimate Frisbee after school in the huge forested playground.

There's all-school movie nights in the cafeteria where kids bring sleeping bags and popcorn.

There's walking field trips to the neighborhood park to study spiders.

It is small.

That is part of its magic, the magic of a school that feels like family, where every kid is known and cared for.

If we're honest, we all want a school like that for our kids, and yet it is usually only available to white, wealthy families.

Sanislo is one of the most diverse schools in the country.

It is a violation of our commitment to racial equity to take away a small school from BIPOC and immigrant families.

It is unconscionable that we live in one of the wealthiest places on earth, and yet it is students and families being asked to bear the burden of underfunded schools.

I believe we can imagine a future beyond the false scarcity of inequitable wealth.

As a trauma healing and restorative justice leader, I wanna share three things with you.

Number one, disrupting families and community connections is one of the most harmful things that we can do for the future health and well-being of children.

Number two, it is never too late to make things right.

This is a chance to acknowledge that mistakes have been made and take accountability for changing course.

And number three, the people closest to the problem should be closest to the power to find a solution.

It is unacceptable that the families served by these schools have not been engaged in a meaningful, equitable process of collaboration on these issues that will most directly impact their lives.

My child burst into tears the afternoon I told them that their school was going to be closed.

They asked me why.

They asked me who made this decision.

They asked, can we do anything about it?

I want to be able to tell them that yes, of course we can do something about it.

Of course we have a say in their future, and of course the adults running things are listening and willing to change.

I hope you will help me send this message.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Next is Michelle Campbell.

Michelle Campbell.

We can hear you, Michelle.

Willow Milstein

Hello, this is Michelle.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Can you hear me?

Yes, we can hear you, Michelle.

Oh, thank you.

I'm ceding my time to Sabrina Burr, please.

Sebrena Burr

Good evening, Superintendent Jones and school board directors.

Conserra and Jarrah, how are the children?

We are a district.

We as a district are only as well as the children that we serve.

Well-resourced schools are not buildings and programs.

They are made up of students, their families, their teachers, vital support staff, building leaders, community partners, and the communities our schools serve.

And that should have been our focus from the start.

Family and community engagement that was established under Dr. Nyland is almost non-existent.

Why is that?

We are here today with engagement because it has been dismantled.

Why?

Last time I spoke about the past contract.

Thank you, Director Sarju and Briggs, for seeing our children.

Thank you for your no vote.

and understanding the current harm that is being done to our students and families.

We need a clear predictable process that is documented, tracked, and has accountability measures.

We cannot improve or build capacity around what we do not recognize.

Fear and money make people do things that they should not.

Mike Skorowski sat right here in the front row of this room with a harmful building leader right next to him.

Students from the World School came to tell their story a while ago while the principal and their building leader sat there intimidating them.

There was a threat for ice being called for their graduation and the principal was investigated and then removed.

I will go to well-resourced schools and I do wanna say we have not done a really good job with the alliance grant.

There is no performance indicators, there is no rubrics, there is no accountability.

We cannot keep taking money that has no accountability measures and the work around well-resourced schools has not been good.

I am concerned about the engagement for a strategic plan that will last five years.

Please make sure community voice is involved in the strategic plan and that we do better in representing unrepresented families that we have not reached.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Michael Grigg.

Michael Grigg.

After Michael will be Tracy Laxdall Lee, and then Charlotte Casey.

Michael Grigg

Thank you, Board, for coming here tonight.

I know I've been on the other side there before and being a student government vice president, and I know how challenging that is.

Thank you so much for your time.

I want to urge you, my name is Michael Grigg, and I'm from Viewlands.

I have a girl in third grade and another girl in kindergarten.

And Ms. Liza Rankin, thank you very much for joining our PTA board meeting last night.

I want to urge the board to slow down and engage with us.

I believe this because of three reasons.

One, I think the data does not really represent us.

Two, that the real needs are parents who are leaving and the reason why enrollment is dropping is not really known yet.

And third of all, I think we haven't really exhausted the work that we could do in securing more of a state budget around this and create more funding for us.

I don't think the data represents us well because it's based on the 2020 census.

Now I almost didn't take the 2020 census because my wife is Chinese and I have two multi-racial daughters and at that time the previous president was very anti-Chinese and we did not want to admit on paper that we are also considered a Chinese family.

It wasn't It was because of my dad, who once served in the state, who said, you need to fill out that census because that's how the schools will secure a budget for your kids.

So I did.

But I was really scared after I did that.

I found out later after talking with other people on my block that I was the only person on the block who filled out that.

And we're one family of two.

There are five families representing 10 kids on that block.

Only four of us go to school.

to the Seattle Public Schools.

The other six have chosen to go to private schools, and their parents are paying $20,000 to $25,000 per year.

I feel like this is a lost opportunity that we should be engaging you and also engaging to advocate to the state on our behalf.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Tracy Laxtel Lee.

Tracy Laxdal Lee

Hello, my name is Tracy Laxtall Lee and I'm here to represent a small but important group of kids in the community.

My daughter is a first grader in the medically fragile special education program at Green Lake.

She is nonverbal and is in a wheelchair.

She has an IEP which qualifies her for specially designed instruction in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act first passed in 1975 and updated multiple times since.

I have two requests for the board and the district.

Keep the medically fragile program running as is and keep Green Lake Elementary open.

Here's why.

Not only does Green Lake have a unique medically fragile program, 44% of the 355 students are students of color.

These kids have been historically marginalized and will be more impacted by school closures and transitions than their peers in neighboring schools.

Two, GreenLake's Medically Fragile program has retained exceptional educators, support staff and specialists, teachers, physical therapists, speech therapists, vision therapists, a full-time nurse.

You couldn't find a better group of educators anywhere.

Three, GreenLake has unique amenities to support these kids, a large classroom with an accessible entrance, a space that has been transformed to support wheelchairs, adaptive equipment, a sensory room, a medical room for nursing care.

Four, GreenLake has an accessible playground and an accessible slide and merry-go-round that the PTA and the community volunteers built and paid for.

Five, our kids get specialized instruction in a dedicated classroom.

SPS only has three elementary Fageisle programs, Green Lake, Lowell, and Orca.

supporting 26 kids.

The well-resourced program vision talks about special education, inclusion, and equitable services.

However, we are concerned that SPS's plans to dismantle the medically fragile program would negatively impact these students.

The program at Green Lake should be emulated as a program, as an example for specialized services, for specialized population, not dismantled, homogenized, or moved.

The next speaker is Charlotte Casey,

Charlotte Casey

My name is Charlotte Casey.

I'm a Catherine Blaine parent and I cede my time to Michelle Dunlop.

Gina Topp

Hi.

Michelle Dunlop

I'm Michelle Dunlop.

I have two kids in Seattle Public Schools.

And since the 80s, my last 50 years, I've heard nothing but problems around public schools.

And it's very sad to see that we're not solving the same problems with the same ineffective answers.

A lot of parents, you lost their attention.

We normalized this dysfunction.

But you have our attention now.

We're digging in to these proposals.

We have the data.

We've created more Excel spreadsheets than probably do at work.

We've been sharing Excel spreadsheets.

We see what's going on.

I could sit here and talk about lack of accountability, lack of innovation, but as I was listening to everybody talk, the one thing that I don't think that we need to do is I don't think we need to vilify each other, right?

We're not going to vilify the board.

We're not going to vilify the district.

You're not going to vilify us.

We are not overreactive emotional parents.

I mean, we're emotional parents and we are reacting and we're angry.

We don't want to think of you guys as disconnected from what's really going on, disconnected from our kids.

What we want to do is we want to work together.

You have our attention.

You have us.

You need to ask us.

You need to come to us to help us come with solutions.

The bureaucracy that you have to go through to make this work, what's going on in our state level, you have our voices.

Ask us.

Tell us how to help you advocate to get the funds.

Don't make the same mistakes.

Don't close these schools.

Don't vote for it until we actually have real solutions.

Let us help you.

Let us stand with you.

Don't force us to stand against you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Jake Milstein.

Jake Milstein after Jake will be Dave Ellenwood and then Max Drews.

Jake Milstein

Hi, this is Jake Milstein.

Can you hear me?

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Yes, we can hear you.

Jake Milstein

Great.

I'm going to cede the time to my daughter, Willow.

Willow Milstein

Hi, my name is Willow Milstein, and I'm a sophomore at Ballard High School, and I went to Blaine K-8.

At Blaine, I had an amazing teacher, Kylie Kybrius.

She made me love history, and it's the reason I'm taking AP World now.

History teaches us education is key to a functioning society.

Today, America's public schools are threatened.

In districts across the country, there's no separation of church and state.

School libraries are losing important books about race and gender.

In Seattle, we don't have those problems.

Instead, our schools are threatened by our very own district.

The threat here is within.

In 11 years in our public schools, I've seen students leave for private schools when the district made bad decisions.

We should be trying to get those students back.

I think we can do it by funding and expanding our K-8s.

The district has said it sees the values in K-8s.

And I've seen the value.

It's not just education.

As an older student in a K-8, you have little kids watching what you do.

This means less vaping and less substance abuse.

Districts in Florida and Oregon are switching to K-8 because they've figured out that it actually attracts families.

So if we go big on K-8, it will help fix our enrollment problems.

Now that we've all agreed that K-8s have value, let's put our money there.

The Beck's levy list does not have blame K-8 on it.

I urge you to invest in what's working, K-8s.

Instead of closing schools, let's make our schools better.

Let's open more K-8s.

Let's be remembered in future history classes as the people who created the best public education system in America.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Dave Ellenwood.

Dave Ellenwood

Hello, I'm Dave Ellenwood and I'm going to cede my time to Albert Wong.

Albert Wong

Hello, my name is Albert Wong.

I'm a parent at Cascadia and also a Ballard High School graduate.

I'm here to put an equal sign between the terms well-resourced schools, student outcomes-focused government, and structural racism.

Did you know that in the original plan in nearly every part of the city, the schools with the highest percentage of Asians were targeted for closures?

or reconfigurations.

More shockingly, in Northwest Seattle, where I live, if you target dual language immersion, HCC and K8s, you actually take out five of the seven schools that actually have less than 50% white students.

You've targeted the least white schools.

It's not just Asians there.

It's actually black and Hispanic communities.

I know you know this because I sent you this data September 30th.

This is a huge disparate impact, but none of you talk about it.

It's nowhere.

How did this happen?

For the Asian impact, my best guess is when you see an arm like this, you think the word white.

I am not white.

I am Chinese-American, born and raised in Ballard.

And the policies you've had in the last few years have targeted my community and me, frankly.

In 40 years of living in Seattle, I have never felt as targeted in my life.

It also apparently targeted black and Hispanic communities in my area.

I don't think you understand what redlining does to us.

Your student outcomes-focused governance, with its guidelines, guide wheels, whatever you call them, have produced a plan that with exceptionally disparate impact on these communities, where these people do not have their voices coming out of your mouths on ideas.

That's no access to power.

That means student outcomes-focused government is structurally racist.

I use these words very specifically.

And anyone who, frankly, sits here and maligns these programs of stereotypes, option schools and HCCs for years, and then sees a plan where the superintendent who's black actually implements them and then on a dais basically puts the blame on him, that's actually structurally racist too.

It's also interpersonally racist.

Please stop using the word equity around me.

You don't deserve it anymore.

Fix it.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Max Drews.

Max Drews.

Max will be followed by Krista Schert and then Jennifer Lovely.

Max Drewes

Hi, my name is Max Drews and I cede my time to Akshay Agarwal.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Max, is the other speaker on the phone?

SPEAKER_18

I believe he should be.

He may be muted.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

If the other speaker is on the phone, please press star six to unmute.

The clock does run when we are seating time.

Max, do you want to provide testimony or do you want to prompt someone?

Max Drewes

Yes, I'll read what he wrote.

My name is Akshay Agarwal.

My family has a second grader at Thurgood Marshall who previously attended McGilvra.

As a family, we have kept an open mind on the well-resourced school plan and potential closures.

We are here today to stand against the closure on any school, express our lack of trust in the school superintendent, and ask for an end to the chaos students and families are experiencing.

We have three observations.

Immigrants like us work hard at creating community.

This is critical to our success at school and in life.

In the Gilbra and Thurgood Marshall, we found meaningful connections where our child could thrive.

The opaque, well-resourced school process has given our kid anxiety about the disruption of community and where they will go to school.

The superintendent's team presented a plan that took incredibly long to produce and did not stand scrutiny for even a few weeks.

This has eroded trust in their ability to lead us through this crisis.

SBS leadership has engaged in performative feedback and continuously set expectations that don't mirror the community's experience and ground reality.

For example, sunsetting the highly capable cohort exposes the fact that neighborhood school teachers aren't trained or resourced to meet the needs of advanced learners.

In fact, we were advised by several teachers to move to an HCC school because they felt the neighborhood HCC program is a farce.

reinstate HCC to ensure student outcomes for future students, including our four-year-old who hopes to join McGilvra in 2025. In conclusion, we have lost trust in the superintendent and his team and invite them to step aside.

