Seattle Public Schools Board Candidate Forum - March 15, 2021

And SPS-TV is now taking us live.

Let me confirm that we have board directors with us.

Director DeWolf Director DeWolf can you press star 6 and let me know you're there.

Present.

Thank you.

Director Harris.

I'm present.

Director Hampson.

Gotcha.

Director Harris.

Didn't see her.

Director Hersey.

Hello.

I'm sorry Vice President Hersey.

Director Rankin.

Here.

Hi good evening.

Director Rivera-Smith.

Present.

It is now 531 p.m.

and this meeting is called to order.

Welcome to this board special meeting for the school candidate district 4 forum.

I'm sorry the school board district 4 candidate forum.

Please note that today's forum is being recorded.

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

Tonight's forum is being held in collaboration with the NAACP Youth Council.

Youth Council members planned tonight's forum selected the questions and will be moderating.

I will turn it over to moderator Anissa Roy-Dodd in a moment to introduce the Youth Council team.

Director Harris is here.

Thank you and can everyone else please please mute.

I first want to share my sincere appreciation on behalf of the board with Anissa Edan and Mia for their work.

And thank you also to Youth Council Coordinator John Greenberg for supporting the planning.

And as always for Rita Green and Sabrina Burr and also to Seattle Council PTSA and Best Starts for Kids for supporting this organ the NAACP Youth Council in its formation.

Tonight we'll hear from the four candidates for the District 4 Director position.

They are Erin Dorey.

Mark Perry Laura Marie Rivera and Eric Souza.

Thank you to the candidates for spending your evening with us and for your interest and participation throughout this District 4 appointment process.

We are excited to see such strong candidates expressed interest in serving on the board.

The forum is being held remotely consistent with the governor's proclamation on open public meetings.

The public is being provided remote access today by phone and through SPS-TV by broadcast and streaming on YouTube.

The directors of the Seattle School Board are here tonight and on March 24th the board will vote on the appointment to the District 4 seat during the regular board meeting which begins at 330 p.m.

again on March 24th.

And in addition to tonight's forum the board has had an opportunity to hear from the candidates through video statements which are posted to the school board website along with the candidates' written application materials.

You can provide the school board with input on tonight's forum by completing a feedback form on the director appointment page of the school board website.

The link is included on tonight's agenda and online feedback can be provided until Thursday March 18th at 12 p.m.

Feedback received through the form will be provided to the board to inform our decision making.

Finally thank you to students and families from District 4 and across the district who are joining us.

I'll turn things over now to moderator Anissa Roydad.

Thank you President Hampson.

I want to once again welcome everyone to tonight's forum.

My name is Anissa Roydad and I will be one of your moderators for this event.

I graduated in 2020 from Ballard High School here in District 4 where I was involved in educational justice work in the Ballard community And I continue to be involved in that work through the NAACP Youth Council.

I'm joined tonight by two current Seattle Public School students and NYC members Mia Dabney and Adan Gortzak.

Mia Adan and I are so honored to have co-created this forum and we were very intentional about how we collected and created the questions for tonight.

We made sure to prioritize the voices of students families and communities of color as well as residents of District 4. Before explaining the structure of tonight's forum I want to address the online setting that we're in.

We're all adapting to this new system and as such there may be technical difficulties tonight.

On top of that Microsoft has been having worldwide outages and tech issues today.

So that increases the likelihood on top of what is normal of the chances of technical difficulties tonight.

I want to acknowledge that and just ask that we all offer ourselves abundant grace through it.

Candidates please keep your cameras turned on during the whole forum not including our break of course.

And since your cameras will be turned on the entire time please be aware and respectful of your facial expressions.

This is something I myself forget in an online setting.

Additionally I want to remind everyone to mute their microphones when they're not speaking so that there's no feedback from your speakers.

If you forget to mute staff might be muting you.

So please make sure to unmute when it's your turn to answer question.

Tonight's forum will begin with each candidate providing a 2-minute opening statement.

We will then move into questions with each candidate receiving a turn to respond.

Candidates have been seated in a random order based on a random drawing and the order in which candidates speak will rotate each time a question is asked.

Responses are limited to 90 seconds for each question.

And the list of questions tonight will cover the following topics.

Educational justice.

Student voice.

community voice working on the board and with your colleagues curriculum and learning and COVID-19.

Mia and Nadine will alternate between asking questions and I will be calling on the candidates.

Once we conclude with the questions each candidate will be given one minute to provide a closing statement.

The order of which was also selected via a random drawing.

Time will be signaled via a countdown timer on the screen along with the question that's being asked.

The timer will turn will turn red when your time is up.

Please conclude your response promptly when your time is exhausted for fairness and to ensure that we get through as many questions as possible.

Like I said earlier your responses are limited to 90 seconds per question but you do not need to use all your time if you prefer to answer more briefly.

Thank you so much to community members in District 4 and across the district who are attending this forum and to the candidates for participating.

We wish you all the best of luck.

Before I turn it over to the candidates to give their opening statements let's have the students who will be asking the questions today introduce themselves.

Hello everyone.

My name is Idan Gorsak and I use he him pronouns.

I'm a sophomore at Lincoln High School in Seattle and which is a part of District 2 and I'm really excited to be here.

Hello my name is Mia Dabney.

I use she her pronouns and I'm a junior at Cleveland High School which is in District 7 and I'm really excited for this event too.

And I hope you all the best of luck.

Thank you Mia and Idon.

Beginning now with opening statements.

Candidates you have 2 minutes.

Candidate Perry.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yeah Mark Perry.

I use he and him pronouns.

I applied for this position because I want to make a difference.

I want us to be able to dream big.

Imagining a school district without anti-Black racism without homophobia and transphobia without gender discrimination without misogyny and sexual violence.

where every student can be safe and every student can thrive.

The school board is the governing body of the Seattle Public Schools.

It has the authority and power to create policy and policy matters and it makes a difference.

I want us to govern with boldness and heart and create immediate and long-term systems of accountability to bring about authentic structural change.

I bring over 50 years of experience to this position.

My journey started when I was 19 years old and I joined in the social and racial justice movements and the counterculture of the 1960s.

It's there that I learned to become an organizer and where I experienced the power of collective action and building cooperative communities and alternative institutions.

This beginning shaped my values and my purpose in life.

It also led to my incarceration and my passion for teaching and learning.

For the past 35 years I've devoted my work to anti-racist and liberatory education.

Lastly representation also matters.

One out of every 12 children currently has a parent who's incarcerated and one third of adults have a close family member who is either currently or formerly incarcerated.

This represents a significant number of the students and families in Seattle Public Schools.

One thing I think that would be a positive message of both support or of support visibility and hope is to have a formally incarcerated school board member.

With that I thank you for putting all this together and I look forward to our discussion tonight.

Candidate Dury.

Hello can I'm assuming you can hear me.

My name is Erin Dury.

I just wanted to say thank you to the NAACP Youth Council for putting together the forum and the community seeking community input as you have as you did.

I use she her pronouns.

I have a youth in 4th grade here in District 4 and — can I — Dury would you mind pausing just for one second while we figure out technical difficulties with your timer.

We just want you to make sure that you have the correct amount of time.

Okay.

Yeah no worries.

You may continue with your opening statement.

Okay.

So yeah I have a kiddo here in fourth grade.

He's been in Seattle Public Schools since kindergarten.

And my background has been in nonprofits mostly and also specifically around youth.

And I am interested in this position or applying for this position.

Because I am excited about the commitment that I have seen from the leadership of the board to dismantle and reconstruct the educational system here in Seattle Public Schools.

I think COVID-19 has given us spotlight on some of the major issues we see in education here in our district.

And I think that centering equity and ensuring that everybody's voice is brought to the forefront in the process of achieving that equity as we rebuild and reconstruct moving forward out of this COVID-19 and making our school system stronger and better.

My focus is really and background is really on collaboration and process.

Making sure that the table you built is the right table that you want to have and that the people that are sitting around the table are the people that's voices needs to be heard and I am very excited to continue the conversation with everyone tonight and hear what everyone well questions from the community and the focus from the community as well.

