The rules for public testimony are on the screen and I implore you I beg you I ask you to follow said rules.
One doesn't like to gavel down folks giving testimony because we need your testimony.
Two minutes.
It goes by very very quickly with 30 seconds left you'll see the yellow light.
When the red light comes on please conclude your remarks.
We do not take comments on individually named staff.
You will be ruled out of order.
I'd also like to remind you that you need to spend the majority of your time testifying on the topics that you signed up for.
And with that.
Would you please read the top three people on the front of the list and then if you could stand back and we can roll through this and keep our board directors moving.
Thank you so much.
First up for public testimony we have Naj Ali followed by Josiah Bamu and Joanne Pinkman.
Nash?
Josiah?
I was wondering.
I'm Josiah Bamu.
I'm Northern Arapaho.
I'm a student.
This is a letter from my mother to the Seattle School District in support of a native focused academy.
She writes I'm submitting this letter on behalf of myself and my family who are enrolled tribal members of the Northern Arapaho tribe.
I would like to encourage Seattle School District to restore Indian heritage schools.
Most recently my family has been affected by the lack of native culture and values in the Seattle public schools.
My niece who I've taken care of since age 8 years old left and attended Chumawa Indian school located in Salem Oregon.
She left because she could not thrive socially while attending Seattle Public Schools for years.
I encouraged her to apply herself in school social events sports counseling and mentorships but she continued to withdraw which she had evident in her social skills.
She had no friends during her entire sixth and seventh grade year.
The friends that she had in eighth grade year were a few of another Native American students she had met in the meantime while attending Native American events.
Since I could see her that she had struggled socially I asked her one day why it was so hard for her.
She stated that she had felt like she did not belong and I asked her why she had felt that way.
So she began to tell them most of the students who attended her school spoke different languages.
and that they each spoke and that they each had their own culture who looks like them, dresses like them and those same students identified them with each other and on the other hand she was one out of a handful of Native American students who attended her school.
She always had decent grades, I could see her applying herself to her daily homework, school assignments and I could see the sense of disappointment when it came to friends, social events or attending school itself.
This is why I made the decision to send her to all native boarding school.
If I had a closer option as an Indian heritage school I would send her and keep her home.
This is why it is important Seattle Public Schools to recognize that the Native American students need a place where they feel like they belong a place where they thrive socially and academically and not at school three hours away.
My hope is that this letter is that you restore Indian heritage school a school for Native American students who feel overlooked and feel that they don't belong will have a good quality school to attend.
Ethnic studies now.
Joanne.
After Joanne we will have Anisa Rodan followed by Ali Shin and Marlo Barrington.
Dear Seattle school board members and superintendent Nyland.
My name is Joanne Sears Pinkham.
I'm Ojibwe and I'm in the seventh grade.
I'm a student at Hazel Wolf and my father is director Scott Pinkham.
Hi dad.
I'm here to support.
I'm in here of support of a native focus option high school for the for the past three years.
I have provided testimony of the district asking asking that the American Indian Heritage School be reopened.
As you know, that never happened.
And that is why I'm here again today.
The reason why I started coming to testify was because the school district provides it prides itself on being inclusive.
They claim that every student matters yet the district continues to ignore me.
They ignore my sister Molly who at one point pushed herself to the edge of suicide.
Yes my sister complicated contemplated suicide.
I'm so thankful that she got help and is doing extremely well in the native focus college.
She made the president's and dean's list for the past two years.
She's also awarded the TSU scholarship for academic excellence for the past February.
Superintendent has gone to great lengths to see it so that native focused high school remains closed.
The schools the school district has pushed native students out and ignored them.
You know this because this district collected data that shows Seattle schools have failed native students like my sister and I.
many students and many students here tonight.
You know that the push out rate is 50 percent higher than any other student.
And you know that those numbers are far higher than nationally than the national average.
Yet you choose to ignore them.
My sister and I helped campaign for our dad to be elected to the school board because of the mistreated mistreatment by our teachers and principals.