Please keep all schools open and keep special education and HCC programs intact.

Thank you for your time.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Krista Schert.

After Krista will be Jennifer Lavely and then Matthew Burtness.

Krista Schert

My name is Krista Shirt.

I'm a multilingual teacher at Dunlap Elementary.

As a white person, I don't like saying this.

I'm here to speak on behalf of the multilingual families who are so often left out of these spaces due to a lack of access as evidenced by Ms. Estefani's earlier testimony.

The vision for a system of well-resourced schools says that it will enhance services for multilingual students.

My question for the district and the board is how.

Currently, multilingual students are treated inequitably across the district.

Title I schools receive lower student to multilingual teacher ratios than non-title schools.

This results in less adequate support for students and inequitably higher workloads for teachers.

Multilingual students don't become less multilingual in more affluent neighborhoods.

All multilingual students and teachers in our district deserve equitable access to support and staffing.

Furthermore, the vision for well-resourced schools states it will ensure strong, stable staffing for multilingual services.

But in my experience and the experience of multilingual teachers across the district, staffing adjustments are only ever made when multilingual enrollment is lower than projected in October.

but never when enrollment is over projection.

Multilingual teachers are frequently displaced by these adjustments, even when past experience has shown that multilingual students arrive at any point in the year.

These same teachers are also frequently faced with overloaded caseloads for which they receive no extra staffing.

This is not strong, stable staffing for our students and cannot continue.

Finally, I would like to speak to an often overlooked subset of multilingual students, newcomers.

These are students recently arrived in the United States with limited to no English and who have experienced trauma.

They're placed into full gen ed classrooms where only English is spoken and there's no guarantee of same language peers.

All in the name of their civil rights which guarantee them equal access to educational opportunities.

When a school only has a multilingual teacher two to three days a week and 50 multilingual students on their caseload, how are the maybe two to three newcomers in that school receiving equal access to core instruction on a sufficient and consistent basis?

The district has a program for these students known as newcomer sites.

These spaces provide scaffolded access to core curriculum with a focus on language acquisition by teachers with specialized expertise and smaller class sizes that create a stronger sense of safety and community for a newcomer's first few months in the United States.

I am asking the board and the district to do a better job of reaching out to our multilingual families to have a more explicit plan for multilingual students in the system of well-resourced schools and to include the newcomer program in these plans.

Thank you.

Next is Jennifer Lavallee, followed by Matthew Burtness and then Catherine Hogue.

Jennifer Lavallee

Hi, I'm Jennifer Lavallee.

I wanted to cede my time to a single mom, but childcare fell through.

It's a common issue at our school.

There's a lot of single parents.

There's a lot of people who can't show up and whose voices simply aren't heard.

I chose the school that I'm sending my son to.

I chose that school for him because we'd had previously another kid that lived in our house that attended there.

And I got to see how the staff treated him and how they fought for him every day.

Right after the well-resourced school plan was announced, there was gonna be the Zoom call that the district was gonna hold.

Dunlap's PTA planned to, they translated all of the documentation.

We printed out maps of plan A and plan B in different languages.

We hired interpreters, we ordered pizza so that we could watch that meeting.

And it didn't happen.

That's all stuff the district should be doing.

So how, we also asked the parents if they had been contacted, if anyone had been contacted in their communities.

Nobody has been talked to.

You don't need to talk to me, you need to talk to the community that my school is in.

So how exactly in these plans are you centering equity?

You said you were gonna give a toolkit in how to do some of this work, and the tool that you chose was a jackhammer.

I'd like to cede the rest of the time to Ms. Allison.

Allison

Hi, I go by Teacher Allison.

I'm a fifth grade teacher at Dunlap.

Y'all talk about stability, but I worked my butt off to be a teacher.

I wanted to be a teacher so bad.

And every year, I don't know what grade I'll be teaching or if I'm still going to be at Dunlap.

And this is year four for me.

And honestly, if our school closes and you displace me from my community, from Dunlap, I'm not coming back to SPS.

My fifth graders ask, what will I do if Dunlap closes?

And I tell them, I'm not sure.

Maybe I'll work at Costco.

And they're shocked.

They're shocked because they know I should be a teacher.

Kids need stability, and so do I.

Don't close schools.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Next is Matthew Burtness.

Matt Burtness

Hi, my name is Matt Burtness.

I'm going to be ceding my time shortly.

I'm a second grade teacher at Dunlop Elementary School, and I just wanted to first say our students are not lab animals.

You cannot test out school closures on five schools and see how it works with clearly more to come in the future.

Prove to us Show us that they're needed.

And when you can't, hold to your promise of busing and getting families to Olympia rather than having them do it on their dime.

Like Jen said, our PTSA paid for interpreters at our meeting.

Our PTSA paid for translations that you would not provide.

No documentation came from you except the website.

Our PTSA only receives money from our fundraiser, the Southeast Seattle Schools Fundraising Alliance, a shared fundraiser involving 17 schools.

Three of them would be gone from the original lists.

Show your work.

I'll give the rest of my time to Chrissy Hunt.

Chrissy Hunt

My name is Chrissy Hunt.

My daughter's in first grade at Rainier View Elementary.

I had the opportunity to volunteer there yesterday during vision screenings.

The kids are amazing and the teachers are incredible.

I asked a teacher how she's doing and she said, I'm just okay, there isn't enough support.

We're a Title I school composed primarily of students farthest from educational justice.

The needs of these students are not being met.

I saw no paraeducators in the classroom regardless of size or need.

The nurses staffed only one day per week.

Many students in each classroom are multi-language learners, and there's not space for more cuts.

Although the new well-resourced schools proposal will lower the amount of school closures this year, we're fully aware that based on parameters, Rainier View is still at risk of closure.

I don't know how a closure will impact every family at Rainier View, but neither does the district because they haven't asked.

I don't know if every family feels the way I do about lack of support.

But neither does the district because they haven't asked.

I don't fully understand why past teachers have left our school in droves and we have an abysmal teacher retention rate.

But neither does the district because they haven't asked.

Would consolidation solve the support issues I shared and benefit our families?

I don't know because the district hasn't told us.

A promise of well resourced is meaningless without meaningful conversation.

Thank you.

The next speaker is Catherine Hode.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

After Catherine will be Megan Lee, and then I'll go back to Elias Cass.

Katherine Hodde

Good evening.

My name is Catherine Hoddy.

My son is a second grader at John Hay Elementary.

I am here to address the proposals to close schools as a partial solution to funding problems.

Even though many of our schools are no longer at risk of closure this year, we're facing the same issue for next year unless we take action.

Our solution right now lies in one place.

The state legislature must increase funding for education.

Our next legislative session begins in January.

The people of Seattle need more funding to be passed, not merely introduced, not deliberated, but enacted and implemented now.

Since 2017, our school districts have been suffocating under the weight of a cap on enrichment levies.

The intention was purportedly to enforce equity.

But instead, this law disregards our unique and varying needs.

We should have the right to levy funds to retain our precious, impactful special education programs.

And the people haven't been allowed to make that call for themselves.

It's been seven years and now we're desperate.

We need to fight to remove this law in January.

I respectfully request this board pass a formal resolution urging our state legislature to remove the restrictive levy cap that prevents us from meeting our students' diverse needs.

Your formal support will show the unified voice of our city as we push for change.

To my fellow citizens, we will never achieve the equity we strive for in this city unless students who need extra support can access it freely through their education.

The time to act is now.

Call your representatives, make your voice heard, and demand immediate action.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Next is Megan Lee.

Megan Lee

Hello, my name is Megan Lee and I am a first grade teacher at Dunlop Elementary.

I'm usually okay with telling my students when I don't know something, but when they tell me that they're sad that our school is closing, it feels wildly inadequate to tell them I don't know if it will.

No matter how many schools you close, it will affect every school in our district.

I've heard questions about seniority and displacement from my fellow teachers.

We have two amazing young, new teachers who are teachers of color in kindergarten this year, Ms. Nee and Ms. Tan, and it would be a huge disservice to our school community if they were shuffled around in any school closures.

Every school has a Ms. Nee and Ms. Tan.

Students deserve to see themselves in their staff, and new teachers should not bear the burden of changing schools or grade levels.

I had to change grade levels three times in four years due to shuffling and people leaving.

And like teacher Allison and countless teachers in our district, I love my school community.

I love teaching, but I will join her at Costco if I'm displaced.

Find a solution that centers our schools and families and support staff.

Don't close schools.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Elias Cass.

Elias Cass

This is Elias Cass.

I cede my time to Elias Quiroz.

Hello, my name is Elias Quiroz.

I'm a father of three.

My kids go to Broadview Thompson, North Seattle.

I can say exactly what all the parents, some of the teachers are talking about.

The one thing I can tell you is this, the first proposal A and D shows how the school districts is disconnect from the community, from the teachers, the community leaders and the parents and everybody.

They talk about equity.

They don't stand by not even a single person.

When you look at the communities that is surrounding the schools, What it brings by closing the school is a lot more pressure.

Our kids are already behind from the pandemic by the failure of the school district looking after the students' education.

Instead of talking about empty words, look at our kids, not the building.

Look at the kids.

What are you going to do for the kids?

How are you going to help the kids, the communities?

How are you going to help the teachers?

whether you close five schools today two schools next year that's not going to resolve it please don't close the schools that was the 25th and final speaker for tonight thank you um did we did we just i'm sorry that i missed it did we do student comments

Liza Rankin

Okay, I want to ask our ASL interpreter if you need a hand break.

Yes?

Okay, let's take five and then come back and continue on with the agenda.

We'll start with student comments, then we'll go to progress monitoring and our other business items.

Thank you.

I would say better than ever, but I don't think so.

All right, we are going to.

We're going to go now to our student members for their comments.

Director Ilias, are you starting off?

Safiya Ilyas

Yes, yes I am.

Hi, my name is Sophia Ilias.

I'm one of the new 2024-2025 student board members.

And yeah, I'm a student at Franklin High School.

Yeah.

As a student board member, a few things I'm looking forward to working on is accommodating to non-traditional pathways because I am a Running Start student and as a Running Start student in the past I felt that I wasn't really included at Franklin, so yeah.

Yeah.

Another issue that seems to be plaguing our district, well, not plaguing our district exactly, our country more so, is gun violence.

And I just really want to do something about it, because...

I often hear from students that they're worried about it.

And in fact, I know this one student who is fully running start because he's scared of gun violence.

And it's really a tragedy.

So as a district, we should do something about it.

Liza Rankin

Thank you, Director Ilyas.

Do we have other student comments?

Director Yoon?

Sabi Yoon

One of the primary goals for the student board members is to ensure transparency and communication between the board and student body.

During our weekly check-ins via Teams meeting, we've been brainstorming ways to keep the student body informed.

And currently, we have two initiatives, one of which is already being implemented.

The first initiative is to utilize social media through our student board Instagram account.

We will be posting either a video or slideshow summarizing the board meetings.

We'll focus on highlighting the key points for each meeting so that the information will be more accessible to students.

we are also considering creating survey forms or hosting online info sessions where students can address their concerns or if they have any questions for our second initiative i think director um

Colin Bragg

So for our second initiative that we want to work on is directly talking to our students and talking to our communities because that's one of the most impactful things.

So we're working to work with both the board right now to talk about involvement with ASB and what they're currently planning and also our involvement with getting into schools and talking to them and educating.

Liza Rankin

DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE?

Sabi Yoon

AND JUST TO ADD ON TO WHAT AND JUST TO ADD ON TO WHAT DIRECTOR BRAGG SAID, WE WANT DIRECTOR BRAGG SAID, WE WANT ASB MEMBERS TO ATTEND BOARD ASB MEMBERS TO ATTEND BOARD MEETINGS SO THAT THEY COULD STAY MEETINGS SO THAT THEY COULD STAY INFORMED WITH THE BOARD AND ALSO INFORMED WITH THE BOARD AND ALSO PROVIDE FEEDBACK AND INFORMATION TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK AND INFORMATION TO THEIR OWN SCHOOL COMMUNITIES.

THEIR OWN SCHOOL COMMUNITIES.

SO I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT SO I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT PART.

PART.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

Liza Rankin

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

WE WILL NOW MOVE TO THE TABLES WE WILL NOW MOVE TO THE TAB

Mike Starosky

VIP.

Liza Rankin

All right.

We have a progress monitoring session today on our goals number one and two.

Director Briggs will be our facilitator for progress monitoring.

Director Briggs.

Evan Briggs

All right.

So because we're transitioning to a new way of doing progress monitoring, the official process is that it's a conversation between the school board and the superintendent.

And that's what we will have going forward.

But in the past, we've had staff presenting.

And so as we transition to this new way of doing it, we're going to have staff present alongside with Dr. Jones this week, or this month, sorry.

And going forward, it will just be the superintendent and the board.