Thank you.

Candidate Rivera.

Hi I'm Laura Marie.

She her.

And I tend to wear many hats.

And for tonight's purposes we can focus on the parent educator lifelong learner and resident of District 4. I'd like to open with an offer of grace and gratitude.

Gratitude for the district and the school board for hosting this event.

Special thank you to the Youth Council for moderating.

I think that is such a wonderful opportunity for both sides of this equation and I think I wish I would have had that as a kid too.

I'd like to offer gratitude to my family for offering me the space to do this.

My husband is out entertaining twin kindergartners a freshman and a sophomore trying to keep them all quiet for the next three hours so we wish him well.

I'd like to most of all offer my gratitude to the people that have helped me along on this journey journey to the school board director position.

I have a lifetime of less than traditional experience and I've enjoyed reaching out to my old friends in New York City Arkansas San Francisco and all of my new acquaintances here in Seattle.

I've spoken with teachers board presidents union leaders scientists so many parents and so many students.

I I appreciate in addition to appreciating their time and expertise I've really enjoyed discovering just how many people are out there really looking out for our kids and fighting for their education.

The humanity of it all has really touched me.

And the grace is an offer and an ask.

The things that we've seen in the news and in the chat rooms are not always representative of the whole picture.

And through my discussions I have seen all of this in a whole new light.

And I'd like to ask for grace from all of you for myself for the other candidates for the district family staff hosts and anyone else that we may be needing it.

And thank you all again for being here tonight.

And to all of the friends family acquaintances strangers everyone that has wished us luck.

Let's go.

Candidate Souza.

Thank you Anissa.

Hi everybody.

I'm Eric Souza.

I use he him pronouns.

Thank you for having me and thank you for arranging this forum.

This is the first time I've gotten to meet all of you both from the NAACP Youth Council and the candidates.

I look forward to going through the questions and learning what you want from a District 4 board director.

I see the work NYC is doing and I've familiarized myself with the demands that you have posted on your website.

All eight of them are very clear and should be doable without any agonizing.

And I'm hoping that we get to go through your points tonight to discuss.

One of your demands is to increase the voice of youth.

Specifically youth of color.

The board listened and now you are moderating this discussion.

Also in large part because of you the board just passed policy 1250. I love that.

That's huge.

You said you wanted to be heard and the board is handing you the mic.

In the meantime there are a lot of issues that are facing the district.

In-person learning is being reopened.

There's data to show this can be done safely under the right circumstances.

There's also abundant data to show to show that our families of color in Washington have concerns that if protocols aren't followed perfectly it's going to compromise their safety disproportionately for a number of reasons.

We need to be truly inclusive in our application of these protocols so that all of our families are protected.

COVID has also led to a potential $40 million decrease from transportation and enrollment.

All of the district's issues the labor negotiations its ongoing racial equity efforts transportation and reopening planning are being kneecapped by the state's non-functional funding formula.

This board director position is a huge responsibility.

I know that it's a ton of work.

I've been watching the marathon meetings and that's just the public facing part.

It's intimidating to think of how much work it's going to take.

No amount of time is enough.

But I do want to promise you that I am ready to put in the work.

And I'm looking forward to hearing from everybody tonight.

And thank you for hosting us.

Thank you so much to all of the candidates for your opening statements.

We will now be moving on to the questions.

Remember you have 90 seconds to answer each of the questions.

The first section of questions will be about educational justice.

Question 1. What does educational justice mean to you and what actions do you plan to take and how do you plan to implement it.

Candidate Dury.

Thank you.

I think this is a great question.

Educational justice to me means that we recognize that education is a foundational right in our country for all students all people to experience and and to have at a level that ensures their success when they move on from our district in this case.

What actions do I plan to take.

How do I plan to implement it.

I think that this is a central role of the leadership and the board and the and the superintendent and the district and it will take the entire community to achieve educational justice for all of our youth and community.

To me that means centering equity and the discussion of equity in every decision that we make whether that be from budget transportation reopening curriculum all of it.

Every time we center equity in the conversation we will be ensuring that those furthest from educational justice have an opportunity to fully achieve that success.

Planning to implement it would be working with my colleagues the community listening to student voices listening to community voices to understand what impacts and solutions we need to make to really address the educational justice gap we're seeing in our city and district at the moment.

Candidate Rivera.

Educational justice in my mind and in my life is very much about fairness.

And I am fully aware that the world is not fair.

But what gets to me is when things are not right.

And it's just not right that some kids have access and the benefits of a wonderful education and some kids don't.

Of course it has nothing to do with those children and how they got there.

It has all to do with our system.

And it's not fair and it's not right.

And I see the amazing things that can come from a public education and the doors that it can open and the track that you can start on in life and I want all of the kids to have access to that.

I want every one of our kids to have access to their best possible chances and the most that they can learn and be.

Thank you.

Candidate Souza.

Well educational justice is a very important deal right now.

We know that we're not on a level playing field.

Just looking at our district in particular Seattle very segregated city.

Look at Rainier Beach High School and it wasn't renovated at all.

I'm glad that there's work being done on it but these things should not be happening in this way where you have a system that supports the haves and does not necessarily support Black and Brown students.

The families are not contacted they're not communicated with and they're not listened to as much.

And even when the board does make efforts toward equity like you know 0030 is terrific but what teeth does it have when you're looking to support families So there needs to be accountability and make sure that the efforts that are being taken are being backed up by action.

It's great to have the words but when the words don't change systems that are in place that don't promote equity when you have an HCC that you realize needs to be overhauled and redeveloped and these things aren't happening it's not promoting equity it's not not leading toward the educational justice that we need.

It would take a lot of listening and a lot of learning and working with the team to make it work.

Thank you.

Candidate Perry.

Thank you.

I think that educational justice starts with racial justice.

And I think in this district one of the big challenges is that we know that the disparities in achievement and additional disparities have basically been the same for about six decades now.

One of the things that I would do is well I think well I'll say one of the I think we we we tend to just move the deck chairs around in Seattle Public Schools.

We talk a lot of good language.

But it has to be followed up by action.

So one of the things that I think would help with this is to set up a process that begins to that identifies the root causes and identifies action plans that includes not just people who are in Seattle Public School not just people who work here.

Students families and also people from the community.

And part of this would be an independent process where on a regular basis let's say every month people have to report back and say okay What have we identified.

What changes have we put in place.

Otherwise I don't think we're going to get the systemic and structural changes that we need to do.

So that's the place I would start.

I know I have 12 more seconds but that's okay.

Thank you so much candidates.

We'll now be moving on to question 2.

Question 2. How will you address the over-policing and disproportionate discipline of Black and Brown students especially in a culture that over-sexualizes Black girls in District 4 and the district as a whole.

Candidate Rivera.

Wow.

You guys are not messing around.

I don't have the right answer to this.

I recognize and appreciate is the wrong word but have an understanding that this is a true problem and an issue.

And what it does is it ends up breaking my heart.

It's it's not it's not fair.

I don't want to harp on fairness all night but it's not right.

So many students go to school.

It's just not a level playing field.

And when you look at the statistics on how discipline is meted out and you see who is getting what punishments for what's in fractions it's infuriating.

And I know that these are numbers that we've had for a long time and Things don't seem to be rolling in the right direction.

I will be happy to take the lead from others on this one because I truly don't have the answer right now.

Thank you.

Candidate Souza.

This is something that weighs on me as I look at my kids going through school.

My son is a Latino very very loud and looking at the discipline practices that impact Black and Brown kids it's not balanced.

It's not fair.

And instead of continuing to perpetuate this that's happened for decades and funneling students into the school-to-prison pipeline We need to really focus on a discipline review.

Districts needs to support instead of discipline and we need to make sure there are enough counselors.

We need to make sure there are enough mentors.

Make sure that there's support for students instead of discipline.

The discipline does not encourage anything.

It does not help change problems.

And looking at it as being a culture that over-sexualizes Black girls.