Some of them are incredibly horrible And then I wonder why they choose to teach.
Is it to ruin Native students lives.
Is it to see other is it to see some students are mistreated.
I know that 70 years ago my grandmother went to boarding school where she was treated the same way.
We're in the 21st century.
The schools teachers and some board members are and superintendent continues to mistreat students.
It is unbearable.
Oh ethnic ethnic studies now.
Vanessa Anissa I'm sorry.
Can I start whenever.
OK.
OK.
Sorry.
Hello my name is Anisa Roydad.
I'm a student at Ballard High School.
Ethnic studies has been on the board's radar for a while.
You've passed resolutions in support of ethnic studies but that is not enough.
Parents teachers and students want ethnic studies now.
As I'm sure you're familiar with research conducted on ethnic studies courses shows they're beneficial to students of color and white students socially and academically.
They increase student engagement achievement and foster more positive learning and more positive attitudes towards learning.
Personally, I've never had an ethnic studies course, which is part of the problem.
Anyway, but up until my world history class this year, I hadn't learned about places outside of the U.S. save learning about ancient Egypt in the third grade.
I am Pakistani, and this year was the first year Pakistan was even mentioned in one of my social studies classes.
It was the first year Islam was addressed outside of the context of Islamic terrorism and talked about in terms of its actual religious doctrines and its accomplishments.
So many different ethnicities are overlooked and or portrayed in terms of Europeans.
This creates narrow and misinformed views of other people and damages students confidence about their own culture.
If the school board is serious about ethnic studies action needs to be taken.
A timeline needs to be established for ethnic studies that the studies development group the ethnic studies curriculum development group needs to be supported and ethnic studies needs to be added as a graduation requirement.
Thank you for your time.
Hi throughout my time in high school I've been privileged enough to have teachers who went above and beyond to teach history that was true complete and relevant.
This is no thanks to this district but thanks to incredible teachers that spend countless hours working to build lessons and curriculum that is not Eurocentric and it is comprehensive.
Were it not for a ninth grade language arts teacher that built her own race in America unit our school would have no anti-racist club that makes it's making serious strides on the issues of race and equity our school faces.
She taught it in a way that created a safe classroom environment where students felt empowered to gauge engage in a discussion and as a result they took action on the issues they learned about.
Were it not for the teachers that teach my humanities block I would not have been taught to read and analyze with a critical eye and to always check my sources.
The ethnic studies curriculum must be built with the help and guidance of teachers who understand the challenges of teaching topics that are seen as controversial.
In order to be confident in teaching this curriculum teachers need to know that they will be backed up and teachers must be trained in facilitating conversations about issues of race in order to prevent students of color from being tokenized and forced to speak for their entire community.
The current plan to embed ethnic studies into all curriculums K through 12 seems great on the surface.
However there is no clear transparent timeline and at the high school level an independent ethnic studies as a graduation requirement would allow students to dive in depth into the history struggles and triumphs of all cultures.
Ethnic studies would give students the knowledge that they need to understand the systems of racism and oppression that our country is built on and the skills to dismantle them.
History is story stories create humanity and humanity creates compassion.
It is my belief that compassion is what will change the world.
So how do we expect students to become meaningful productive members of society when there are pages missing from our history books and stories missing from our curriculum.
Sounds like you guys are doing a lot of work on ethics studies.
We don't hear about any of that.
So if you want it to seem like you're doing work then you need to go to the students and say this is what we're doing because we don't have hours to dig through public record and figure that out.
We're not hearing about that at all.
Thank you.
Oh please reinstate a native centered high school.
Can I ask you which schools the teachers that you mentioned that put together curriculum that mattered to you which schools they taught at?
Thank you.
After Marlo we will have Chris Jackins followed by Vicki Pinkham and Thomas Spear.
I would like to cede my time to Sue Stahl.