So questions.

during the session should be limited to anything that's strategic in nature.

And there's not a hard line around these different categories of questions.

So we're just going to have to do our best here to navigate.

But examples of strategic questions are trying to understand how something aligns to the priorities.

So sort of like big picture, high level stuff.

So an example would be looking at the data in table one, which strategy was most effective with our target student population?

Or what is the strategy we deployed that didn't work given the data in table two and what did we learn?

So those are strategic questions.

A tactical question or a technical question would be something that we would have staff answer and not during our progress monitoring session.

Staff, if you could make a note of questions that are technical or tactical in nature and answer those in written form and send them out to the board later in the week, that would be excellent.

So a technical question would be trying to understand how something is measured.

What is the alignment of the portfolio assessment with the SAT, for example?

How do we know the validity of the portfolio assessment?

These are just random examples.

And a tactical question is a question that's trying to understand how something is done.

So to whom is the assessment administered?

Which staff have been trained to administer the assessment?

So like more detail-oriented questions would be for staff.

With all that said, this is learning in public, so we're all learning.

We will proceed, and when it gets to the question part, we will direct our strategic questions to Dr. Jones.

I will try to field questions that are tactical or technical and have staff answer those at a later date.

Is that clear enough for us to proceed, or does anybody have any questions?

Liza Rankin

I'll just add that overall, this is one of our main roles as a board is to let the public know how the school system is doing serving our children.

Evan Briggs

Yes.

It's a very important part of our job.

Oh, sorry.

One last thing.

Another thing that is technically part of progress monitoring is voting on whether or not to accept the report at the end.

And I sent directors criteria.

via email earlier about what criteria we're looking for.

We're not gonna vote this time, because again, we're transitioning to doing this the formal way, but going forward, there will be a vote on whether or not to accept the progress monitoring report.

Brandon Hersey

I've got a question around the purpose of that.

What does that do for us?

Evan Briggs

That is a great question.

I bet Liza could answer.

Liza Rankin

Yeah, basically what we're looking for is whether or not reality matches our vision.

Okay.

If there's growth towards our vision and if there's a strategy and a plan expressed to us by the superintendent that we believe will be sufficient to cause growth towards the vision.

If we can't see those things, We should not accept a report.

Evan Briggs

But I think the question is more around specifically what do we gain by voting to accept it.

Brandon Hersey

Right.

Because to me, it almost feels as though if there's a rubric of criteria, or an understanding of where a specific thing is heading, then that doesn't really feel like a vote of opinion.

So I'm trying to understand the mechanic behind that and how does that get us as a board closer to holding the system accountable to our goals.

Liza Rankin

Because if it's all here, so those three questions, does the reality match the vision?

Is there growth towards the vision?

Is there a strategy or plan sufficient to cause growth towards the vision?

If the answer to all three is yes, then we accept it, confident that our system is meeting our goals for children.

If the answer to only one or two is yes, we may want to table this and ask for more information later.

If the answer to all three questions is no, then we would want to reject the report and decide what steps to take to remedy the lack of making progress towards the goals.

Brandon Hersey

Yeah, that answers my question in the short term.

I think it would be beneficial for us to have a conversation as a board as like what then comes on the other end of that vote because it feels performative if there's not...

That would be up to us to say, you know, bring this goal back next month.

Got it.

Evan Briggs

Cool.

I think we actually do need official progress monitoring training.

Yeah.

Which was supposed to happen at our retreat, which got rescheduled.

So we're, yeah.

Brandon Hersey

Okay.

Sounds good.

Thank you.

Brent Jones

Yes, thank you, Director Briggs, and I appreciate the flexibility, and we will continue to learn together.

This is our fifth formal opportunity to review progress monitoring we're making on these two specific areas.

I'm joined by three key leaders in this work, Assistant Superintendent of Academics, Dr. Mike Starosky, Executive Director of Curriculum Assessment and Instruction, Cashel Toner, and Executive Director of College and Career Readiness, Dr. Kayla Perkins.

I'll be sharing an executive summary of both the goals and then asking Dr. Starosky to share an overview of our theory of action for both goals.

And before engaging in a deeper discussion of our strategies and student outcomes those strategies are producing.

So we're going to really look at the big picture and then we're going to dive into some very specifics.

We'll hold questions for the end, as Director Briggs said, and with that overview of the agenda, I will now share a few highlights from the executive summaries.

So first, I want to focus on the raw results.

In the spring of 2024, 30% of African American males scored proficient or higher Next slide, please.

On the spring of 2024, 30% of African-American males scored proficient or higher on the ELA portion of the spring 2023 Smarter Balanced Assessment.

This is a 1% increase from the prior year and on par with results from before the pandemic.

In addition, 14% of African American male students achieved accelerated growth, and that's on the map, the measure of academic progress last year, meaning they are on a trajectory to reach proficiency by fifth grade.

The proportion of students of color furthest from educational justice who scored proficient grew by 1.5% year over year from 40.2% to 41.7%.

The proportion of students with IEPs who scored proficient grew by two percentage points year over year from 36.8 to 38.7.

And the portion of ML students who scored proficient declined by 3.7% year over year from 30% to 26%.

For seventh grade math, next slide please.

19.3% of African-American male students scored proficient or higher in math on the spring 2024 Smarter Balanced Assessment, representing a 1% decline from spring 2023. Students of color furthest from educational justice increased by 1.4% compared to 2023 from 28.8% to 30.2%, though significantly below pre-pandemic rates.

rates for special education students remain consistent with pre-pandemic levels while multilingual students decreased by two point four percent next i'd like to add some context to these results uh...

compared to a statewide trends for african-american students overall both genders sbs is achieving at a higher level than other districts with similar demographics in addition evidence over the last three years strongly suggests that African American male students benefited from our targeted efforts for third grade reading.

This same is also true for the seventh grade math in our priority schools as well over the last two years.

So if you take these together, these results indicate that SPS is targeted and universal approaches to K-3 early literacy are showing progress and they're working, and they've generated valuable lessons for our next strategic plan.

The strategies we are implementing for math are also showing some signs of progress.

So while our results show we are absolutely not where we need to be yet for our students and families, I'm confident that we're on the right path to improving student outcomes both in literacy and math.

We've learned lessons along the way.

We have some root cause analysis that we have looked in deeply in terms of understanding the why and where we are.

We understand our current state versus where we want to be in terms of our desired state.

And so we have a theory of action that we have going forward.

I'm going to ask Dr. Starosky to talk about the theory of action for third grade reading and the seventh grade math goals to set us up for a deeper discussion of the strategy and the outcomes that we're trying to achieve.

Dr. Starosky, please.

Mike Starosky

Thank you, Superintendent Jones.

Directors, good evening.

So we're excited to be able to share our theory of action for the third grade and seventh grade math goals.

If we begin on the right side for our theory of action, you'll see that we're looking at the impact of our students Specifically what we're aiming at are what are the things that our teachers, our schools, our principals, our departments, and our entire district would be doing to impact our students at third grade reading and seventh grade math.

And so if you go from the right, starting, excuse me, all the way over to the left, you can see some common themes.

as we're working specifically if you look at teachers that our teachers will be able to do when they're looking at ongoing job embedded professional development and professional learning that is supported and grounded in student data.

And so we're making our student data the center of what it is that we're doing.

We're also looking at specifically delivering high quality standards aligned culturally responsive instruction.

So one of our theories of action clearly in the Department of Academics is that we believe in high-quality, equity-centered instruction and the leadership that it takes to support such instruction so that our students can be successful.

And our why is so that our students are improving in their outcomes through high-quality, equitable Tier 1 instruction.

So our ongoing professional development, if you go to the next slide please, is to be able to make investments in high quality curriculum and assessments, which our system has been doing the last few years.

That is also helping us improve our limited number of instructional priorities as a focus.

And so you'll see on this slide, On the left side is our foundational block.

So when we began five years ago on this strategic plan, specifically in third grade reading, we were looking at a different time in our district of what we didn't have that we do have now.

Specifically, an adopted curriculum for ELA in K-5 and K-8, a math adoption, a math curriculum for middle school.

We didn't have curriculum embedded assessments at the time.

We didn't even have a curriculum assessment calendar.

And so now where we are, if you look into that middle spot there, that middle column, is a targeted approach that our 13 priority schools for third grade ELA was a strategy that we had of targeting specific supports for our students in those schools.

Specifically, we chose our schools who had the highest percentage of African American boys in those schools.

And similarly, our African-American boys in middle school for math in seventh grade were also chosen.

And so we've had this targeted approach that Dr. Jones and members of the school board have been pressing on us to move forward with of going from a targeted approach, what is it that we've been learning and what's helpful, and moving that to universal approach to all elementary school students across our system.

elementary and middle school students, I should say, across our system.

And what you'll notice is the focused instructional priorities that we learned, our principal improvement networks that we were learning great deal of what targeted professional development for principals, that has a coaching model embedded in it is helpful for improving instruction and targeting the types of gains and behaviors that we want to see.

But the behaviors that we're seeing that you see that are highlighted there is really how are we providing teacher observation and feedback and coaching cycles to our teachers from our principals.

And so one of the things that we know that we thought just grounded in our data and what we're seeing from our principals and hearing from our teachers is that is a really important part of going from a targeted strategy to a universal strategy.

So we're pulling that over into our universal strategy.

And so you'll also see a development of our inclusionary practices of a universal design for learning, MTSS tier one, and our restorative practices.

And so for our focus this year is really being able to, now that we have curriculum, a viable standards aligned curriculum at elementary and middle school, being able to press on specifically curriculum embedded assessments as a focus area for our entire system.

And so for us this year, and when I say us, central office, our principals, our schools, our teachers, is really pressing on curriculum embedded assessments as a way for us to be able to see and answer that essential question, how are our students doing right now and how do we know?

And so going to the next slide.

is just an example of some of how our assessments look in a pyramid.

And tonight, we'll be sharing some of the data that is really at the very top of the pyramid, from map data, measures of academic progress, which is a benchmark assessment, and SBA, which is a summative assessment.

But all the things that really make a big difference on the day-to-day for our students with our teachers is the planning that it takes to be able to do such high-quality teaching.

And that's at the very bottom.

And then we really are calling that the foundation, which is the classroom discussions, a formative assessment, how that builds up.

We use this as an example for a third-grade student or an elementary student is that we have end of the units assessments that be your curriculum embedded assessments, might have a screener, but what we're looking all the way, along the way is can our system adequately track where our students are right now to inform teaching, to inform the planning for our students.

So for our universal design, for learning in tier one is the focus for our professional learning with our principals and curriculum embedded assessments is what we're doing district wide this year and into the future.

Brent Jones

And Mike, can you articulate How long have we had all five of these in place?

I mean, this is a rather new development.

So can you speak to what we had and then what we have as of October 2024?

Mike Starosky

Yes.

So I'd say specifically for the curriculum embedded assessments, this has been a journey for us, specifically because of the DISJOINTED CURRICULUM, CURRICULUM THAT WASN'T DISTRICT-WIDE.

AND SO THIS HAS BEEN THROUGH A JOURNEY, I'D SAY, FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS, A STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS.

AND SO WE'VE HAD SBA FOR THE ENTIRE TIME THROUGHOUT THIS STRATEGIC PLAN, AND IT WAS OUR PRIMARY WAY OF MEASURING.

AND SO ALONG THE WAY, WHAT WE'VE BEEN LEARNING IS The things that matter most for the day-to-day for teachers is being able to know who their students are, planning for those students, doing the teaching, meeting with their peers in PLC models, talking about what it is that they're learning, what's working well for students, what's a challenge for students, problem solve on the day-to-day.

So when we're talking for us in this room about the learning, it's the learning that's happening at the school level, a grade level, a school-wide level, a regional level, and our district-wide.

So this has been a long time journey for the last five years.

So to transition into the third grade reading goal, I'd like to first just state what our theory of action for K-3 rate reading is.

And it's a remarkable journey that we've been on the last five years.

And if K-3 teachers deliver high quality, standards aligned, and culturally responsive reading instruction based on over 40 years of research, so that would be the science of reading.

More students in Seattle Public Schools, particularly our African American males, and students of color furthest from educational justice, will achieve third grade English language arts proficiency.

And with that, I would like to introduce and turn it over to Executive Director of Curriculum Assessment and Instruction, Cashel Toner, to further explain the details of our strategy.

Cashel Toner

Hi, good evening, everybody.

I'm Cashel Toner, Executive Director for Curriculum Assessment and Instruction, and I've been working, leading this third grade literacy goal since 2019. So been working hard through lots of different transitions and challenges.

We're at a different point now that Dr. Starosky and Dr. Jones were just talking about.

You know, our district implemented DIBELS in 2021. That's not that long ago.

That's an early literacy screener.

And then we also implemented and required MAP to be administered twice a year in school year 21-22.

And that gives us the opportunity to look at some data that I'm going to show you now.