One of the other things that I really appreciate about what Seattle has done is not have a dress code not have things that are specifically pointing out pointing out women's issues when the issue should really be addressing men in their responses to the women.

It's not appropriate to blame what women are wearing as far as that goes.

So again I do want to emphasize that discipline practices need to change and we need to encourage more counseling and support.

Candidate Perry.

Thank you.

To me the place to start is why is this happening.

We we we have to figure out what the root causes are.

is completely unacceptable.

As Eric said this is you know this is the start of the school to prison pipeline.

And I think in terms of a way to move forward there's a couple of things.

I think that in the schools themselves like one of the things they did at the last school I was at which was Nova is students wanted to have a consent day where we talk about all these issues in various different kinds of groups.

consent all different kinds of consent.

And so that students are at the center of the process and from there establish the norms.

Establish the processes.

We also brought in a community organizer to first teach the staff and then teach all the students who wanted to be involved how to run restorative justice circles.

How to be redemptive with each other.

How to be discerning in situations so that when something happens We create an environment where students can say something to somebody else and there's not a knee-jerk reaction where we can actually have a process.

Let's work this out.

We're a community together together.

If we don't want this to happen here then we're the ones who have to stop it.

Candidate Dury.

I think that this really gets at the need to get back to community and think about as Mark said to really think about what the root causes are.

I think that we need to look at the systemic issue this the system as a whole and really move towards a more transformative justice cycle where we are addressing not only the community needs and the student needs, but also the systemic needs that are creating a culture where this school-to-prison pipeline is happening, where disproportionate discipline of black and brown students is happening.

That includes our curriculum and bringing ethnic studies forefront into the work that we're doing in the schools.

It includes removing police officers from schools and moving to a counseling supportive model.

It would include funding and definitely moving funding around to support the needs of the students and particularly centering Black and Brown students and ensuring that their safety is paramount in the conversations that we're having about how to address the issues that we're seeing around discipline around the sexualization of students around how we fund all of it.

We just really need to make sure we're centering the folks the folks that need to be the top of the conversation and look at solutions.

Thank you so much candidates.

We will now be moving to question 3.

Question 3 is how will you work to retain educators of color and create safe environments for them in SPS as a whole and especially in District 4 which is a majority White district.

Candidate Souza.

Thank you.

This is a really important question.

I think that the way that jobs are presented and the way that jobs are presented to the community to try to solicit people of color to come and join the messaging has to be specifically for them.

It needs to be inviting.

We need to be inclusive.

We need to set up systems in place to welcome people of color to want to join the staff and then once they're Once they're working for the school district working with the school district to offer resources maybe it's not their responsibility to train their White staff members.

It's their responsibility to work with the students and to support each other.

And I want to make sure that when we are looking to fill positions we are actively phrasing and making sure that we communicate that we are looking for representation of people who are historically marginalized who can then work with our student body who can then work with the rest of our staff to make sure that there is that representation.

I think that any equity work that we have to do to try to provide this to the students needs to come from Black and Brown professionals.

But how do we get them in a district that's predominantly White.

It starts with the messaging.

It starts with the outreach and trying to make sure that we are communicating to them that this is important for the district to have their voices.

Candidate Perry.

Thank you.

So I was on the district committee last year for the I forget the name of it but it was focused on hiring more teachers of color in the district.

And you know it's a start.

And I think that really the place that we have to look at is at the school level.

There's been scholarly studies that say that a school can't really have an anti-racist focus unless there is a minimum of 25 percent teachers of color and at least 40 percent.

That's the sort of baseline to be able to move a school.

And I think in terms of retaining students of color not only do they need to be supported but they need to have their own they need to have ability to meet with each other.

I think they need extra support from the district if they want it.

And you know as teachers who as White teachers and You know people who want to see this happen.

We have to be in a place where we can educate ourselves and defend people.

Defend the process.

This isn't an issue we can play around with.

Every student needs to be able to see themselves.

Every student of color needs to be able to see themselves.

And I think the district needs to escalate this process or accelerate this process.

And then we got to put in the safeguards and the supports in the in the schools themselves.

Candidate Dury.

I think that it really is about retention and to me that is the difference when the asking how do we retain educators of color shows the difference between how do we get or the diversity question of checkboxes and numbers.

And I think that's an important distinction here.

And I appreciate that call out.

To me, especially in a majority white district, it is really talking about absolutely dismantling the white supremacy culture that we have at our schools.

And that means that white people need to do some work to dismantle that.

And there would be, there is a need for white folks to look at the white supremacy culture in our, that is current in our schools, especially in this district.

And then when we get back to the reconstruction you know we talk about dismantling and reconstruction.

When we get to the reconstruction piece really centering black and brown staff and educators to talk about to to define what that needs to look like and how we're going to reconstruct and to and have that be the lead to make sure that the leadership is black and brown in that reconstruction of what we need for our schools and our community.

Candidate Rivera.

Thanks.

I think we all want to be in a safe environment and I think it's a it's actually a special time right now in that people White people are starting to wake up and starting to listen and recognize the word microaggression has been used enough that it is entered the lexicon and people are starting to recognize and embrace when it happens.

starting to see when it's happening to someone that's not just themselves.

And it's about being welcoming and recognizing that different people have different challenges in the workplace and having your staff having your back from the school to the principal to the district to all of it.

But what I really see in our district and the school district as a whole and District 4 is you know we we have a pipeline problem.

We don't we don't the underserved population is not coming through the pipeline and I would love to see a grant.

A grant that could help encourage the traditionally underserved and help for their education.

Help show some examples.

Help move things forward and welcome more people into those positions and keep them Moving and learning and advancing for the benefit of all of us.

Thank you candidates.

We'll now be moving into the last question in our educational justice section.

Question 4.

Okay question 4. How will you support schools across the district especially considering the huge disparity between North and South End schools in terms of wealth privilege and PTA funding.

Candidate Perry.

Thank you again.

Great question.

And I think that this a follow up on what Erin said about white supremacy culture.

You know it's centering whiteness.

We live in a segregated district.

segregated by race segregated by socioeconomics.

And people have to step up.

People who are in the schools that you know get the privilege of that who have the resources.

There has to be a sharing of this.

And I think one of the things that comes down to is the question of needs versus wants.

There are needs in our district.

If we're if we're one district then we figure out how to fund those needs first.

And if that means that some schools aren't going to get some of the you know the the I don't know the fancy theater places or whatever it is then that's got to happen.

And you know we instead have to suck it up and do it.

We're not going to be able to defeat this unless we come together and I don't know recognize that racism racism is endemic in the Seattle Public Schools.

You know we're in an era of racial reckoning.

These errors don't always happen that often.

There's often lulls or you know previous ones historically.

Now's the moment to go bold.

You know we have to name it for what it is and make some tough decisions and go for the need before the wants.

Candidate Dury.

Should I wait.

So I think that when you're asking how do we support schools across the district and I noticed the funding here.

I think that that is actually absolutely paramount and the PTA funding is clearly disproportionate across the district.

I am really encouraged by the Seattle Council PTSA having their Title 1 funding line.

I think that that is a great start to pooling PTA funding and Taking that funding and putting it in places where it's needed more than just you know this one school funded or it's that much money and they always do and so they get to use it for whatever.

And it's also about really collaboration and working with the with my colleagues on the school board and in the different PTAs across the city.

I've really enjoyed my time on the Seattle Council PTSA.

and learning more about the different districts through that collaboration and continuing to have conversations and finding what the systemic need changes are and how we can move forward with that and putting the funding behind that.

And I think it's really important in the North End to understand that a lot of the funding that we fundraise outside of what we're given by the state and the feds is does happen up here and that if we want to really change the tide of the school district as a whole we need to be real about that and spread that funding across the district.

Candidate Rivera.

Hit the wrong button.

Thank you.

I think the real answer is that we need more money.

And I recognize that is not an easy answer at all.

And some may say it's not even realistic.

But the truth is we do need more money.

And the schools are not funded well enough.

And the fact that there are nine nurses for the entire district is insane.

And so many things along that.

I think that the district's strategic plan is addressing that and talking working toward the targeted universalism.