Hello I'm Suze Stahl I taught at Ballard High School for 10 years and I'm now an instructor and content coach in the University of Washington secondary teacher education program.
I also teach a course called race race culture and identity in the classroom at UW Bothell mainly populated by juniors and seniors who are pursuing their elementary teaching certification.
Ethnic studies is very much on the minds of people who are training to be teachers.
Graduate and undergraduate students in my education classes are keenly aware of the need for this curriculum at all levels and are eager to learn when and how they will be trained to teach it.
I have a peripheral I have been a peripheral observer as dozens of students and SPS teachers have mobilized to demand mandatory ethnic studies at all grade levels in SPS.
I appreciate that there has been some progress.
I understand you passed a resolution and that a task force is working on creating pilot curriculum and figuring out how to embed it into all courses and that there is now a timeline.
I learned that about five minutes ago.
Thank you.
Such a timeline will cement the institutional commitment of Seattle Public Schools to creating a meaningful district wide ethnic studies program.
I agree with other speakers that a distinct year long class that is a graduation requirement is necessary for high school students to learn the core concepts as well as the nuances of this complex topic.
Students of color at all grade levels have experienced barriers to their own education due to lack of representation in school curriculum.
There is growing awareness among their white counterparts of the need to learn about other cultures in order to be fully educated.
Some of these students are here in this room right now and they have been working tirelessly to demonstrate how important this is for them and for their siblings and for all students attending our schools.
These students report spending upwards of 12 hours per month lobbying for this curriculum.
They are not paid for this time and it's time that they could be spending on schoolwork or at jobs.
I'm grateful to them for pressuring SPS staff to do what they are paid to do and recognizing and honoring the urgency of this issue.
Thank you.
My name is Chris Jackins box 8 4 0 6 3 Seattle 9 8 1 2 4 on the personnel report.
Does an after the fact vote on out of endorsement assignments comply with state law on deaf and hard of hearing issues.
Two points.
Number one at the superintendent candidate public forum on March 29th there was not an interpreter for deaf and hard of hearing attendees.
Number two I asked that the district allocate an on call interpreter.
On the guiding principles for the BEX V capital levy three points.
Number one at a BEX V public meeting I noted public opposition to the loss of playground space and I noted that the district plans to demolish a school building at Wing Luke that the district paid six million dollars to construct only 12 years ago.
I have previously provided documents to the district on these issues.
Number two in response district staff told attendees at the public meeting that the Wing Luke example was not true and that neighborhoods were not unhappy about losing playground space.
Number three it is not clear that the proposed guiding principles address such issues.
On the expansion of Native American educational programming three points.
Number one please support an amendment to establish a school in the tradition of the district's previous Indian heritage high school.
Number two the incoming superintendent has indicated a familiarity with such schools.
Number three the district is projecting a substantial budget surplus for next year.
This is the time to make a down payment toward establishing such a school.
Please vote yes on that sort of amendment.
Thank you very much.
My name is Vicki Pinkham.
I'm Tlingit.
I'm from the Qeˀciyéẁyéẁ clan of Angoon Alaska.
I'm here today to also read for him a statement from Herb LeBeau.
He's a Cheyenne River Sioux parent from with the Seattle Public High School student here in the city.
He's unable to make it tonight to this meeting but he'd like to address the school board.
There are several as you know there are several schools in the city that focus on STEM APP and IB courses.
The district claims that Lincoln Springs is a native focus school.
However it is a marginalized institution.
The school has only 125 seats for students and does not have space to grow.
Lincoln Springs is on the verge of being pushed out and it would be and it could be speculated that the school plans to close this school.
the school district would plan to close the school.
The district is preparing to install and block the native murals that they that were fought for to put back on the school at Robert Eagle Staff by putting in portables located at the former American Indian Heritage High School.
For the better part of 10 years the native community has provided testimony to the district.
Several thousand signatures were gathered.
Asking that the American Indian High School be reopened.
Former superintendents made promises to reopen the school and that has not happened.