But, you know, if we were to rewind several years ago and I was sitting at this table, we really had to kind of focus our conversation around SBA because that was the only – Data that was available to us district-wide so we've done lots of work to build out our assessment Opportunities and get a different look and we're continuing that work this year with our curriculum embedded assessment work Okay, so if we could go to slide.

Yep.

This one looks good.

I'm going to talk you through this slide It's a little complicated, but I think we can do it.

All right, so if you look on the left part of this graphic, you're going to see two columns.

And the top bit of those columns shows you the blue color.

And those are the kids that met SBA, and then if you see the green, you'll see the typical growth there with MAP and accelerated growth.

So we weren't really actually able to look at data like this when we didn't require MAP to be administered across the district, but now we can see that.

And what's important about that is that you can see dark green that means that the kids made accelerated growth and then that light green is the typical growth typical growth for map means that kids are on track to meet grade level standard by fifth grade so i just described to you what's happening on the left of that slide now let's look at the right side so those are students of color with the same analysis right so third grade kids Top part, the blue part, is the SBA proficiency, and then you can look at those two different subgroups with the darker green and then the lighter green.

And again, that lighter green means that kids are on track to meet standard by the end of fifth grade.

So as we track our data over time, what we want to see up there is more blue, more green, and less gray.

Let's move to the next slide.

OK, so you all have been asking, what does that focused work look like at those 13 schools?

You've been initiating some of your strategy at those particular schools.

And how does that compare to the rest of the district?

So let's look at that together.

What you'll see here are three groups of schools.

The cluster of three bars on the left is the priority schools.

The cluster of bars in the middle are a group of comparison schools with demographics that are similar to the 13 schools.

And then the cluster on the right are all of the other elementary and K-8 schools in the system.

Our research and evaluation team identified the comparison group of schools based on enrollment rates of African American boys.

As additional context, 100% of our 13 schools are schools that receive Title I funds, and about 80% of the comparison schools are schools that receive Title I funds, whereas only 20% of the other category of schools receive Title I funds.

I just gave you a lot of information, so I'll just slow down a little bit.

But that's how we've divided the three groups of schools as represented on the slide.

Looking at each cluster of bars in turn and moving from left to right, from the lightest blue to the darkest blue, shows us the proportion of third grade African American boys achieving proficiency on the SBA in each of the three years since we've returned from remote instruction.

What these results show us is that the African American boys in our priority schools held steady after the end of the pandemic and are now on the upswing.

Meanwhile, performance among our African American students in the comparison group of schools has declined and has not yet recovered from pre-pandemic rates.

You'll notice that both cohorts of schools started at roughly the same place in the year after the pandemic.

The group of all other schools has remained steady at 47% across all three years.

We added this group for additional context, but given that only about a fifth of this group received Title I funds, you know, you can understand that data and interpret it yourself.

The point of sharing this information with you is not to convey a negative comparison, but it's an attempt to try to tease out the variation in our system to better understand the impact of our targeted investments.

And while this data is not experimental evidence, says our research team, nonetheless, we can strongly suggest that our focus and intentional work at our subset of early literacy schools is having an impact on student learning.

And I just want to pause here for a second and remind everybody that our work is to change the adult behavior in the systems and structures in support of student learning.

There's nothing wrong with the kids and communities across these groups of schools, right?

The kids are perfectly brilliant.

It's our job to think about how do we enhance, change, refine the structures and support systems in place in particular classrooms, school communities, in service of student learning.

Yeah, I think I'll just pause there.

Let's see.

Oh, you've also been asking for quite a while about lessons we've been learning.

What have we been learning at our schools that we could consider replicating across the district?

So let's talk about that for a minute.

There are a few lessons we've learned over the last few years that I'd like to share with you.

The first is that from the beginning of our strategy, it's always been grounded in research.

Folks have wondered, how did we arrive at the strategy we have in place?

Why did we focus on training our teachers around science of reading?

Because that's actually how kids learn to read.

And so giving teachers access to that professional development enhances their skills and then in turn enhances the instruction for kids.

The second lesson that we've learned is that we could not have developed the implementation systems if we'd gone system-wide from the beginning because we needed to be able to have a narrow focus to listen and learn alongside teachers and community.

And here are some of the implementation lessons that we've learned.

High quality common curriculum and assessments are foundational for improvement.

Having limited instructional priorities each year allows teachers to go deeper with their practice.

Instructional coaching done right should be the rule and not the exception for schools that need more support.

Principal instructional leadership brings it all together.

Our principals are key in this work.

And central office having a strategy and implementation capacity enables consistent, coherent implementation.

So I think I'll pause there and pass back to Dr. Strosky.

Mike Starosky

So what we will do is transition from ELA third grade and over to math, seventh grade math.

But you're going to see and hear some very common themes between the two.

Before we go to Dr. Perkins, I'd like to read the theory of action for our mathematics goal.

Seattle Public Schools aims to significantly improve student math outcomes, especially for our African-American males, by enhancing high-quality, equity-centered teaching.

The district's belief is that when students receive rigorous, standards-aligned instruction, particularly those furthest from educational justice, they will develop stronger math skills, leading to increased proficiency on the seventh grade Smarter Balanced Assessment.

Dr. Perkins.

Caleb Perkins

Thank you, Dr. Strausky, and thank you to the board for the opportunity.

As we transition from third grade literacy to seventh grade math, I do want to echo some of the themes.

We're not where we want to be, and at the same time, we do see progress that we're making.

I do want to highlight, though, a difference between literacy and math.

We are not returned, while overall as a district, we're returning to pre-pandemic levels.

We're not returning to pre-pandemic levels for students of color, furthest from educational justice, and African-American male students.

We have a lot of work to do.

And so what I'd like to highlight following the same data charts that Executive Director Toner shared is some of the ways that where do we see progress and where are the lessons that we're learning to help us address this data that needs to be supported.

And to Cashel's excellent point, This is, again, this is about improving systems to support students.

It's not about pointing at the students and saying that they're the ones that need to change.

So with that, if we can go to the first slide, that should look familiar.

And as always, I like to draft off Executive Director Toner, who explained this.

Bottom line, the big takeaway here is we're reducing the gray bar to Cashel's point about for students of color furthest from educational justice, we have a larger percentage of students.

passing the SBA.

We also have a larger percentage of students achieving growth and accelerated growth.

So that's encouraging.

We're not seeing the same increase in African American male students.

And so there's more work to be done.

If we can go to the next slide.

Similar to what Executive Director Toner shared, we wanted to provide a bit of a comparison, noting that there's just two groups of schools.

There's the six priority schools, which serve 2 thirds of our African-American male students.

And then there's all the other middle and K-8 schools that serve 1 third.

case, just as Executive Director Toner shared, schools receiving Title I funding is much higher in the left-hand side.

So that's what is part of the difference.

But one of the things that we wanted to highlight, just as we're seeing with literacy, in a more modest way.

And remember, we're only in really year three of this implementation.

Last year was the first full year of implementation.

But in that first full year of implementation, we are seeing growth.

We are seeing growth from those three schools.

And I'm going to speak a little bit more about where that growth is and why do we think that is happening, what's working, and what do we need to change.

So I just wanted to call that out.

And if we can go one slide further.

In addition, if we zoom out for a second from seventh grade and we think about the implementation of our curriculum, our Envision curriculum over multiple years, we are seeing some progress from fifth and sixth grade for students who have engaged with this curriculum now over multiple years and from K-5 transitioning into 6-8.

So we see some encouraging trends, especially for our students of color, furthest from educational justice, and overall, all students.

But as well for fifth graders when it comes to African-American male students.

So to follow what Cashel shared, what are our lessons learned?

Again, this has been a really helpful piece from the board, pushing us to really think about where are we continuing.

If we can go to the next slide.

Bottom line, we're seeing cohort schools are improving.

And I'll say a little bit more about this as we get down to the final bullet.

But schools that are doing all the pieces that Dr. Sharofsky shared, having regular PD, coaching, instructional leadership supports, those schools are more correlated with bigger increases for their African American male students this past year with seventh grade math.

The semi schools are clearly in need of support.

We are right to invest in them and I give praise to Dr. Jones as well as the school board that decided three years ago to make the shift and to make sure that we were funding and supporting this.

They're well below where we were pre-pandemic, and the support is needed to address the systems that Executive Director Toner alluded to.

Consistent curriculum helps.

We believe the fifth and sixth grade encouraging results come from the fact that we have a consistent curriculum and that we've been using it for multiple years now.

Consistency takes time, and to echo one of the pieces that we heard about third-grade literacy, we need to focus on fewer things.

One of the key pieces is that we need to go deeper, as Dr. Strotsky said, and we think the curriculum embedded assessment piece in particular is one of those few things we should go deeper on and really help our educators and school leaders focus with all of the other things that they're managing.

It's critical that we're focused.

And finally, I just want to note that coaching helps.

The schools that received the most consistent coaching last year were the ones that we saw the greatest gains.

And that's why we're confident that we're learning things that we can apply to the entire district and all middle schools to improve math instruction.

And with that, I'll turn it back to Dr. Jones.

Brent Jones

So thank you for that presentation, Dr. Perkins.

Now we'll transition to questions and discussion.

I'll turn it over to Director Briggs to facilitate those.

Thank you so much.

Evan Briggs

Thank you all for the presentation.

Any questions?

Sarah Clark

Can you guys hear me?

OK.

Thank you for that presentation.

I found that to be incredibly informative.

I know that you just said, oh shoot, I was taking notes, that the greatest gains were made in the schools that received coaching.

And I'm looking at the slide, the previous slide where we see on the right side.

Brent Jones

Slide 15, there you go.

Sarah Clark

Thank you.

And the yellow band where we see the results for African American males in sixth grade.

that the lowest gains were made out of the group.

And so just to have clarity, does that mean that the strategy this year that you're deploying is to increase the amount of coaching for those sixth grade teachers to help see a greater gain in those scores?

Thank you.

Brent Jones

So let me jump on that.

I don't think we're going to see necessarily an increase in coaching, but a consistency in coaching.

Okay.

And so one of the things that we're seeing that would probably be consistent with all of these gains is consistency of implementation.

The board has heard me talk about implementation a lot, and these are manifestations of that.

And so the fact that we have – central office is now providing relevant and meaningful support to schools when they need it and how they need it.

It allows them to be consistent for how they apply concepts or interventions like coaching.

And so that's what you'll see that's consistent with all the growth here.

Sarah Clark

Okay.

Sorry, I have one more question.

Is that okay?

Please.

Okay.

And then this is probably a newbie school board director question, but it would appear to me that we're seeing progress with our interventions in the priority schools.

What is the plan to expand?

Is there a multi-year expansion plan to extend that to the rest of the district?

And what might that be?

Because I'm not aware of it.

Thank you.

Cashel Toner

Does anyone want to take that?

Sure, I'd love to.

Evan Briggs

So sorry to interrupt.

So I know that we're learning together.

So we're going to just have Dr. Jones answer the questions.

And that is a strategic question.

So I think that's fair game.

But any questions that do come to staff, we're not going to answer them now during this progress monitoring session.

We're just writing them down.

Yeah, great.

Thank you.

Brent Jones

So fair enough.

I think there's a, when we talked about our theory of action, repeat your question one more time.

I just want to make sure I capture this fully.

Sarah Clark

Okay, still getting used to that delay.

Brent Jones

Priority schools versus other schools.

Sarah Clark

Yeah, so the priority schools, we're seeing improvement and so what is the plan or timeline to, when will you know that the strategy is working well enough to expand it to other schools?

And what is the timeline in which you would do that?

Brent Jones

These aren't numbered, but if you can go back to slide six, please.

It looks like this.

So you all have heard us talk about how do we move from targeted to universal.

Some of those pieces are around inclusionary practices.

How are we looking at MTSS systems?

What is our system-wide focus?

Those are some of the universal practices that we're going to, approaches rather, that we're going to use.

Particularly, inclusionary practices are our ability to differentiate instruction across different skill levels.

The MTSS system, when we talk about that, we're talking about embedding resource into making Tier 1 instruction the primary place where our students get their instruction.

And we talk about the system-wide focus on curriculum embedded assessments.

That's that piece that's tremendously important for us to know where our students are, not just annually, but at the end of a unit.

We also have the interim assessments that this board approved two years ago to make sure that we can look at, on a quarterly basis, where are our students in that process.

So that's what we've been doing consistently at our 13 priority schools that are going to come over, and we're going to do that consistently at the remaining schools.

Thank you.

Liza Rankin

I wrote a few things down.

So the first one is definitely a tactical question.

So I'm going to just say it so you can provide us later.

In the theory of action, some of the activities provide schools and principals with training and support resources aligned to curriculum instructional vision.

I would just love to know more about what that's comprised of, what that looks like.

And also, if we have any kind of a feedback loop from people in buildings about the feeling of it being effective or helpful or just kind of a feedback loop on that.

That would be great if we have any information about that.

And then the, I'm still having a hard time understanding what, to what do you credit the difference between the priority schools and the comparison schools.