But the truth is we need more money from and it's the relationships I would expect that the school board could help build between the city state and national levels to start working that way.

But yeah we need more money.

Everyone everyone knows it.

And of course it's not fair when one school raises a quarter of a million dollars and one school does not have that money and then you're left with what happens when the schools are not making that money to fund the differences.

I think we all need to work outside of ourselves and start not start continue advocating for the kids and more appropriate funding.

Thanks.

Candidate Souza.

I would reiterate what Mark Perry said as far as funding the needs first and looking at where the money has to go.

We have a system that has been built on White supremacy and has been segregated and and the haves continue to have.

And schools have less resources in a place like the PTA.

Now PTA how do we solve that that's not necessarily under the district's purview.

I love the idea of working with the Seattle Council PTSA and trying to have more pooling of funds and get more distribution and have it be more equitable because this is really not about equality.

It is about equity trying to to fix a problem when schools were built inequitably.

trying to fix that disparity and try to allocate funds where they're needed.

I love all the memes that show the differences between equality and equity and then eventually down to justice where it's all built, but how do you get to that point?

Well, Working with a group like the Seattle Council PTSA and maybe finding ways to distribute funds as well as meeting with the people in these communities trying to build more robust PTSAs trying to build more robust systems in order to get community funding.

But as far as what the district is responsible for.

That's where we really need to target the distribution of funds and sometimes that needs to go to prioritize schools that have been historically unrepresented.

Please summarize your remarks.

Thank you.

Thank you candidates.

We will now be moving on to our second section on student voice.

Question 5. What is the importance of student advocacy in schools.

How will you make sure that students are learning to advocate for themselves especially making sure that students with 504s and individualized education plans or who have a disability are given the tools and space to ask for help.

Candidate Dury.

I think centering student voices is absolutely essential when we are talking about student education.

I do not think that we can try to build something without the voices of those who are most affected by it.

And I think advocacy is an excellent avenue to ensure that the student voice is heard.

Advocacy can mean a lot of different things.

You can be talking about your self-advocacy when it comes to talking to being in your school to your teacher to your principal.

All the way up to organizing and showing up at the Capitol to advocate for major system policy changes.

And I think it is definitely something that it should be taught and learned across the board.

Centering Sorry, I'm rereading the question in front of me as I'm making sure to answer all of it.

Making sure that students with 504s or IEPs or who have disabilities are given tools and space to ask for help would, to me, be a collaboration between the one-on-one instructors that they are working with or their teachers, as well as the leadership in the individual schools to make sure that their voices are being projected all the way up the ladder to the capital.

to the board to the superintendent and making sure that our policies are in alignment with their with the needs of those students.

Candidate Rivera.

So this is kind of really two huge questions in one.

And I have to say as far as Advocacy in Schools I don't make I don't want to make myself sound like a dinosaur but that is not something that we did when I was in school.

And I'm so impressed and proud of what is going on with kids students.

And even my own student has spoken at a board meeting and helped organize a walkout for gun violence two years ago.

And across the country it is I mean, we have great examples right here, but it is just amazing to see what the youth is doing across the country.

And I'm so hopeful that they can make a real difference because that is what we need.

And the grownups are not getting it right a lot of the time.

And I hope that those fresh voices will be loud enough and strong enough to keep going.

And as for the 504's and IEP's that really is a whole different question.

And it represents such a wide range of abilities.

And I know that there are kids that actually have that in their IEP that they need to advocate for themselves and ask for space.

One of my own students is supposed to ask for help when he needs it.

And teaching that is has been an uphill battle.

And I'm proud that we have been working on that with him.

and that he has a team of professionals that is also trying to help.

Thanks.

Candidate Souza.

Well just this past week the board passing 1250 is a great step toward encouraging student advocacy and forming the student board to be advisors for the school board.

I think that's a terrific solution.

I think that it's important to have actual concrete meaningful feedback from student advocates maybe for for hiring or for performance reviews and giving students an actual say instead of having any performative measures like saying okay we'll listen to you but not actually having it go anywhere or do anything.

It's important also because the more of a chance we give the students to use their voices the more confident they're going to be using them.

And it's important to create space for those with more marginalized voices among their peers and teaching the more privileged peers to do the same.

This can be done by a curriculum and by teaching teachers to create space for the students as well.

Because if students in a math class have an important thing going on to have the teacher give them the space to be able to have those important discussions that's that's important.

So again make sure that it's not performative.

Give their you know give them some skin in the game.

Have say in hirings.

Have a say in in actual reviews.

Candidate Perry.

I agree it has to be real and there has to be action behind it.

That students should be part of the hiring process.

They should be part of the review process.

The last two schools I was at half the students on hiring committee half the students on budget or half the people on hiring committee half the people on budget committee are students and students have an equal voice and equal vote with everybody else.

We have to make it real.

Otherwise it is performative like Eric said.

And I also think I agree that it has to be taught.

It has to happen in every single classroom where students know that when they say something it's listened to.

We have to you know we have to take those critiques and we have to apply them back into the curriculum back into the norms of the school back into the culture of the school.

So students know that when something's happening it came from them.

that they what their needs are are put at the forefront.

In terms of students with IEP students with disabilities absolutely there should be no difference.

And when extra supports are needed they should be in place.

But there shouldn't be any difference in access or opportunity at any school for students with tribal forests and students with disabilities.

Thank you candidates.

We'll now be moving to our next question.

Question 6. How are you going to listen and take into account what youth specifically Black Indigenous and people of color youth have to say about their district.

And how do you plan to go beyond listening to engage with your youth constituents in District 4 and across the district.

Candidate Rivera.

Thanks.

UL there's a poll that is about the squeaky wheels of the streets and then we're left who have we been hearing from and who have we been acting for.

When I used to teach at a museum one of the things that I was charged with was listening to the students and hearing their their feedback and what they notice and I created my own internal checklist and at least once during the teaching experience I would ask each kid to tell me something.

And you know they would tell you what they see or what they're thinking.

And you can follow up with the why's.

And you got I got so much out of those conversations.

And the kids got to share their thoughts.

I got to hear them.

And we put them all together into a really wonderful discussion and that is something I learned by doing.

And I'm not quite sure how you would make a checklist for the entire district but it definitely it it's a part of accountability.

And you have to hear it all and take it in.

And I would be excited to hear what our kids have to say and how we can see about making those things work within the framework that we have and changing the framework to be able to make all of those things work.

Candidate Souza.

Well like I said in the last answer creating space for students to have these conversations is extremely important to bring their entire experience into every conversation and interaction.

Tonight we have the NAACP Youth Council moderating this and I think that's a great way to touch base with BIPOC youth and to listen to like I'm learning from these questions that you guys came up with and it's it's terrific.

So making sure that Not only are we listening but we are trying to take action and apply what we're learning and engage and further that communication.

So making sure that we are proactively going and visiting schools that that aren't necessarily in our areas.

Listening to families.

the the student advisors.

I was thinking it might be nice for the student the new student board members to be able to interview their family members their school members and be able to share that with everybody so we can try to reach as many voices as we possibly can.

And again not just to hear it but to act on it is important.

Candidate Perry.

So I'm going to I don't particularly like to use examples from my own school but I'm going to use one for here because Nova has historically been a school that's about 65 percent White 35 percent student of color.

And we've always had different racial justice initiatives.

So about I think it was four or five years ago Well we have a committee we have a committee system that runs the school but there was a students of color people of color students of color committee that's both staff and students.

And so we brought in a community person to work with them to do focus groups with the students in the people of color committee and they listed a number of things and this then the facilitator brought it back to the staff.

Two years later we went through the same process again and it was really clear that there are some areas that we listened and we made changes.

And there are other areas that we didn't.

The most serious one was no mental health supports for students of color.

The people we weren't we were brought in were not serving them well and we weren't dealing with generational trauma.

We had very little understanding of it and they wanted us to focus on that more.

One of the areas that we made a lot of growth was around Black Studies and Ethnic Studies.