The school district prides itself on being inclusive and claims that every student matters.
Seattle Public School has failed to effectively support native learners and Seattle Public Schools own data shows this.
The native dropout rate is 40 to 50 percent higher than its peers.
And those numbers are even higher on a national level.
The native focus school can offer more than increased graduation rates for American Indians and Alaska natives.
It can educate an entire community.
It can stop the ignorance it can stop the blinding marginalizing of high school dropout rates for American Indians.
This could be your legacy.
This could be something that you could stop.
And I would venture to say that from what I've seen I don't think that you're going to be strong enough man enough to do this.
And that's unfortunate because my children matter so much so that my husband is on this board.
He wants to make a difference.
We all want to make a difference.
We all want to say that this is important to our children that it should not happen to your children.
And if it did wouldn't you be standing here also tonight saying that we want something better.
We deserve something better.
I implore you to listen to the voices here tonight.
to listen to the things that have been said the past 10 years and actually move and do something not just for the non-natives but for every person of color that is coming up through this system.
Please please do do not be as ignorant as our president as the people that he's put in place.
And I just I ask you.
Would you want your children to contemplate suicide.
I when I first heard her say that on graduation night I was stunned.
We're college educated Indians.
We're the first in our families to come forward and say we want this to stop.
We've got principles in place in this city that I have to wonder what's wrong with them.
Like my daughter said what is wrong with them.
That 70 years ago my mother went to boarding school and was mistreated that my children are being mistreated.
It's unacceptable.
You're going to be remembered.
I would hope and pray that you are going to be remembered for something good.
Please listen to the kids now and don't let another 70 years go by.
Thank you.
Thomas after Thomas we will have Sarah Sense Wilson followed by Diamond and Amandio Ogura.
Hello.
Yes.
My name is Tom Spear.
My ancestral name is Lekwulas.
I'm Duwamish Tribe Chief Seattle's one of Chief Seattle's descendants from his daughter Princess Angeline.
Tonight I've been asked to represent my colleague Robin Wilson who's Coeur d'Alene and teaches in our school system.
Robin wrote Dear school board members I'd like to speak on the topic of restoring Indian Heritage High School a much needed safe place of academics culture and socio emotional learning for our indigenous children and their families.
Our indigenous students have continued to experience the highest dropout rates and the lowest graduation rates compared to any other racial or ethnic group in Seattle public schools.
This appalling trend.
is seen nationwide except in those instances where communities have stepped up to fight these inequities.
For example the Pendleton Oregon school districts Nikiya'awii community school a native focus school in Oregon has a graduation rate that is increased to almost 84 percent.
When will Seattle Public Schools step up.
A school specifically designed to support cultural knowledge while promoting positive tribal identity within an inclusive academically rigorous environment is what our school district needs to address inequities that other district alternative option schools have done for their marginalized ethnic groups.
Please consider opening a native centered high school that will address the unique needs of our indigenous population.
Sincerely Robin Wilson.
I have a second statement here it's very brief from Elizabeth Cook Lynn of Crow Creek.
She says.
Native populations in America are not ethnic populations.
They are not minority populations, neither immigrant nor tourist nor people of color.
They are indigenous peoples of this continent.
They are the landlords with very special political and cultural status in the realm of American identity and citizenship.
Since 1924, they have possessed dual citizenship, both tribal and United States, and are the only population that has not been required to deny their previous national citizenship in order to possess United States citizenship.
They are known and documented as citizens by their tribal nations.
Thank you.
Good evening.
My name is Sarah Sent Wilson and I'd like and I'm Oglala Sioux and I'm chairperson for UNEA volunteer.
I want to first just thank the board for having the wisdom to hire a new superintendent of such stature and esteem.
So I want to thank you all for seeing that there there needs to be a different vision in a different direction for the school board for the school district.
The as you all know Superintendent Nyland and leadership created an analysis on Indian education and from that analysis there was a report with recommendations.