What are the different investments that have been made or different strategies?

How do you describe what has happened that yields these, or sorry, it's not the same slide I'm looking at, but that yields the different outcomes?

Brent Jones

Yeah, so Cashel and Caleb are a little bit twitchy because I ask them this all the time around, How are we leveraging the 13 priority schools and the six priority schools?

And really what it comes down to are these lessons learned.

And it's really about consistency.

And it's really about how we're doing, again, our curriculum embedded assessments.

The other piece that I didn't talk about are the DIBELS.

That's something that we haven't leveraged, but now that we have that pyramid that you see all the different assessments, we have real-time understanding of where our students are.

That's been the power, I think, of the priority schools and the focus schools.

The consistency is important, and I also believe our focus on MTSS, making sure that we understand where students are, tier one, tier two, tier three, and we're trying to make sure that we're really focused on those tier one practices as the first place where students are learning.

Liza Rankin

Thank you.

So, I mean, I have a similar question to Director Clark of, you know, how can we expand that to the others?

Another technical question.

DIBELS, my understanding, is a screener.

It's not an assessment.

So, I would like to know what is flagged by what happens when a student is...

is flagged through the screening of possibly being a higher likelihood of having dyslexia or some other issue.

If we have data about what happens when a student is flagged by the screener and then what's provided, what's provided to the teacher, what's provided to the student, that's very technical.

Brent Jones

I would like for Cashel to respond to that because I think DIBELS is a really important piece It's part of the pyramid of strategies that we're using.

Cashel Toner

Okay.

I can't.

Okay.

Okay.

So DIBELS is technically an assessment and it is a screener.

So it's both of those things.

For our district, you know, there's a state law.

You know this.

A lot of you know this around a requirement that every district in Washington State has a mechanism to screen kids for foundational skills gaps.

Sometimes that means that kiddos may have a higher likelihood to be a child you would say has dyslexia or something like that but there's like many gradations before you actually get to that point so because there's so many gradations before you get to that point Seattle schools implemented a resource called SIPS that's aligned to our core literacy instructional tool which is Center for the Collaborative Classroom.

So in a nutshell, Director Rankin, when kids participate in that screener, we have sort of if-then activities that need to take place.

So if this is what you're seeing from that screener, then this is the support that we need to put in place for that child.

And then given a bit of time, But if you know depending on what happens next then there's sort of a decision tree about supports and conversations with family and so on and so forth.

Liza Rankin

I would really like us to be able to see if there's data about the response to the screener, just in general.

And if we can identify where response is being provided quickly, what's working well, what's not working well.

And I would also like to know what kind of feedback we have from the buildings about accessing those things and having time to provide support.

My last question is a strategic question.

Also with the priority schools, you mentioned that the priority schools represent a higher percentage of students who qualify for Title I funds.

I'm trying not to break the question rules.

I'm wondering mostly about the connection between title funds to these strategies.

If we notice that there are students that need more support that are also qualifying for funds that are intended to support their education, how are we connecting our strategies with title funding or using title funding to address

Brent Jones

support needed yes so the mention of uh schools that received title one funding was was just a comparison i think your question is a solid one that i i can't answer at this point around how the title funds have the impact and so uh we the way we were representing that was just very similar situated students so the priority schools versus other schools that had again a similar demographic and so i think that's a very good question and i'd like to get back to you on that okay thank you

Brandon Hersey

Before I ask my question, could you give us another reminder between tactical and our other question types?

Evan Briggs

Yes.

So technical is trying to understand how something is measured.

Like, how do we know the validity of X assessment?

Tactical is trying to understand how something is done.

So to whom is the assessment administered?

Which staff have been trained to administer the assessment?

More kind of detail-oriented things.

And then strategic is more high level.

Brandon Hersey

Yeah.

And which ones are germane for us to ask the superintendent?

Strategic.

Evan Briggs

And then any technical or tactical will be tabled for later dissemination via memo, written memo.

Brandon Hersey

OK.

Last one.

Can you please explain strategic once more?

I just want to make sure that I'm hitting it in the right direction.

Evan Briggs

Absolutely.

So trying to understand how something aligns to the priorities.

So looking, so for example, looking at the data in table, imaginary table one, which strategy was most effective with our target student population?

Okay.

That tracks.

It's like, it's not totally.

Yeah, we're better at identifying them, I'm sure, but yeah.

Brandon Hersey

I'm just making sure that I'm not being self-serving with my questions.

The first one, and my main one, is, Have y'all done any analysis on other districts that have implemented these types of measures?

The reason that I ask that question is I'm trying to get an understanding for what growth and what timeline we can expect based on that analysis.

Evan Briggs

That sounds like a tactical question, so let's get that in writing later.

Brandon Hersey

So my bigger question is, we've had this conversation a lot about the fact that our goals are very high.

as our expectations for our students should be.

And we are on the precipice of a new strategic plan in which those goals will change.

My concern is that in that transition, given the conversations and feedback that we have received as a board, I'm trying to understand how do our expectations with what we're receiving here tonight dovetail with where we're headed.

And that's a conversation we can have at a different venue, but I think that that's what I'm trying to glean understanding from.

I'm good for right now.

Brent Jones

Well, let me just, one thing that we, as we look at other districts and how they're using strategies, we know that interim assessments have been powerful.

We know that job embedded professional learning has been powerful.

We know that one thing that we haven't talked about is having an assessment calendar is tremendous in terms of coordinating WHEN AND HOW WE DO CHECK INS WHERE OUR STUDENTS ARE.

MTSS, UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING, ALL THOSE THINGS WE HAVE STUDIED OTHER DISTRICTS AROUND ARE THESE POWERFUL STRATEGIES.

FINALLY, WE KNOW THAT THE READING WARS HAVE BEEN WON AND IT'S BEEN WON BY THE SCIENCE OF READING.

SO WE'RE TRYING TO LEARN IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT FROM OTHER DISTRICTS AS WELL.

I think the overall approach is what we're gleaning from other districts that have been somewhat successful, whether they're large districts or small districts.

We're trying to have this comprehensive approach that we're learning.

So we've had parts of these over time, but we haven't had all of these strategies working in conjunction.

This is the first time that we've done that.

Brandon Hersey

And that's clear to me and I just also wanted to say thanks for breaking out the 13 priority schools versus our other buildings.

I think that's helpful to see, you know, when implemented in a particular way how we can make growth.

Again, I just want to reiterate at whatever venue makes sense.

I want to know what is a reasonable expectation for growth.

I think the other question that I have is that I don't want to skirt over the fact that on the blue-green Seahawks bar, I don't want to skirt over the fact, especially for math, if we could pop back to that slide.

Yeah, that's the reading one.

There's some there there around what students made more stretch growth.

And I would be curious to know, A, if all those students are in the same place, and b what learning can we take from that accelerated growth because there could be some replicable teaching practices um that would be meaningful to explore as you're moving to a more universal approach so breaking that out would be of interest to me so director hersey um

Brent Jones

We know one school in particular that is seeing amazing growth are doing all the things.

Brandon Hersey

Yeah, tell me.

Yeah, what's that school?

Oh, you said know one, or you said you know of one?

Brent Jones

We know of one school.

Brandon Hersey

What school is it?

Brent Jones

I happen to go to that school.

Oh, okay.

Cool.

The Aki, for example.

Brandon Hersey

Okay.

Brent Jones

They have done all of these things in unison with fidelity.

Brandon Hersey

Uh-huh.

Brent Jones

They've been part of a learning kind of community, and they've been through these things.

And so they're seeing the dark green box is where they have seen tremendous growth.

And I'm not trying to brag on a specific school.

When it's done with fidelity, you see outcomes.

Okay.

Okay.

That doesn't suggest other schools aren't.

Right.

They just have refined it.

Brandon Hersey

Okay.

Brent Jones

Okay.

Dr. Perkins, is that an accurate characterization?

Yes.

Okay.

Brandon Hersey

That's got, sorry, was there more?

That's got my wheels turning in really digging in at Aki because I know what you mentioned is fidelity and, I think that probably the hard part is not necessarily all the benefit that comes after you've implemented with Fidelity, but what did they do specifically to get from step zero to Fidelity?

Having some understanding around that piece, I think, would be really useful in taking this approach to a more universal thing.

And in a different venue, it would be cool once y'all have kind of gone to the lab and determined what those things are.

How can we allocate resources to help you do that?

And I think that, you know, I'll leave it at that.

Liza Rankin

Tag on to that.

I'm wondering, is the success at Aki connected to the Nesholm schools?

Brent Jones

I was going to say, they've had years and years of investment, strong leadership, and it's been very consistent.

And so while they have implemented all of these strategies with fidelity, they've also been almost a lab to understand what works and what doesn't work.

And they've been beneficiaries, as some of our other middle schools for the nest home grant and other grants that, that allow them to really reflect on practice.

And so they have strong coaching.

They have, uh, they have an openness to, uh, learning.

And so it's just really, they're modeling, uh, what strong investments are.

And, and I don't want to discount the leadership either.

The leadership has been, has been strong over years as well.

So, uh, thank you all for, for attending.

Hopefully this wasn't too boring for you, but this is, this is our work.

Yep.

SPEAKER_47

Bye.

Liza Rankin

Yeah, I don't know.

The Nesholm Foundation does this end-of-the-year review on the grant that goes there, and they are really, I would say, exemplifying these practices in action.

It's not just about that they have money from a grant.

It's the investment in the people and the practices and the connection to leadership, and that's, to me, really affirming what you all are talking about and identifying as having been

Brandon Hersey

um that you're seeing as successful strategies so to echo director hersey like let's let's do that more yeah and i'm showing a little bit of money here so with the nestle grant is it just a transfer of funding or is the nest home foundation itself participating in they've really developed a whole like the funding is specific for support

Liza Rankin

and they work with leadership, and it does add some additional bodies into the building, I believe.

Caleb Perkins

On the literacy side.

Liza Rankin

But it's really connected to all of these things that we're talking about.

Coaching.

Brandon Hersey

PLCs.

So that, to me, identifies a couple of key things.

First, the stick-to-itiveness of it.

It's going to take time.

which is why I have some concerns around the amount of time that we give these goals to breathe and take before we swap.

I think it's a problem in public education in general and it's like every five years we've got some new fancy priority or X, Y, or Z.

The other piece is if we know that what they're doing over at the Nestle Foundation is working, what's their fee?

How do we formalize that partnership in a way and use some of those learnings?

Because it seems like we've got some pretty hard evidence that they know what they're doing.

Brent Jones

Yeah, I think we should absolutely interrogate that.

I know the Nesholm original grants to us were about learning.

What are you doing?

And they had, I think, three middle schools that they were working with, and they were bringing them together to really understand how are we advancing teaching and learning.

Another example is West Seattle Elementary School.

They've had funding, but they also have a force of nature as their school leader that is about consistency, is about predictability, is about not doing too many things at once, but making sure what's essential gets done first.

And so I think there's some learnings from the resources that we're getting from our philanthropic partners.

There's also some leadership moves that have been made over years And these, to your point, these weren't built overnight.

And so the success at Aki, the success at West Seattle, the success at other schools has been two, three, ten years in the making.

And so West Seattle, for example, people come in and know the West Seattle system.

They know this is how we do business at West Seattle Elementary School.

And so West Seattle Elementary School lead teachers become principals and APs at other Seattle public schools because of the West Seattle elementary system.

And so what we need to be doing is studying that.

It's one of our priority schools that we really are doing our institutional learning.

It's a laboratory work.

Yeah.

Brandon Hersey

I think this is a rich conversation.

So what I would like to see in addition to the four other things that I said, it would be cool to see Aki broken out individually.

I think that that will help us as board directors see what type of growth in what timeline It should be expected, right?

Because when we set these goals initially, we were all new to this process, and I think we all knew that they were lofty, but also on the tail end of a pandemic, making 40 points of growth is intense.

It's a very high asset put on our system, almost like finding a way to balance a $100 million deficit with no revenue authority, right?

Shocker.

I think that what I'm really trying to figure out in my waning days here is how do we set reasonable goals that still push our system to do what we know is important but don't set our system up for failure because of our own aspirations, right?

So really diving in to see in our own context over the course of however many years it took us to get to a certain place and then using that as our bellwether I think would be incredibly helpful for us in a policy standpoint.

Brent Jones

I just want to co-sign on that.

Just to...

talk about Aki's growth.

You had Dr. Mia Williams, Jeff Clark, Chris Carter, who were principals that were in this collaborative.

This was probably 10 years ago.

And they were doing all this foundational work to get them to the place where they can be ready to receive all of these type of strategies.

Some of the institutional learning we need to do is step back and say, how can we replicate that and accelerate that at the same time?

They weren't just doing things by happenstance, but they grew together understanding what we need to do.

At the time, They were kind of leading our district in terms of however we were measuring at that time.

And I just think there's something about the collaboration that they had, the sharing of resources that they had.