And one of the biggest differences is the idea of not just teaching a stand-alone class but teaching through Black Studies teaching through Ethnic Studies.

Candidate Dury.

I think it's really important to seek out opinions and voices.

I think that The way our systems are currently set up is to center particularly White voices and so in order to dismantle and change that it is a process of actually going forth and seeking BIPOC voices and ensuring that that that we are hearing from our BIPOC community especially in a district as White as District 4 is.

We can easily write off and say that this district is majority White but that doesn't mean there aren't BIPOC folks and youth that we need to be listening to here specifically.

And I think that's about a collaboration with community programs where BIPOC youth know their voice is heard and have that trust already built in and creating relationship in community forums like that and ensuring that any anything as has been mentioned numerous times this evening by multiple candidates anything we're hearing we move to action.

The fastest way to feel unheard is to have stated your opinion and see nothing happen.

And so I think the real position of power that board members have is to take what we're hearing and move it to action.

And so to find make sure that we are centering the BIPOC youth and communities of color in our district and across the district in in seeking out those that voice and moving that to action.

Thank you candidates.

We'll now be moving to our next question.

How will you work with student groups like the Washington NAACP Youth Council SVS African-American Male Advisory Board District 4 Black Student Unions and other meaningful partners in decision-making.

Candidate Souza.

Well communication and making myself available and not only available but seeking out these answers.

working with these groups and looking at what their asks are and trying to amplify those voices and trying to learn as much as I can about what they're asking for.

I mean if we're talking about really trying to have equity in our district it's about understanding what and listening to what is being asked of us.

And if we are going to be making decisions that are going to be for everybody we need to to make sure that we know what those demands are.

Especially for especially for these organizations that are historically underrepresented and not being given the amplification that is needed.

If we have a bullhorn then let's give it to let's give it to other people.

Let's give it to them and make sure that it's understood what these what these asks are.

So I will make myself available.

I will find out who the leaders are of these organizations.

Find out what they're looking for and do what I can to support them.

It's a matter of understanding the asks and then trying to figure out how to best support going through and making that happen.

Candidate Perry.

Thank you.

It's an interesting question because I think part of the answer lies with the necessity to restructure the Central Leadership Administration of Seattle Public Schools where there isn't much access for input.

It's a top-down system and being able to get in the door is really really hard.

So for example the African-American Male Advisory Board met I think for two years and they presented a whole list of recommendations that are now sitting in the file cabinet.

They haven't been moved on.

And I would also ask organizations that are listed here and other organizations from the community what kind of input do you want to have.

And then let's make it happen.

I would go back to the idea that We need some independent accountability here.

We need the the district itself has not been able to figure out how to hold itself accountable.

And I think that is actually one of the one of the structural problem the problem sorry for being able to attack the the structural anti-Black racism that exists in the district.

Candidate Dury.

I think starting with the work that's already been done by a lot of these organizations and groups and bringing it to the district instead of asking folks to recreate work that fits our model.

For example the Youth Year of Purpose is already well underway this year.

What are we doing in our schools and our communities to center that.

How are we working with that.

How are we centering that in the schools and in our and in our curriculum and so forth.

So I think starting with the work that's already done and also to what Mark has just said to really look at our system of How do we cure how do we make ourselves available as a district as a as an entity to engage with the organizations that are doing the work we say we want.

How do we really bring that to the forefront and and utilize and work and put forth that work that's already been there and already been done.

This isn't new and so we can't treat it as as a new thing, right.

So engaging in that way and then also creating new avenues and new systems for more collaboration, more partnership, more work to be done going forward to really look at the systems and the solutions that we want to think about what impact are we trying to make and work backwards from that rather than what's the problem and trying to fix a minor thing.

Please.

Thank you.

Candidate, oh, sorry.

Candidate Rivera.

I think it all starts with the act of intentional listening.

And when you open your mind and open your heart and listen from that open place, you can hear things that you may not have imagined.

And perhaps I shouldn't even say it, but when I was a kid, I was under the impression that segregation was a thing of the past, that slavery was so long ago and that everything was fair and everything was equal.

And, you know, you don't know what you don't know.

And as I've grown, first, when I went to UCLA and I started to see all of the students of the student union and, started to appreciate some of the other groups.

And then when I moved to New York City and I found that it really is the ultimate melting pot and what you hear black and brown which and but there's really so many so many groups.

And it's just raising your awareness and listening from an open place.

And I do think that there are so many people in the district including District 4 that are listening and learning and back at the district office but it sometimes seems that everything is so compartmentalized that things aren't getting through.

There are a lot of communication issues in the district.

And when one area is making progress it doesn't really feel like everyone else is aware of it and may be able to use that same momentum.

Thank you candidates.

We will now be moving into our last question in the student voice section.

Question 8. How will you avoid tokenizing students and families of color.

Candidate Perry.

I didn't realize I was first.

I just said to myself don't do it.

Whoa wait a minute I just lost everybody.

Sorry.

You know if you if you create I think if schools create an environment you know somebody mentioned it earlier about relationships.

You know the thing in school well the thing we're missing with online learning is the relational piece.

But relationships relationships relationships.

Knowing each other.

Having experiences with each other.

Have curriculum that's meaningful and worthwhile to students.

where students feel like they can speak up then students aren't going to feel like they're tokenized.

And then the adults have to be called to task.

I think that was my toughest job as a principal which I've done it twice is you know I was the one who had to step up sometime and say no you can't do that.

You can't you know respond to that way.

You can't do harm to a child that way.

The system doesn't support you when you do that.

I will say that in Seattle Public Schools.

But yeah we just we can't let it happen.

So and it goes back to student voice in some ways.

There are many more students in a school than there are adults.

They outnumber us.

They should be able to organize and mobilize and have the strongest voice in the building.

Candidate Dury.

This really goes back to your question about retaining staff Black and Brown and people of color staff at schools to me and it's the difference to me between real culture system change and checkboxes and numbers.

You know we can't just say well I talked to we or we have you know three students of color on the board.

It's about the culture of the entire district about the culture of the school about the culture of the board.

It's looking at our power systems and how we value power and voices and what voices we give time to and who who we're asking questions of and what what questions we're asking.

To me it gets to the absolute need for a culture shift that as Mark mentioned is based on relationship but also is based on What action are we taking.

Are we actually taking the opportunity to change the systems to dismantle to reconstruct in a creative way that doesn't uphold the same systems that we are built in.

Or are we just recent or are we just moving chairs moving the deck chairs.

What we want to do is create a completely different vision and go from there.

Candidate Rivera.

Thanks.

It's about individual individuality.

I want to be seen as Laura Marie.

I just because I am a woman.

I'm a resident of District 4. I'm a former educator.

I'm a former tap dancer.

Any of those things they certainly color my experiences and my opinions but none of them make me who I am.

And I think it's the same thing that goes with any other student or family.

And stereotypes and generalizations end up hurting everyone.

So as far as avoiding tokenizing it's it's really about seeing the individual.

Each student each student is their own little person.

And we want to see the education that is the best for them and to the best of their abilities.

And when someone has a comment or a concern or a problem and it comes to you you have to know the whys behind it.

And sometimes when we take it just on the surface level we make a lot of assumptions and we all know what happens when you assume.

And it's just much better to recognize that people are individuals and that their experiences are personal.

Thanks.

Candidate Souza.

Well we we know that Black and Brown families are not a monolith.

Individuals are individuals and we want to have real representation of voices of color.

And more importantly we want to have actual inclusion.

So we want to give students the chance to use their voices in the best way.

It's the best way to avoid tokenization.

It's important to keep in touch with groups of students of color groups like the NAACP Youth Council and and others and listen and maintain a constant flow of ideas.

I think it's also important to avoid the trap of of having a single student represent all students.

Like if you're going to have coverage of Black History Month you want to make sure to have representation from different Black students instead of just picking one student saying okay well you're Black tell me what you think about this.

or you know the proverbial selfie with selfie with someone to prove that you're not racist.

I think that having communication and making sure that there is actual listening to and having a flow of and priority on listening to this flow of communication is really important.

Thank you.