The recommendations specifically state that they do not support having a native focused school which if you read the analysis carefully you will see numerous inaccuracies.
misguided information and very biased information throughout that entire analysis.
And I would be happy to sit with all of you or any of you to go over that.
I think it's very important that when you're given a report that it's accurate and that decisions are made based on the accuracy.
So I'm letting you know that there is a lot of information in there that's that's misleading and misguided.
As a lot of you know throughout the last 10 years we've we've provided the district with a proposal and that proposal is a multistage move towards reestablishing a native focused school and we could call it whatever you want.
I understand that there's a number of parent advisory committee people who have a.
disliking for the idea of an Indian heritage school.
So if we want to call it an academy if we want to call it whatever but but we do need a native focused school and we have broad based support.
So the few people that you're listening to they do not represent the majority of supporters.
You guys have seen us year after year after year bringing Whether we're doing a rally whether we're doing other testimony and support and sending you letters it has broad based support.
So for you guys to ignore those voices that is so disrespectful.
It's so disrespectful.
And to say that the parent advisory committee represents all two thousand nine hundred some native students.
That is that's a false misleading effort and you're playing.
a power play by allowing that to happen.
So we have support from Red Eagle Soaring.
We have support from the Seattle Canoes.
We have support from the King County Native American leadership.
We have support from United Indians of all tribes.
We have support from the NAACP.
Seattle branch we have support from the Washington Indian Civil Rights Commission Learn 28 and the list goes on and on and on.
OK.
So these are all very credible organizations and people that support this work to establish a native school.
And I think that that is being invalidated and you guys are not hearing us for whatever reason year after year after year.
And I keep hearing about well we need data we need data the data is there.
Pay attention and let's move.
We can't afford to have our kids end up in juvie anymore on the streets or in addiction in institutions.
This is a desperate place that we're in right now.
As you guys know the gentrification that's happening the poverty levels.
and what's happening to our families.
We work directly with our families daily.
OK.
We are we we connect with all of our kids and we're seeing them what's happening to them day in day out and their struggle.
And you guys are denying that you're denying their voice you're denying the help that they need and it hurts it hurts the spirit of our community.
So.
It's not going to happen with this superintendent.
And so we are we're welcoming and ushering in a new era and we're excited at the hopefulness of the new leadership on the board and we're hopeful that things are going to change.
And you know as the president of the board you need to listen to.
Because you have been here now.
You've heard us year after year.
Would you guys please back Scott Pinkham.
Yeah it's a risk.
What isn't.
But with when you have cooperation and collaboration and partnership with all these these groups and community and families you can move mountains.
But you're not allowing that to happen.
So again I just thank you for your time.
I appreciate it and I and I want to thank all of the students and the families and the parents that made it down here tonight to support this.
Thank you.
Diamond.
My name is Diamond Lestinkoff I am Alu and I go to Middle College High School.
I am presenting the resolution in support of native focused option high school the Urban Native Education Alliance Native Warrior Athletics in Seattle Clear Sky Leadership Council Native High School resolution 2018. Whereas we the members of the Urban Native Education Alliance, Clear Sky Native Youth Council, and Native Warriors Athletics invoke the blessings of the Creator in all our efforts and purpose to preserve Native cultural values and promote the health, safety, and well-being of all Native people, do hereby establish and submit the following resolution and Whereas we strive to dismantle the systemic racism and denial of support experienced by Native students in Seattle Public Schools educational communities.
And whereas Native students experience systemic racism cultural exclusion invisibility lack of culturally competent and relevant instruction and multiple institutional barriers to accessing resources support and opportunities for success.
And whereas Native students and all other students of color are fundamentally deserving of educational equity dignity and respect.
And whereas native learners report alarming rates of bullying and lack of inclusion within culturally intolerant hostile school environments and whereas native native learners enrolled in SPS is undercounted.
However SPS data indicates student enrollment at 2910. And whereas Clear Sky serves over 56 native SPS families and our data indicates all 56 families representing 86 native learners endorse and fully support a native focused option high school.