They were all Nessholm schools as well.

And what can we continue to learn and be reflective around our practice about that?

So just wanted to bring that to a close.

Brandon Hersey

And can you, well, sorry to open it back up, but can you give us a little bit more about those names and how that collaboration happened?

Because, like, are we looking at this as, like, an internal collaboration?

I know that's not the case, but is it more so, like, the collaboration not only between Aki and itself, but also its feeder schools, X, Y, and Z?

Brent Jones

Yeah, I'm going to defer to Dr. Jaroski on this, because I know you were one of the leaders back in that day trying to push that practice into practice.

Brandon Hersey

I know I know I know I know I know I know but we spent a lot of time talking about a lot of other stuff that we don't normally do.

So please if you could humor me I'm really interested in this.

Thank you.

Mike Starosky

There is a reach back down to the elementary elementary schools and then also I reach back up to the high schools as well.

And so a lot of intentionality of planning with principals looking at the data looking at common issues that they're trying to solve together with some additional supports that other schools don't have.

Caleb Perkins

I'm just going to sneak in that the story that you're asking for, the case study, if you will, I think is a great idea.

And I do think it's going to yield there's sort of something old, something new about the success.

It's not just about the past network.

It's about the new resources applying to the structures that they built.

So look forward to telling that in more rich detail.

Liza Rankin

Evan do we have.

Evan Briggs

Are there more questions.

OK.

Does it look like it.

All right.

Great.

Thanks everybody.

Liza Rankin

Thank you very much.

And I'm noticing we have other packets here.

We don't have to go back and forth.

I'm going to give us five for ourselves, but also for the interpreter to give a little rest of her hands.

Gina Topp

Are we coming back here?

So we should grab our stuff if we left it up there?

Liza Rankin

What else do we have?

Max Drewes

We don't need to...

Liza Rankin

WE NOW REACH THE CONSENT PORTION OF TODAY'S AGENDA.

MAY I HAVE A MOTION FOR THE CONSENT AGENDA?

Michelle Sarju

I MOVE APPROVAL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA.

Evan Briggs

Second.

Liza Rankin

Approval of the consent agenda has been moved by Vice President Sarju and seconded by Director Briggs.

Do directors have any items to remove from the consent agenda?

Sarah Clark

I'd like to remove item number seven, please.

Liza Rankin

OK.

Item number seven has been removed by Director Clark.

May I have a motion for the consent agenda as amended?

Michelle Sarju

I move approval of the consent agenda as amended.

Liza Rankin

I second.

The amended consent agenda has been moved by Director Sarju, seconded by Director Briggs.

All those in favor of the consent agenda as amended, please signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

All right.

The consent agenda has been approved.

So we have one item that was removed.

Can I please have a motion for item seven from the consent agenda?

Michelle Sarju

That's not in my notes.

What am I moving?

Brandon Hersey

Item number seven.

Michelle Sarju

Oh, I'm sorry.

It's right there.

You didn't highlight it.

Michelle Sarju

I move that the school board authorize the superintendent to accept the alliance for education grant in the amount of a whopping $528,000.

Immediate action is in the best interest of the district.

I second.

Liza Rankin

This item has been moved, properly moved and seconded by Director Sarju and Briggs.

Director Clark.

Sarah Clark

OK.

So I removed this item because it really lacks clarity on what this money is going to be spent on.

And I understand it's for strategic planning process but I would really like like more information on who like who like where this money is being spent.

And it sounds to me like this is the first acceptance of funds that there's a larger pool of funds that we receive for strategic planning.

And I would like to know how that money spent.

Yeah.

Brent Jones

THANK YOU FOR ASKING, DIRECTOR CLARK.

SO THIS IS ESSENTIALLY THREE PARTS.

ONE IS DOING A LEARNING NEEDS ANALYSIS AS WE GO FORWARD.

SECOND WAS A RESOURCE ALLOCATION STUDY AROUND HOW ARE WE DISTRIBUTING OUR FUNDS TO OUR HIGHEST PRIORITIES.

AND THIRD IS HELPING US WITH THE DEVELOPMENT ULTIMATELY OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN.

SO AS THIS BOARD COMES UP WITH THE GOALS AND GUARD RAILS AND YOU DIRECT ME TO CREATE THE STRATEGIC PLAN, WE NEED OUTSIDE SUPPORT TO REALLY HELP US TO DEVELOP THIS IN A MEANINGFUL AND STRATEGIC WAY.

SO LEARNING NEEDS ANALYSIS, RESOURCE ALLOCATION STUDY, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN.

SO WE ASKED FOR THIS MONEY TO HELP US.

LAST TIME WE DID OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, WE USED A THIRD PARTY TO HELP US TO BRING THAT HOME AS WELL.

SO THAT'S WHAT THESE FUNDS ARE FOR.

Sarah Clark

IS IT POSSIBLE TO SEE A BREAKDOWN OF LIKE A BUDGET BREAKDOWN LIKE HOW MUCH MONEY IS SPENT ON EACH OF THOSE ITEMS?

Brent Jones

ABSOLUTELY.

YES.

AND I CAN PROVIDE THAT TO THE BOARD.

Sarah Clark

OKAY.

THANK YOU.

Liza Rankin

ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS ITEM?

It is an action item, so we will need to call for a vote.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Director Mizrahi?

Aye.

Joe Mizrahi

Aye.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Vice President Sarju?

Joe Mizrahi

Aye.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Director Topp?

Gina Topp

Aye.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Director Briggs?

Aye.

Director Clark?

Sarah Clark

No.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Director Hersey.

Brandon Hersey

Aye.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

President Rankin.

Aye.

This motion has passed with a vote of six to one.

Liza Rankin

All right.

Moving on.

We have one action item which is also being introduced.

This action item number one is adoption of resolution 2024, 25, sorry, 2024 slash 25 dash 11, directing the superintendent to present preliminary recommendations and supporting analysis in October 2024 for up to five school closures for the 25-26 school year to develop a multi-year plan no later than June 2025 to achieve fiscal stability in support of student outcomes and to form a task force to advise the superintendent on implementation of 2025-26 school closures if they are approved by the board and to advise the superintendent on the development of the multi-year recommendations.

Oh, I guess I need a motion.

Michelle Sarju

I move that the school board adopt resolution number 20242511 as attached to the board action report.

Immediate action is in the best interest of the district.

Liza Rankin

I second.

Thank you.

This has been moved by Director Sarju and seconded by Director Briggs.

This item itself is sponsored by Director Topp and myself.

We want to ensure that the board has sufficient analysis to consider any recommendations for closures.

And so we recommend that the board approve this resolution and provide direction.

which includes that the superintendent will develop a multi-year plan to achieve physical stability in support of student outcomes, and the superintendent will present recommendations with detailed supporting analysis as outlined in the resolution for the 25-26 school year, and that the superintendent will form a task force that includes members of our community and staff.

to advise the superintendent on the implementation of any consolidation for 25-26 if they are approved by the board and for the development of the multi-year recommendations.

Director Topp, do you have anything you'd like to add?

Gina Topp

I think the only thing that I will add is that I think we heard Dr. Jones talk about moving at the speed of trust and I think this is step one in that speed of trust in rebuilding sort of trust with the community and creating the task force to help advise you.

I think we heard a lot of great input and feedback through this process and I think this is sort of that's that step in that process of trust building.

Brandon Hersey

yeah so one of the pieces of feedback that we received both in public testimony and in some of the communications that I'm sure went to multiple board directors was clarity around the fact that we are no longer considering closing 20 schools I'm happy to offer an amendment to that effect Reading through this, I could see why that might be of interest to community.

And frankly, at this phase, considering how we have led through this process, any reassurance that we can offer if it doesn't get in the way of us balancing our budget and solving our deficit, I'm more than willing to be a proponent of.

So I am more than happy to do that.

I think what I would need, Ms. Wilson-Jones, or the appropriate person is Is that something that I would need to write down?

Can I articulate it in a sentence?

Can I ask a clarifying question?

Please.

Yes.

Liza Rankin

In the resolution, it says analysis for up to five for the 25-26 school year.

Brandon Hersey

That's right.

Liza Rankin

What you're looking for is just additional clarification.

Brandon Hersey

Clarity beyond that point.

Yep.

Liza Rankin

That the 20 are not a consideration for 25-26.

100%.

Brandon Hersey

Does that track with what the ask, my fellow board director's understanding of the ask for community in terms of that language?

Yes.

Lit.

So do I need to write it down?

Or can I just say it?

We need to know exactly what the amendment to the resolution is.

Right.

So the amendment to the resolution would add in a line saying, that the Seattle School Board is no longer considering closing the 20 schools that were previously proposed in the well-resourced schools plan at this time.

Well, not at the, I don't, that's what I'm trying to wordsmith, yeah.

Say again, Sarah.

Sarah Clark

for the 25-26 school year?

Brandon Hersey

I believe that is right.

Does that track?

Sarah Clark

I was wondering if you wanted to add that at the end of your sentence.

Brandon Hersey

I, if I, I am asking, um, yeah, right, right, right.

We're doing this in real time.

Liza Rankin

I wonder, can we, I don't have it in front of me where it says, uh, yeah.

How about where it says, therefore be it resolved that the Seattle School Board of Directors directs the superintendent to present preliminary recommendations for up to five school closures to be implemented for the 2025-26 school year

Brandon Hersey

In lieu of?

Liza Rankin

As 20 schools is no longer being, oh, we've got the lawyers on it.

You guys probably have a better solution.

Brandon Hersey

You can have mine.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

So reading the first clause resolved that the school board or for the therefore after after therefore yeah that one school board of directors directs the superintendent to present preliminary recommendations for up to school up to five school closures but not more than five school closures would be the addition to be implemented for the 20 25 26 school year.

Brandon Hersey

I believe that would satisfy the ask.

Five is less than 20, objectively.

Does that track?

I mean, y'all need feedback.

All right.

That tracks for me.

I think that's accurate.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Was it that clear enough for folks, or does it need to be on the screen?

Brandon Hersey

I don't need it on the screen.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Resolved that the Seattle School Board of Directors directs the superintendent to present preliminary recommendations for up to five school closures but not more than five school closures to be implemented for the 25 26 school year.

And there's also some information that kind of foreshadows that sentiment within the board action report that also goes to your point.

Brandon Hersey

Yep.

Yep.

That tracks for me.

I believe that that is a fine interpretation.

Liza Rankin

All right, so we need a motion to approve.

All right, so Director Hersey has offered the amendment as read.

And may I please have a motion for consideration for this amendment as offered by Director Hersey.

Michelle Sarju

I move that we consider this amendment as offered by Director Hersey.

I second.

Brandon Hersey

All right.

Liza Rankin

All right.

Do we do all in favor or do we do a roll call vote?

Roll call.

Okay.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

So calling the roll on amendment.

One, two, action item one.

It was moved by Vice President Sarju and seconded by Director Briggs.

Okay.

Calling the vote now, Director Mizrahi.

Joe Mizrahi

Yes.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Vice President Sarju.

Joe Mizrahi

Yes.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Director Topp.

Yes.

Director Briggs.

Yes.

Director Clark.

yes Director Hersey aye and President Rankin aye and then Greg stop me if this is wrong but I think you now need a motion for action item one as amended by amendment one yep all right I will ask for a motion now to accept the resolution as amended

Michelle Sarju

I move that we accept the resolution as amended.

Evan Briggs

I second.

Liza Rankin

This has been moved by Director Sergiu and seconded by Director Briggs.

Do directors have any questions before we move for the vote on the item as amended?

Brandon Hersey

No.

Liza Rankin

Seeing none, the roll call, please.

Director Topp?

Gina Topp

Aye.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Director Briggs?

Aye.

Director Clark nay.

Director Hersey aye.

Director Mizrahi aye.

Vice President Sarju aye.

President Rankin aye.

The motion is passed with a vote of six to one.

Liza Rankin

Thank you.

All right.

Don't boo vote.

So moving on to our introduction items as a reminder introduction items are coming to us today.

We have another month before we take action.

There is a lot of time for directors to ask further questions.

So in the in the interest.

Well let's see.

OK.

So the first item is approval of the progress monitoring calendar.

Is there anything that staff or would like to highlight about this.

Well OK sorry.

Rewind for a second.

Our job as board directors is to prepare for meetings and get the information that we need to vote.

We have a month to do that on these items.

So unless if there's something that directors have a pressing question on now or something that couldn't be acquired later about the monitoring calendar, are there any questions that directors have now or anything that the superintendent would like to highlight as this is introduced to us?

Director Briggs.

Evan Briggs

Yeah.

Thank you for providing the monitoring calendar.

I thought overall it looked good.

I just was noticing that we didn't have a goal to monitor for May or July.

So I'm wondering if we're going to have seeing that the expectation is that we monitor a goal every single month.

Brent Jones

Director Worth can you speak to the May and July is this an off month but can you speak to May.

What was our rationale behind that.

Please.

Julia Warth

Yes.