Thank you candidates.

We will now be moving into our next section on community voice.

Question 9. What do you understand to be the highest priorities of your District 4 constituents and what will you do if they don't align with educational justice.

Candidate Dury.

Currently I think the main focus is on return to school.

Return to in-building schooling is a big focus in this District 4 in particular.

And what that looks like to different families is very different and what that means especially when we're talking about a safe return to school.

I think that A large majority of the voices I'm hearing currently a safe return to school is strictly about can we keep six feet between people and wear a mask.

A safe return to school to Black and Brown students and families means am I going to is my safety as a human is my education as a person going to be paramount when I return to a building.

Or am I actually safer at home and more able to focus on my studies because I know I'm safer at home.

Um, and so I think bridging, I think that everybody wants to return safely to school.

I think being very clear on what that word safety means and how do we actually address that, um, is the, the crux of how are we going to align with educational justice in this moment?

I do I also think that we're not going to solve all of the problems that COVID has shined a spotlight on in our community by the time we do return to buildings.

But we need to make sure that there's a priority happening to continue the work that that has started or has been brought to light once we do return and going forward.

Candidate Rivera.

As for returning to school I can tell you that my children were overjoyed at the thought of returning to school with Inslee's decree and I thought it was a very bizarre declaration and it is amazing to see how things have been up and down and all around these past just in these past few weeks.

I think that the highest priority for my district 4 constituent at least the ones that I've been talking to it's really just about the kids' education.

And some are struggling online and some are doing quite well.

And some have taken their kids out altogether.

But it's it's it's about the kids' education as a whole and their child's education specifically.

And I don't see them as not aligning with educational justice.

They want to see the kids back in school.

They want to see them taken care of and they want to see them with the fair and appropriate public education.

And I also want to see the kids with special needs from great and small getting the attention that they need that it's impossible to do online.

And I appreciate my children's teachers and I think all of the teachers for everything that they've been doing But we all know that there is a difference between a face-to-face meeting and an online forum.

Thanks.

Candidate Souza.

This definitely does come down to for me a matter of representation.

It's always about inclusion and equity always at all levels.

Students of color special education those who are targeted by resource disparities.

With with the return to in-person learning these things weigh more than ever on students of color especially when the return to school is going to we have to remember that students of color at baseline already weren't necessarily feeling safe in their schools pre-COVID.

My son my kids go to Ballard High School.

There was a recent school-wide survey that said only 13.6 percent of students and staff of color thought the school was doing a good job of intervening in incidents of racial aggression.

And that was pre-COVID.

So we're adding layers of worry with COVID on top of that and returning to school.

I think that in District 4 these things are always going to have to have an eye on equity and have an eye on educational justice.

Candidate Perry.

Thank you.

Sometimes I think I should just jump in but you know I don't want to over override you.

It's an interesting question.

It's easier for me to answer the second part than the first part.

Even though I've lived in District 4 for 25 years now since we came here from Chicago and both our daughters graduated went to Seattle Public Schools and graduated from Seattle Public Schools.

But I worked for 20 years in a school that was an all-city draw which was interesting because we we literally had kids from the entire city there.

And I think that in this in this district for me I would say the the the highest priority is still anti-racism.

We're in an era of racial reckoning.

We have to deal with that.

We have to talk to each other.

We have to figure out what we can do to be true accomplices because we are a vastly majority White school district or school.

We're not a district.

We're a District 4. And then educational justice has to be at the center of that.

In terms of returning to school.

Yeah it's a complicated question.

I think every district in the country has had hard times dealing with it.

I don't feel like Seattle Public School has done it well from a central leadership standpoint.

And I do my personal feeling is you know Governor Inslee's going too quickly.

He said mental health was one of the main reasons but where are the mental health counselors.

Why aren't they in our buildings.

That would be a high priority for me if I was just a constituent in District 4 with kids in the schools.

Thank you candidates.

We'll now move into our next question.

Question 10. How will you go beyond engaging families who are already involved in their schools such as through the PTA to informing and engaging families of color and families who are marginalized in other ways such as language.

Candidate Rivera.

Hi.

Well, my favorite lesson on engagement came from a book called Invitation to the Party.

And it really is from my work in nonprofits and engaging all areas of the community.

But what it really spoke to me as a person, and it is literally about an invitation to the party.

How do you get people to feel that they are invited?

I have joined the PTA PTO at every school that my kids have been a part of.

And I I often don't feel even invited and welcome.

And I think a lot of that has to do with me and some of it may be more the situation but it's just getting a person to come in and feel welcome feel wanted feel comfortable and to join in that discussion.

I feel a lot from the district.

I know that we have a lot of communications coming home.

I get emails all of the time and sometimes it's hard to wade through all of that and really hear what's happening.

I was impressed when I attended listened in called in to one of the board meetings a few weeks ago and it talked about the communications from the district and it listed all of the things that they are doing and all of the languages that they are doing.

I know there was a question about ASL for tonight's meeting but I was overall really impressed with what the district is doing and there's just a disconnect from what they are doing and what is being received on the other end.

Candidate Souza.

Well one thing that I saw worked really well was the Seattle Council PTSA had translators and ASL on a recent meeting.

I thought that was a great way to be open to people who have language barriers.

I also think that schools that have diversity equity committees like Ballard High School has one that's run by an anti-racist group of teachers and the purpose is to create space for families of color.

The point is to have a place where the administration isn't going to overshadow the groups and silence voices, but allow them to speak.

It's important to hear these voices and to have encouragement for them in the different languages in which they speak and to show them that, look, there are people who you can talk to, who speak your language, who can communicate your message, because it's hard enough for me In my position and I feel like I am well involved with the school but if I have an issue it's it's hard enough for me to find progress.

How hard is it for somebody who doesn't have that same language skill or have other barriers.

So how do we go beyond engaging families who are already involved.

Well I think the Seattle Council PTSA has done very well.

I think that we need to communicate on social media.

I think that we need to communicate in emails and make sure that we're hitting as many different representative groups as we possibly can.

Candidate Perry.

Thank you.

I think I'm going to use some examples from NOVA because it's in Seattle Public Schools.

We had that issue or we have this issue still but we took some really concrete steps.

And I say I think innovation is really critical in Seattle Public Schools and unfortunately our district is sort of anathema to being innovative.

The first thing we have advisory groups where every student has an advisor.

It's about 20 to 1. It's multi-graded and every year there's at least one family meeting and we set up a time where family can come in.

We started doing something a few years ago that elementary schools doing during those days before Thanksgiving.

We have family meetings with all the families and the students and we do them on Saturday and we do them on Monday and Tuesday evenings afternoon and evenings.

And the advisors you know check with the families and the students to make sure that you know that everybody has an that the time works good for them.

student of color group people of color group is what it's called.

We set up a post high school.

Well they initiated it.

I guess presentation and workshops.

They were just for students and families of color.

We started that a couple of years ago and we started Saturday school which is not the typical Saturday school.

It's not disciplinary where members of the community our community Nova community students and families who come in and teach courses teach classes lead book groups do art projects.

with other people all voluntary.

And it was just starting to get off the ground last year and COVID hit.

I know I'm done.

Sorry.

No it's all good.

That's just my job.

I know I know.

And Candidate Dury.

I think it's about having multiple access points and multiple engagement opportunities.

I you know I think that there are some good things that potentially can come out of our time in COVID.

Having these virtual meetings is a it's it allows folks that you know maybe couldn't leave their home because they don't have child care.

It allows for interpretation opportunities.

It allows for engagement opportunities in different ways.

So we can do a both and to our models.

You know we can have our in-person opportunities for folks that that works for.

we can have a virtual component to things hopefully going forward now.

And it's also, to me, it's really about trying to meet people where they are, like quite literally, not in the philosophical sense of that, but to go to established forums and groups and places of gathering to engage with folks instead of asking, oh, continuously asking people to come meet me where I am, meet us where we are.

And really trying to think about the different ways that people go through the world.