And whereas a quality education is the birthright of every native student under treaty law federal law in Washington state law.
Thank you.
Hello my name is Amadanio Joseph Oguara.
I'm a Northgate Middle College high school senior and an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Colville Nation.
Continuing off of this resolution.
Whereas 31.5 percent of native learners are identified for special education programs score 30 to 40 percent lower on state standardized testing than their white peers and only achieve a 48 point 40 48 percent on time graduation rate.
According to Seattle Public Schools own data and 74 percent of native learners qualify for free and reduced school lunches.
And whereas SPS currently lacks any formative alternative high school for successfully and effectively addressing native student dropout and graduation rates a persistent acute and chronic educational crisis.
And whereas Indian Heritage High School under the leadership of principal Robert Eagle Staff had an exceptional and well-documented graduation rate 100 percent from 1994 to 1996 matriculation and is recognized as a national model of public school funded success in serving urban native learners.
And whereas Seattle Public Schools leadership promised to revitalize Indian heritage collaborate and take part in authentic engagement for cooperative partnerships for supporting native learners and.
Now therefore it be resolved that UNEA NWA and Clear Sky Leadership Council stand in support of restoring a native focus indigenous pedagogy Indian heritage model option high school in Seattle Public Schools and be it further resolved that UNEA NWA and clear sky leadership plan aligns with Seattle Public Schools policy 4 to 70 the lead partners policy and that they could take the lead to ensure that compliance with the SPS strategic strategic plan 2013 2018 goals would ensure educational excellence and equity for every student improve systems district wide to support academic outcomes and meet students need and strength in school and family and community engagement.
And I am very much for supporting and expanding ethnic studies.
Due to that I have not learned much about my own native culture here in Washington state.
There was nothing on Native American history not even that of the Native American tribes here in Washington state.
It's like it never happened.
And any learning that we did do on Native American tribes was about their interactions with settlers and colonists.
Very Eurocentric perspective indeed as it always has been.
Thank you.
Next up for public testimony we have Aiden Carroll followed by Brian Terry and Pamela Goodhart.
Hello my name is Aiden Carroll and I'm going to read two letters from supporters who couldn't be here.
One is from Mike Tooley the executive director of United Indians of All Tribes Foundation.
He says to make concern I fully support community efforts toward establishing a native focused high school within the Seattle public school system.
I believe that with careful planning and investment improved Native American academic achievements will result.
There are easily over 50 native identified teachers within the SPS that could provide solid and culturally appropriate teaching practices to the targeted student population.
Establishing a native focused school would not only support Native American students within the SPS but also communities from all walks of life.
Please consider providing a physical site for a native focused school.
Sincerely Mike Tooley executive director of United Indians.
Second I have a letter from Mel R. Sheldon chairman of the board of directors of the Tulalip tribes and this is a letter that he wrote to Dr. Nyland last November.
Dear Dr. Nyland as you are aware the Tulalip tribes has an interest in the public education of Tulalip youth and other Native American youth in the state of Washington.
For this reason we respectively request that you and the Seattle Public School District board schedule a planning meeting for the development of an Indian heritage high school in support of the Urban Native Education Alliance and its efforts to improve the Seattle public school system for Native American youth.
We believe this meeting will be a positive step toward showing Native American students and their parents that the Seattle Public School District is serious in assisting their Native American students achieve success in their education.
Further moreover as the former Marysville school district superintendent and involved with the establishment of Tulalip Heritage High School located on the Tulalip Indian Reservation.
We believe you understand the importance of creating a curriculum and environment that supports Native American culture and identity.
Again we urge you to call a planning meeting to address the education of your native students.
Lastly as a partner with the Marysville school district over the years we may be available to offer input of some of the challenges and successes of the Tulalip heritage high school as you further this process if requested.
Sincerely Mel R. Sheldon chairman of the board of directors of the Tulalip tribes.