So for the the May monitoring there are a number of guardrails that are coming before the board and previous guidance from our coach around progress monitoring was not to have more than three items coming before the board, including interim metrics for progress monitoring.

And so in order to not overload that progress monitoring session, it is focused on the guardrails.

There's also some data availability issues.

May is right in the middle of when we are doing spring assessments.

And so there isn't new goal data available at that point in time to monitor.

Evan Briggs

Is it could we is it possible to spread out the guardrail monitoring so that it's not all clustered in the month of May.

And then you know I as far as the data collection issue.

I mean I think the idea is that there's always some form of data that can be collected if I'm not mistaken.

So just wondering if that's a possibility.

Julia Warth

um so i would need to um go back and and work with the teams on that um there is some tension between the guidance that's provided that goals are monitored four times a year which the calendar does provide for goals to be monitored four times a year and the the goal monitoring monthly AND SO I WOULD NEED TO GO BACK TO THE TEAMS AND SEE IF THERE IS SOME ADDITIONAL GOAL DATA THAT COULD BE PROVIDED, SOMETHING THAT MAY BE MORE OF AN INPUT TYPE OF DATA VERSUS THE INTERIM OUTPUT DATA THAT THE BOARD IS TYPICALLY PRESENTED WITH.

Brent Jones

DIRECTOR BRiggs, IS YOUR CONCERN THAT WE GET OFF CYCLE AND WE

Evan Briggs

take our foot off the gas a bit is that yeah i mean i'm i think the the recommendation is that progress monitoring of a goal or interim goal happens every month so i'm just i'm sorry the sound is cutting out a bit could somebody oh sorry is it the question is it Oh, did you hear?

You didn't hear the question.

Yeah, the question was, am I concerned that we're taking, if we don't do it in May, that we're taking our foot off the gas a little bit?

And sure, that's one way to put it.

I think I'm coming from the place of the recommendation is that an interim goal gets measured every month.

So I'm just looking for the monitoring calendar to comport with that recommendation.

Julia Warth

Yeah, and I think certainly as we are looking at the new goals, the new interim metrics, and the second pancake, as President Rankin has termed it, we will be able to meet more of those expectations, but we are still operating in our first pancake and with the data that is available for the interim metrics and the goals that were set.

under the previous strategic plan.

Liza Rankin

Is that, well, my suggestion would be as, you know, it's been, we've got a month, so I think, would it be fair to say, Julia, as you just said, you would talk to staff and see if something else can develop out of that, and we will see that when the item comes back?

Great, thank you.

Does anybody else have any other questions about the calendar?

Alright, the next introduction item is approval of Instructional Materials Committee membership.

Caleb Perkins

President Rankin, if you will.

Liza Rankin

Oh, yeah, sorry.

Go ahead, please.

Caleb Perkins

Okay, just quickly.

The Instructional Materials Committee is a state-required group that plays a really critical role in terms of our materials adoptions.

If you recall, when you voted on the Algebra Geometry and Algebra II adoption, as well as the 6.8 ELA, it was actually the Instructional Materials Committee's recommendation that you were voting on.

It's a formal process, and it also aligns with our own values of ensuring that we're following and getting approval for the timeline, the selection criteria for any instructional materials, professional development cycle, and ultimately the recommendation going to you.

So why are we here today?

Because you voted on this four years ago, the board voted on this four years ago, and now those terms have expired.

And so we're going out to recruit.

We want to first thank all those who served, the parents and guardians and family members, as well as the school leaders who served.

And there are no current names on the bar for this introduction because we're currently in the process.

In fact, the application is still open until this Sunday.

So if you know of people who might be interested in this process.

We, as always with recruitment, we take it very seriously, try to get a broad representation from across the city, and we're pleased that we already have dozens of applications.

And in terms of the criteria, we'll make sure that we look across a number of perspectives to make sure our district is well reflected in this group.

So we'll come back to you on November 19th for action, and you will obviously have the names posted in the updated bar before that.

So with that, I'll take any questions.

Liza Rankin

Any questions from directors?

Seeing none, thank you very much.

Next item for introduction is approval of the 2025 state legislative agenda.

I am the sponsor of this item.

Briefly, every year the board adopts a legislative agenda that guides the district's advocacy during the state legislative session.

Our agenda this year continues our advocacy for full funding of basic education.

WE ALONG WITH ALMOST EVERY DISTRICT ACROSS THE STATE ARE UNITED IN PUSHING THE STATE TO ADDRESS THE SOURCES OF GREATEST DEFICITS FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS, WHICH ARE SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES, TRANSPORTATION, AND WHAT'S KNOWN AS MSOC, OR MATERIAL SUPPLIES AND OPERATING COSTS.

AND MSOC ALSO INCLUDES INSURANCE, WHICH HAS TRIPLED IN THE LAST THREE YEARS.

so the agenda also includes other priorities aligned with what we've heard from students and community members including access to mental health resources and culturally responsive educational resources and support we will be voting on this agenda on november 19th and once we vote on it if approved we share it with seattle legislators posted on the district website um WHAT IT DOES IS IT DIRECTS, IT'S RATHER BROAD, EVEN THOUGH IT COVERS SPECIFIC CATEGORIES BECAUSE THE BOARD APPROVED DIRECTION IS HOW OUR STAFF AND SUPERINTENDENT CAN GO TALK TO LEGISLATORS AND HOW WE CAN ALSO SAY, AS A MEMBER OF THE SEATTLE SCHOOL BOARD, OUR PRIORITIES ARE X, Y, Z. IT GIVES US ALL THAT COMBINED AUTHORITY AND ALSO DIRECTION ABOUT WHAT BILLS we're favoring and different things like that.

Under Washington state law, the school board and staff of the school district are not allowed to direct or request using district resources any advocacy.

So we can provide information.

We can say here are our priorities.

We cannot say you should go vote in favor of, you know, this levy or this whatever or hey everybody go out and tell your legislators you support bill number whatever whatever.

We're legally not allowed to do that.

We provide information and work with partners to direct advocacy more explicitly.

But our role is in setting the priorities, providing information.

Does anybody have any questions?

Oh, sorry.

Brandon Hersey

So my question would be if there are some organizations out there in the city of Seattle that wanted to organize amongst themselves and invite a board director or three to provide information that that would be chill, Is that right?

Liza Rankin

Yes, that is absolutely permissible, especially as part of the importance of having an approved agenda is that those directors could say, our agenda says this.

Brandon Hersey

Yeah.

Liza Rankin

And provide information, and then step aside or listen as other organizations turn to the same people and say, hearing that, here's what we think we should do to advocate.

Yep.

Brandon Hersey

I wonder if it would also be chill if we were to publicly notice a meeting in Olympia and let folks know what day we were going to be in Olympia so that if they wanted to go they didn't have to go by themselves.

They would know at least when we were there.

Is that possible or no?

Liza Rankin

I don't know that it would have to be a meeting.

I think we can just go.

Brandon Hersey

Well, that would be even better.

I just figure since, you know, it would be cool if all seven of us could go on the same day.

And since we're talking about school board stuff, it feels like just to cover our bases.

Liza Rankin

You're giving our legal counsel.

Brandon Hersey

I'm being legal.

I'm literally being legal.

I'm trying to figure out the law.

We just got to publicly notice it, right?

Is that wrong?

Greg Narver

We would have to talk about exactly what kind of meeting you're contemplating and whether we're noticing.

Brandon Hersey

Oh, that possible quorum.

Thank you.

That's why we pay Greg.

Liza Rankin

Notice of possible quorum.

We're not making decisions amongst ourselves, but we are.

Brandon Hersey

See?

I knew it was something.

We just haven't had that word used in a while.

Notice of possible quorum.

So if we were to notice a possible quorum...

And all go down to Olympia on the same day and then make it super known, maybe even on a day that, like, folks were available or something like a lobby day or something.

I don't know.

That's chill.

Is that?

Greg Narver

Yeah, as long as you're not convening.

Brandon Hersey

And taking votes and stuff.

Yeah.

Greg Narver

Or meeting with more than a quorum in a setting that hasn't been publicly noted.

But the fact that all seven of you can be there.

Brandon Hersey

Yeah.

Greg Narver

Meeting with legislators.

Brandon Hersey

Yeah.

Greg Narver

without it convening as a...

We just all happen to be in the same place at the same time.

Yeah.

It's like if all seven of you are marching in a parade all the same day.

You're going to tell people you're all going to be there, but you're not gathering together while we're here.

Brandon Hersey

Yeah.

That sounds good.

That answers my question.

Thank you.

Liza Rankin

Any other questions?

Gina Topp

Not so much a question.

Well, maybe this is a question.

How can we, or when we approve this maybe, and this is sort of to Director Hersey's point, how can we have a discussion of how we as a board can be effective in supporting this agenda?

Liza Rankin

We are going to have a work session on that at the end of this month.

Gina Topp

Perfect.

Kelly Alleen-Willems

I think it will be.

No, I'm serious.

Sarah Clark

I think it will be as well.

It'll probably be my favorite work session of the year.

Liza Rankin

Yep.

We'll talk about...

Yep.

Yep.

Anything else?

Gina Topp

The end of October?

Yeah.

Is it scheduled?

Yeah.

Liza Rankin

It's scheduled.

It's already scheduled.

Sarah Clark

On a Wednesday?

Yes, on a Wednesday.

The 23rd.

Yep.

Liza Rankin

Great.

I've got it.

Okay.

All right.

Moving on?

OK.

So our last three introduction items relate to two proposed future levies and one action that we need to take annually for a previously approved levy.

We have presentations here, however, So again, our job as board directors is to come having done our homework, read the stuff, and we also rely on the superintendent and staff to provide us with the information we need.

However, that doesn't have to happen in a performance, and actually, I think that this presentation is really great and appropriate for going out directly to community, not via having access to this board meeting, but I know in the past, WHEN LEVIES ARE UP, DISTRICT STAFF FROM THE BUDGET OFFICE AND OPERATION OFFICE AND CAPITAL ARE OUT AT PTA MEETINGS AND OUT AT NURSING HOMES AND RETIREMENT PLACES AND INFORMING, BECAUSE AGAIN, EVEN THOUGH THESE ARE LEVIES THAT WE NEED TO PROVIDE, EDUCATION, WE CANNOT USE DISTRICT RESOURCES TO SAY YOU SHOULD VOTE FOR THESE LEVIES BUT WE CAN PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT MAKES THE LEVIES SO IMPORTANT.

I DO NOT BELIEVE IT IS THE BEST USE OF BOARD TIME TO GO THROUGH THIS AND THAT WE NEED TO DO OUR HOMEWORK AND ALSO THAT THIS INFORMATION IS REALLY VALUABLE FOR OUR BROADER COMMUNITY AND I'M GOING TO ASK THAT HOW CAN WE GET THIS OUT TO VOTERS AND FAMILIES AND OUR COMMUNITY TO ENGAGE WITH AND ASK QUESTIONS AND OUR ROLE IS TO AFFIRM THAT THAT WAS DONE.

Brent Jones

PRESIDENT RANKIN, WE HAVE OUR MEANS TO BE ABLE TO GET THE INFORMATION OUT TO COMMUNITY.

CHIEF REDMOND WILL MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN GET IT UP POSTED ON THE DIFFERENT PLACES FOR COMMUNITY.

IF CHIEF PODESTA WANTED TO JUST MAKE JUST A COUPLE INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS SO THAT PEOPLE KNOW HIGH LEVEL WHAT THIS IS AND THEN WE'LL TAKE IT AND PROCEED TO POST IT AND

Liza Rankin

BUT I WOULD SAY NOT JUST POSTING BUT HISTORICALLY THERE HAVE BEEN COLLABORATION WITH SCHOOLS FIRST WHO IS THAT ARM OF WE INFORM, THEY CAN ACTUALLY ADVOCATE.

THAT IS A REALLY IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP AND HOW IS STAFF working with them and getting this information out to voters to understand the importance of this funding and also the relationship between capital and operations, all this stuff.

This is stuff that community needs to know directly from staff.

Fred Podesta

And to that end, there are two community informational meetings planned before you take a vote on the resolutions in November, and then many, many more planned after that vote and before the voters go to the polls.

So there'll be lots of information made available.

And in terms of introducing this item, if we could just look at one slide, maybe two, just to provide a little bit of context.

If we could go to a pie chart, please.

I think somehow we skipped the...

So I just want to make the point that we have two levies, that there are resolutions being introduced tonight, a capital levy and an operations levy.

And we've talked a lot over the last few years about our operation budget, our general fund budget and the challenge that we have.

So I just think what's important about this pie chart is a little less than two-thirds of our funding is state funding, and the next biggest funding source is that operations levy.

So this is critically important to maintaining service to students, and so that's one levy.

And then construction and technology costs are 99% funded by our capital levies.

And so these are, and the levies that we're talking about now are renewals of pre-existing funding sources.

We're not talking about a new source of revenue nor a way to resolve necessarily our budget issues.