You know, I think it's great that we have evening hours for meetings for folks that have nine to five jobs, but what about people who don't have nine to five jobs or people like, I'm a single parent, my son is currently with a babysitter because I you know this would be my time with him but I can't do that tonight which is fine.

But to really think about those multiple engagement opportunities.

Thank you candidates so much for your answers to the community voice questions and to the educational justice and student voice sections.

Like candidate Rivera mentioned earlier we don't mess around as the youth council and we really appreciate Like I said, your very thoughtful answers to these important questions.

We'll now be taking a 15 minute break.

So to candidates and audience members, we will resume with the next sets of questions promptly after the break.

So please return in 15 minutes at, oh geez, this test in my mouth, at 7.12 p.m.

Candidates Susan and Perry are you back from break.

I am.

I'm here.

Yes.

Absolutely.

Okay.

Great.

We are now back from our break and we'll be resuming with the questions.

On to question.

On to section 4. Working on the board with your.

Working on the board and working with your colleagues.

Question 11. This question comes from a student at the center school.

How do you see yourself in sync with the current board members and where do you anticipate conflict.

Candidate Souza.

Well I'm happy that I can say I don't anticipate conflict.

I do anticipate a lot of discussions and I'm sure that we're not always going to agree on everything but I don't want to go into something assuming conflict.

I do see myself as being a somebody who has a lot to learn.

I'm going to step in and and need to follow a lot of what has already been established and learn how I fit in.

I think that I have a lot of complementary pieces that can work with the board especially as far as communication goes.

And I also see the board as having a large social equity focus.

I am eager to see what the board continues to do with Policy 0040 coming up this summer.

I think that there is a lot of like-mindedness which is also a potential danger.

I don't think that that it's safe to have everybody you know feeling like well we're all on the same page because that does potentially alienate other voices.

I think that if there is disagreements and they're bound to be disagreements I always listen and I always you know I'm always respectful about it.

And as far as anticipating conflict these are things that that hopefully will always happen behind the scenes instead of spilling over into public arena.

Candidate Perry.

Thank you.

One of my questions would be what is what's the governing philosophy of the board and the individual board members which I don't know.

And I also think there's a difference between conflict and disagreement.

Disagreements can be healthy.

We have to ask lots of questions.

And I would definitely ask a lot of questions.

I don't know if that all be appreciated.

But what I bring with me is it's sort of like you know what is that song in Hamilton.

I was in the room where it happened.

I've been in the district for 20 years.

I know how it operates.

And I think I can bring that experience in.

I do feel like that.

Policy really matters.

This is the governing board of the Seattle Public Schools.

We have serious issues we have to address.

And I really do want us to be bold.

I mean we saw in the last federal national administration policy makes a difference.

Policy you know put kids in cages.

Policy can take kids out of cages.

We have to be able to identify what I think is the number one issue which is the structural anti-Black racism in Seattle in Seattle Public Schools.

And we have to be bold about it.

And and there has to be accountability.

And it's not just accountability.

I'd say I've met a lot of really good people in Seattle Public Schools who work in administration but the system doesn't always allow good people to do good work.

Candidate Dury.

I see myself in sync with actually one of the things that inspired me to put my name in the hat for this position was the letter that was written by the President and Vice President of the board in which they stated that we needed to deconstruct and reconstruct our school district and to center anti-racism and to really tackle the racist systems that we do have in our district.

That was.

a large part of the reason I am here tonight was to be part of that.

Particularly the reconstruction.

You know we can dismantle and deconstruct in any way we want but it's about how we how we reconstruct.

And I think that any potential as is pointed out maybe not conflict but disagreement or strife that may be happening maybe in in As we tackle giant big issues like this everybody is going to be having different opinions on how to reconstruct and how to how to engage in the conversations and to do that.

But to me it is about relationship building.

It's about mutual respect.

It's about listening and it's about making sure that we are consistently centering our commitment to anti-racism and equity as we do that rebuilding.

Candidate Rivera.

Well I just knocked my notes on the floor.

But I will say that I'm coming into it with no preconceived notions.

And before last week I had only ever met one of the board members.

And I I'm going to pick up those notes.

I don't see a necessarily need for conflict but I can certainly stand up for my beliefs when I need them.

But at the end of the day whatever it comes down to I can agree to disagree and move forward.

When Sonia Sotomayor was in town and she spoke at University of Washington a few years ago I took my students and One of the things that really stood out to me from her whole talk was when she talked about working with the other members of the court and that she and they have an understanding that you don't talk about the other members of the court.

It serves no one and nothing to be talking poorly about some of them.

And it has just stuck with me.

And I really appreciate that.

And throughout this whole learning process of coming to this forum and applying for the directorship in general.

I've really just come with an appreciation of the work that the board members are doing.

And if we are going to go with Hamilton I'll just say I'm not throwing away my shot.

Thanks.

Thank you candidates.

Unfortunately I have not watched Hamilton yet.

But anyway moving on to question 12.

Question 12. If you're appointed to this position how will you prioritize your well-being while also serving your constituency and finishing your appointed term.

Candidate Perry.

Thank you.

I wanted to write some notes.

I didn't have time.

I didn't realize I was first.

My own well-being.

That's really a critical question because I actually a few years ago I set up a life worth balance well wellness workshop for principals and assistant principals in Seattle Public Schools.

And it really focused on five areas and I can remember them.

One was sleep nutrition stress management purpose.

And I don't remember the other one right now.

Oh exercise exercise.

And the idea was that it's not it's not a self-help it's an inquiry where we look at each one of these areas and we figure you know it's like on a chart how are you doing how or not you're doing 1 to 10 something like that.

And then you find one thing to start with.

So you begin to get more and more balance because working in Seattle Public Schools is a really stressful job and we can't take it home.

One of the things that we did at NOVA a couple of times is we did secondary trauma workshops because we cannot carry it home.

We cannot walk into our families or whatever it is and bring that you know what we're feeling and experiencing every day there.

In terms of servicing serving serving our consistency or whatever that word is there.

Yes I mean I if I'm in this position I'm going to bring myself.

And you know people know that I'm going to bring integrity and honesty.

And we're going to roll from there.

Thank you.

Candidate Derry.

I think this is critical because if we can't take care of ourselves we can't be expected to take care of others.

I have a long background in nonprofit leadership and I learned through FIRE how to prioritize my well-being.

And it was part of the deep conversation I had with my people in my community around me as to whether or not I could even begin the process of applying for this position because I as I mentioned I'm a single mom.

I'm growing a business at the moment and there's a lot to juggle.

And so I called on my community to make sure folks could help me as I went through this process and took on this time commitment.

And I was very real about whether or not that was something I could fully give to while continuing to show up as a mother as a friend.

I'm also a runner.

I do appreciate my sleep and making sure that there was time for all of that.

So to me it's really about knowing when to ask for help and leaning into my community and also knowing when to say no to things.

There are too many meetings too many if something has to give to just be real about that conversation with my colleagues and the folks that I am working with.

Candidate Rivera.

Well first of all thank you guys for asking that question because it it is a very important question and very valid for all of us.

not just the new directors but for the directors that have been in place.

It is a very large role and I have heard from so many people that have done the job here in Seattle done the job other places.

And you can certainly get it from some of the vibe in the community.

And it's a very thankless job.

And it's a big job an important job and a thankless job.

If I had a nickel for every person that has called me brave in the last few weeks I would have a lot of nickels.

Um, as, as a former actor, I have always, uh, we, we carry out around a lot as actors and you have doors closed in your base on a regular basis.

And when you go to an audition and you put everything out there and you're not the one for whatever reason, you really have to learn not to take these things personally.

And, uh, I, I have learned not to take those things personally.

And I will continue continue that as we go through.

And I hope that I can also help to promote what is going on on the board and what a big job it is.

I know that you all know but I don't feel that the district or not the district but the people of the district are our constituency.

I don't believe that they know.

Thanks.

Candidate Souza.

When I think about what's best for me as an individual I have to look at what's best for my family.

And my family is incredibly active in the community and in schools and in anti-racism work.

And my wife is an immigrant and a doctor and we are always talking with the kids about what is best and making changes and doing what is right for our community.