Thank you.
And I support ethnic studies because I went through Seattle schools as well and could have used more of that.
Brian Terry.
Good evening.
Thank you for supporting equity and advanced learning.
In our schools today a white student is 20 times more likely than a black student to be identified as highly capable.
This leads to highly segregated classrooms that send a clear message to all of our students.
White students are more capable and more deserving.
This inequitable model stems from an outdated belief that underprivileged highly capable students are either much less common or less deserving of special support than their privileged peers.
To end this inequity will require taking the time to properly understand highly capable underprivileged students.
What are their circumstances and what are their needs?
How can we change our programs to find and serve them?
More importantly we need to look at why we have neglected these students for more than three decades.
It is time for change.
By disrupting the status quo and unbiasing both the process and the service model we can deliver a racially diverse program that supports students from all backgrounds.
This will send a powerful new message to all of our students.
All of you are capable and deserving.
Thank you.
After Pamela we will have India Carlson followed by Robin Schwartz and Lexie Rilf.
Good evening.
My name is Pam Goddard and I am requesting that the Seattle Public Schools take actionable steps to advance a commitment establishing a native focused option high school.
In January of this year I became the guardian of an Alaska native student who wanted to be closer to family while finishing high school and also have opportunities to pursue the arts.
It never occurred to me that Seattle would not have a native focused high school.
I thought for sure the Indian Heritage School or some form of it still existed.
After countless phone calls to the local high schools teachers and the Saddle School District we finally decided to pursue three small schools.
Middle College High School the Center School and Nova.
None of which had the resources to help a young native student navigate the complexities of a large public school system.
If it had not been for Robin Wilson at the Northgate Middle College High School we never would have found Clear Sky Native Warriors basketball and the Urban Native Education Alliance.
And these three programs have been a lifesaver.
You know the numbers.
You heard them here tonight.
Something is wrong with the system despite Seattle Public Schools attempts to address these issues.
I believe these students deserve a learning environment that is supportive of their cultural heritage lived experience and traditions.
The current Seattle Public School system is not conducive to native learners unique academic and cultural needs.
Reopening native a native focused high school and creating an option school that is open to all students is long overdue.
This would be a necessary step for Seattle Public Schools to implement policy that will close the achievement gaps for native students.
Thank you.
Robyn after Robyn we will have Lexi Ralph and Camille Hainan.
Thank you.
I'm Robin Schwartz from Concord International School.
Concord's dual language program began 11 years ago as a gap closing measure for our community which is 64 percent Latino 56 percent ELL and 77.5 percent free and reduced lunch students.
This year's rollout of an English only literacy curriculum is a barrier for our DL model necessitating the translation of all non literacy subjects including no resources for Spanish literacy and with little guidance for this new framework.
Our teachers have had an overwhelming workload adapting to the loss of Spanish literacy.
The burden has fallen most heavily on teachers who are women of color and on our most vulnerable students.
The purchase of a literacy curriculum that does not consider our model is an oversight by the district and a missed opportunity to use the race and equity lens.
We have waited all year for a meaningful response to our concerns while convening a dual language task force.
After many hours of discussion and research including meetings with doctors Kinoshita Aoki Aramaki Zavala board director Harris and parents community and staff.
We co-designed an action plan to purchase the American Reading Company curriculum which offers Spanish literacy.
We are requesting a reimbursement from the district.
To ensure its timely arrival we are purchasing the curriculum now with our free and reduced lunch teaching funds earmarked for supplies and other needed equipment.
The DL task force has presented our request to the district.
I am here today to ask for the board's support.
Simply put.
We a Title 1 school with majority children of immigrants children of color and children living in poverty are purchasing our own gap closing curriculum with our free and reduced lunch funds.
This is in opposition to strategy 1 in the SPS strategic plan parts A and B from the district's ensuring educational and racial equity policy and board governance priority 1 eliminate opportunity gaps.
We ask that the board please support our request for reimbursement from the district.