This is about at least maintaining the status quo and with some adjustment for inflation and other things.

The third item that's being introduced tonight is we need to adjust on the operating side.

We always adjust what our actual levy authority is based on our legal ability.

That is the one item that we may want to talk about when we come back for a vote on the operating levy because I think there's a lot of interest amongst other districts and our colleagues in Olympia about how the operations levy is capped or potentially capped.

So we may want to adjust the numbers and the resolution when we come back to make sure we've given ourselves enough headroom to utilize whatever authority we end up having after this legislative session.

So I think those are the main points I want to cover.

Liza Rankin

And I'll just add to that that in the legislative priorities, we do have advocating for increased levy authority.

Director Clark.

Sarah Clark

Oh hello.

OK.

Couple of things.

Just on the pie chart if this is going to go out to the public we might want to just I think the local taxes band is the levies.

Yes.

We might want to just say levy in there just for clarity.

Fred Podesta

That's a great suggestion.

Sarah Clark

And then I do have a list of questions about the BEX levy.

Can I email those to you.

Fred Podesta

Absolutely.

Sarah Clark

OK.

Fred Podesta

And again there's a lot of information here.

We really appreciated the board's time to give you a sense of how that planning is done.

You know the levy is ends up as a product of all that planning.

It's also we work with the board, empaneled BEX and BTA Oversight Committee on construction.

So there is a lot of scrutiny of the capital levy in particular with both that oversight committee and our information technology advisory committee.

So a lot of people weigh in.

You've empaneled many technical experts to help us advise on those priorities, and you've given us guiding principles about how we set those priorities.

So, yeah, we'd be happy to drill into as many details as you're interested.

Sarah Clark

OK.

Thank you.

And then one last question for clarity for the community engagement sessions that you just mentioned the two were those in reference to.

Are those going to happen before we come back and vote on this.

Or are those going to happen before the public vote.

Fred Podesta

OK.

Two are and then several more will after you vote to authorize putting it on the ballot to inform the public before they go to the polls in February.

Sarah Clark

Thanks for clarifying that for me.

Thank you.

Fred Podesta

Great.

So that was my clumsy attempt to deal with all three introduction items, if that works for you.

Liza Rankin

Do they have any questions?

So we need to compile questions and get those to staff if we have them.

And if we need to call for information session or two by twos or something like that, we can.

If people need more information before we approve, we can do that.

And the third one has to do with the difference between our voters authorize us to collect more than the state allows us to.

And so we have to then approve the reconciliation between those two things.

Fred Podesta

We recalibrate to what legal authority we have in a given fiscal year.

So it's a housekeeping function.

Sarah Clark

Do you have a question about that?

Does that money go back to the voters that we.

I mean if we're.

It doesn't get collected.

Oh it doesn't get collected.

Fred Podesta

We don't collect more than we're allowed to but we've set ourselves up to have room and here's where we acknowledge what we didn't actually have.

Liza Rankin

OK.

OK.

Got it.

That's good news.

OK.

But if we were allowed to collect it our voters have given us that approval.

It's the state that has not allowed that collection.

Does anybody else have any questions?

Fred Podesta

Thank you very much.

Liza Rankin

Thank you, Fred.

All right.

You quickly and then me quickly.

Right?

We have a, did you want to give an update or is the resolution sort of change your update?

SPEAKER_47

No, the resolution didn't change it.

Liza Rankin

Okay.

Okay.

Brent Jones

Thank you, President Rankin.

I'll be brief.

And given the resolution that this board just clarified and gave me direction on, I just want to share two slides with you to talk about where we are.

And essentially, we are going to go to the next slide, please.

I want you to see the timeline here associated with Board Policy 6883, school and instructional site closures.

By the end of this month, I will release preliminary recommendations to not more than five school sites to create new school communities.

My intent is to release this plan around October 21st, having incorporated what we've heard this evening in the coming days.

In a moment, I'll speak to the components and guiding principles of what we're planning during this transition.

The preliminary recommendation then will sit for a 30-day period of public review from October into November, during which time we will engage with the impacted communities to discuss exactly what the proposal would mean for them.

Our goal is to be working side by side with individual communities and, where possible, individual families during this period.

We want to be able to share specific transition plans with school communities about the next steps for students, staff, programs, and services.

Doing this work at a smaller scale will allow us to answer in specific and personalized ways.

Then we'll proceed with hearings for the public at school sites, which we intend to be completed by mid-December.

And after the hearings, I will aim to present my final recommendation to the board by late December.

And that will be folding in appropriate adjustments to my preliminary recommendations based on what we hear.

I would anticipate that the board would reconvene in January to hold another hearing and then take final action.

And after this action, I will form an inclusive task force to advise me and the district on implementation and next steps.

I'll speak to more of that shortly.

Then in June, I will come back to the board with a multi-year outlook on our fiscal picture.

The plan will update the board on the forecast for stabilization, looking across all of our resources and how we are set up to meet our goals and achieve fiscal sustainability.

There have been some questions around whether additional closures will be recommended for the future.

Right now, we are focused on getting this right and earning trust, taking one step forward and supporting families along the way.

So I want to share some principles for how we do that.

One is that we want to make sure that we're moving at the speed of trust and we recognize that school consolidation is a journey really built on trust, which is going to require us to walk alongside our families.

We are beginning with the smaller set of schools focusing on the creation of up to five newly merged school communities.

This approach ensures that we have the support of both the community and the board before implementing larger changes.

So one of the principles is around minimizing disruption.

We've heard that the families don't just want disruption for disruption's sake.

They want to see, feel, and experience the benefits of change.

And we have to prove we can provide that.

Starting with five schools, our goal is to merge entire communities, programs, services, ensuring that students and staff remain together.

That means students can stay with most or all of their friends, their colleagues, they will see familiar adults in the building, and they will be able to access the same services and programs that they had in their previous school building.

That was not something we could really provide with the larger scale approach.

Second, we want to provide assurances to families.

Our families are seeking clear assurances about the services, programs, and supports available during this transition period and as they integrate, during this transition period as they integrate into new school communities.

They want to know what they will get in their new school and what will happen with their old school.

We will develop comprehensive transition plans to ensure a smooth process for students, staff, programs, and services implementation planning is already well underway.

We want to make sure we build on strengths.

A couple more points here.

Our community values the many programs and services offered by our schools, which is a reflection of the tremendous work that our staff does every day for our students.

We've heard how important our dual language immersion program is our special special education programming is for students and some of the structures destruction of both side of our option schools we aim to build on the success to attract more families to our schools Fourth, we want to report on progress.

We have to be very clear about what we are seeking to accomplish.

While this will help us be more efficient, effective, it exists at the more abstract system level, and we have an obligation to explain the benefits of change to our families at this level.

That's why we have to clearly define our success and track our progress.

We will continue to monitor the academic, social, and emotional impact of these changes and keep the community informed.

That might mean that we're looking closely at attendance, student survey results, listening to qualitative feedback, check-ins from adults in the building, and of course, monitoring our student outcomes.

We don't want to look at that data alone.

We want our families to help us make meaning of it by working alongside them, which leads us to the next point.

Fifth, it's necessary to lead with transparency.

Trust is built on transparency.

Upon board action, we will establish a task force to help us guide us in this process.

This task force will help us work alongside our families to ensure and determine what to monitor, how to monitor it, and what lessons we're learning along the way to guide our future actions.

uh...

two more points engaged locally and often we have to offer our families sufficient insight into how change will impact experience at their school or in their community regional or district-wide community engagement that does not do the extent that we would like it to do.

We will engage with individual families and communities to address their specific needs and concerns, providing personalized support throughout the transition.

That will mean working with families on transportation routes, connecting them with service and program information, helping them to understand what staffing their child's grade will look like, and more.

And lastly, we need to pursue partnerships.

We wanna make sure we find tremendous value in both the school that we are closing and those that we're gonna keep open.

So in closing, I wanna thank the community for your patience and support that you have shown.

This is difficult and challenging and we have not always gotten it right, but I'm committed to getting it right.

And I wanna thank the board for your partnership in this endeavor.

So at this point, I'd like to open it up for any direction from the board beyond my interpretation.

My next step would be to release a preliminary recommendation with the appropriate analysis and begin working with our communities and initiate the process.

So if there are additional direction based on my interpretation, I'm open to hearing that now and later as well.

Sarah Clark

Can I ask a question?

are during October basically through the rest of the year are at any point.

Are you going to bring us more options to close our budget gap.

I just want to make sure that in January I'm well informed of what our budgetary options are to make my decision.

Brent Jones

Absolutely.

You all approved a resolution recently for options that we can use for fiscal stabilization.

We'll be bringing you that in January for sure.

But we're going to be talking with you throughout the next several months on those.

Sarah Clark

And because the resolution that just passed notes preliminary recommendations for closing up to five schools.

Are you going to bring us multiple scenarios and adjust the budget recommendations based on those scenarios.

Brent Jones

I plan to bring a single scenario ultimately.

So one school zero schools to five schools but not a one two three four or five.

Joe Mizrahi

OK.

Thank you.

I want to ask about the term that I think is newer to this process, the idea of merging communities, and just make sure I understand it, that unlike maybe the plans that were 17 to 20 schools where, because of the scope of that, when a school was closing, Those kids may have been going to three or four different schools based on on where they live at.

The goal here would be that that when a school is closed at every student or as many as possible are going to one community to really keep that continuity.

Brent Jones

That is correct, OK?

Staff students programs all come.

I'll merge together, yes.

Liza Rankin

um i i would like to i guess advocate for or understand in the process that when a building is closed or when students move from another building um that we have we have that happen all the time if a building is under construction we have students in interim location the the the part that's um i think part of what was so of the proposal that we saw in September had a lot to do with boundary changes.

And so I guess you're asking for advice.

I would say that that is a conversation that is best informed by the folks who live there and that as much as we can, like some people might want to stay all together, but as much as we can, I would ask that we focus on allowing families who are moving from a building to choose to, you know, like maybe they're, if they're at, you know,

Brent Jones

I understand.

Liza Rankin

Yeah, if they would rather be like, well, I can actually walk to this other elementary school.

I would rather be able to enroll there than go here.

As much flexibility, I think, as we can provide students.

Brent Jones

Absolutely.

Liza Rankin

And staff.

I think, you know, displaced staff should probably get first choice in the teacher pool or, you know, what positions might be open.

I think as much as we can provide center on helping people make the choice that's going to work for them as opposed to saying no you're all staying together and you have to go here and then I would also ask that we think about the groups of families that may be moving and then that may not be the same assignment as makes sense you know I guess I would like to understand like incoming kindergartners would they then would there be boundary changes then that that would impact the incoming kindergartners differently than the families that, do you know what I mean?

We just, yeah, I think as much as possible, let's not predetermine and you're gonna go here and you're gonna go there without really understanding what is gonna make the most sense for people and their families.

Brent Jones

ABSOLUTELY.

OUR GOAL IS CONTINUITY WITH FLEXIBILITY.

SO TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN GIVE FOLKS CHOICE, WE WOULD LIKE TO DO THAT.

BUT THE GOAL IS TO TRY TO KEEP COMMUNITIES INTACT.

Liza Rankin

ANYTHING ELSE?

All right, thank you for that.

Thank you.

The last item that we have is self evaluation.

Did folks do scoring?

I think we can go through this pretty quickly.

I think the biggest Uh, we, we missed some stuff at the retreat that had to get canceled.

Um, so when is the, I guess everybody's exhausted now.

I think we'll have to figure this out offline, but as soon as we can, um, address, like, so we're going to have, we will have the student need assessment.

We will have that.

Um, we, uh, We really need to still work on time use.

And then one big thing that we missed was full board governance training that would have happened, governance training that would have happened at the retreat that didn't.

And so I actually, I scored us the same as last quarter.

Did anybody else have anything different?

Brandon Hersey

I had no change from my scores last quarter.

What?

I had no change.

Liza Rankin

No change, yeah.

Which we anticipated we weren't going to be able to advance much, but missing that retreat missed a big one.

But did anybody have anything different?

Sarah Clark

I was actually going to score us lower on the vision and goals values and guardrails because we did not do our retreat or we missed the makeup of that.

Seems like maybe we did a little less.

Liza Rankin

For oh I guess I was considering because we currently do have adopted goals and guardrails is why I kept it the same.

Sarah Clark

I yeah I probably would if we were not in year zero but because we're kind of doing two things at once we're both using what we have and creating something new.

It seems like a piece of what of that was missing for me.

So what did you have for.

Twenty and three.

OK.

Liza Rankin

Did anybody else have anything different or the same?

What?

Okay, because it's very late and I am not, yeah, I'm going to ask everyone to look over what we think we can tackle in the next quarter and make recommendations and we'll try to get another training put into the calendar somehow as soon as we can.

Does that seem like a good approach?

Yeah.

Okay.

There being no further business on the agenda, this meeting stands adjourned at 9.16 p.m.