And we have all agreed that.

If I'm given this opportunity then I would be given the time to to do what is needed for this board.

And the work that I would be putting in would be what's best for my family.

Would be what's best for the families of the district hopefully.

I want to continue to fight and the best way to do that is to actually have a voice and a seat at the table.

So my well-being is going to be best served by actually being active and doing something instead of hand-wringing and and wondering what can I do wanting to do something.

No I and I want to set an example for my kids who actually are setting the example for me with all the work that they're doing.

It's really inspired me to want to do the same thing.

And if if you do end up selecting me just before Warren you're getting the whole the whole family.

And These are the biggest reasons I I really do want to get in and do the strongest job possible.

Thank you candidates.

We really appreciate your very thoughtful and honest answers.

We'll now be moving to Section 5 on Curriculum and Learning.

Question 13. This comes from a parent of a of a student in District 4. How will you protect the integrity and vision of an authentic Ethnic Studies program.

Candidate Dury.

To me this is about not having just a class on Ethnic Studies even if it's in every grade level.

It is about the continuum of what does Ethnic Studies mean What does race mean.

What does whiteness mean in America.

How are we built on this and making sure it's a through line between all of the classes and all of the curriculum that we have for students from when they enter SPS to when they graduate or leave the SPS system.

So I think for me it would just be a matter of continuously making sure that we have accountability to.

that greater vision of incorporating anti-racism and equity into all of the work that we're doing from system building to curriculum.

Candidate Rivera.

Well I have to admit when you first asked the question I I heard it differently and I I was I was I was thinking of it differently.

And what I feel all of the studies should be more multicultural and far less Eurocentric.

And the question is how how do we protect the integrity and vision of an authentic ethnic studies program.

It's a very interesting question and the obvious answers are you know who who gets to tell the story.

Who are the people at the table.

Who is being represented in these lessons.

It is very interesting.

In California things have taken an odd turn and they are developing a whole new curriculum.

But that one has also not been faced with all of the voice all the correct voices at the table.

And it has awakened and upset many other constituencies that are also in addition to not being represented now feel that they're being represented not correctly and not very beneficially.

And so I think it's going to be a bit of a trial and error process.

I doubt anybody's going to get it right on the first try.

And I think we need to be willing to look and listen and keep changing until we do get to that more perfect curriculum.

Thanks.

Candidate Souza.

Ethnic Studies is not about the exclusion of White people.

It's about the inclusion of Black and Brown people.

It's not just about creating one class.

It's about the entire curriculum.

And again it's important to create space for Black and Brown people at every moment not just in an Ethnic Studies program.

It's it's about a curriculum that is based on learning the full scope of what can be learned not just the limited scope of Whiteness in a narrative that conveniences it.

It's not just that we're talking about a specific history class for example.

You can have these conversations in every class.

Math.

Biology.

Every class.

My kids they go to school and they say you know we were learning white history and it's white literature.

You know there's nothing wrong with having white literature and white history but we have to make sure that we're we're seeing a full representation.

There is an anti-racist class that that my son contributed to building the curriculum for and they're going to be launching it at his high school.

I'm very proud of him for that.

He also does students and teachers against racism.

He's one of the leaders of that group in the NAACP Youth Council.

The point is to make this approach everywhere and and to protect that.

Candidate Perry.

Thank you.

I think we're moving along the same path here.

I think it's non-negotiable.

I said earlier we need to teach through Ethnic Studies through Black Studies.

I think one of the challenges in Seattle Public Schools is again a structural problem that has put it that has been a barrier for Ethnic Studies.

It's it exists as a standalone class now.

And I said well you know we have these these classes we have to do.

We have to do these world history classes these U.S. history classes.

So it's an elective.

It shouldn't be an elective.

And if you if the approach is teaching through then it doesn't become an elective.

I think the driving curriculum question for for school is and for students in particular is what is worthwhile to know and experience.

If it doesn't have worth and if it doesn't have meaning for students why are we doing it.

I mean students have been pretty clear.

A lot of students have been really clear.

They want ethnic studies.

They want Black studies.

They want gay studies.

Women's Studies.

You know it's we need to do that and we need to work like Eric's son working on that.

There's no reason the students shouldn't be a part of this.

And I think the last piece of it historical perspective that we bring in community members but we find you know we really look back at like like this the idea that this is a particular age of racial reckoning.

We should be looking at reconstruction and see what happened there.

And in terms of the insurrection White rage always follows Black progress you know.

And let's talk about it.

Let's have those discussions about it so so that what we're learning doesn't exist in a vacuum.

Thank you so much candidates.

We'll be moving to our next question in curriculum and learning.

Question 14. Are you in favor of ending the highly capable cohort program.

Why or why not.

Candidate Rivera.

I just have to say I don't love going first but here we go.

This HCC topic and it has goes by many names and even the district has changed it many times.

It is it is a very hot topic and it is incredibly heated in our district.

I have to say every time people start talking about the highly capable cohort not too long after there's accusations of racism and all kinds of other ugly things.

I think that is pretty unnecessary.

And I wonder since we've had the we've had the data for a long time to know that the highly capable cohort and gifted programs in other areas do not necessarily match or look like the district the city the state whatever.

And especially in Seattle where the application process is rather difficult and convoluted I'm wondering why we haven't adopted a more universal testing system and make it an opt-out instead of an opt-in.

And I'm wondering how would it look if we were able to remove those barriers.

There are a lot of barriers between the public just to finding out about it.

the paperwork the testing all of those things to get into one of those programs.

And what what would it look like if we actually made it accessible to all of the students in the district.

And that's one of the things I'm talking about when I say that I want all of the kids to have the opportunity to have the best education that they are capable of.

Candidate Souza.

Oh I think it's important to identify this as what it is.

It's segregation.

This is something that benefits White families and keeps Black and Brown families down.

I think that this needs to end in its current structure.

I think that we need to rebuild something new that's going to be more equitable for everybody.

I think this is a very clear place that's been identified by the district as a problem area.

I think the letter that Denise Juneau wrote What last last year was very powerful and it talked about how change is necessary and we just have to have the will to do it.

And so far we haven't and we need to.

The HCC is something that continues to to divide and perpetuate this system that gives people who have more an upper hand I think that there are going to be highly capable students that need the opportunity and it needs to completely be revamped and we just have to have the will to do it.

Candidate Perry.

Am I in favor.

No.

I think one of the challenges here is that the Seattle highly capable program and highly capable is different from gifted.

Highly capable program is based on accelerated learning.

As far as I know there is absolutely no research that says accelerated learning actually makes this not it's not healthy.

It's not deep learning.

You just move faster.

And it goes you know I can't remember who said it but questioning the whole system that It's right now especially once one gets to high school it's a race to get credits and a race to get out of high school.

And where's the deep learning.

And in an accelerated program you're just moving faster.

You don't have time to literally you know the whole thing about stop and smell the roses.

Take a project.

Go deep in it.

You know form an inquiry project problem based learning.

All the research these days says that's the direction to go.

The report that just came out from the state about online learning.

That's what they say too.

Get rid of this seat time requirement for credit.

Go deep in the learning.

So yeah I think you said it Eric.

We have to revamp this.

If it's going to exist we have to revamp it.

I think Erin said the same thing.

I would just say oh I my time is up.

I'm sorry.

This 90 seconds is really hard.

and Candidate Dury.

Again this goes back to the the fact that we need to look at the whole system and we need to look at everything holistically.

We are not speaking about silos.

I think the issue that we're finding is that we are not serving students on a multiple different levels.

of educational needs.

So I think that what is most important is to be very critical about the questions we're asking in terms of what are the goals of education for the youth in this district.

What what does successfully completing your time with Seattle Public Schools look like.

What does that mean.

We have to start asking critical questions that get to the root of what it is we're trying to actually achieve and work backwards from that.

And really be critical as well as who what why are we asking the questions that we have been asking historically.

Where did these programs come out of or did they come out of systemic racism.

Probably yes.

Almost always.

If not always.

So we need to be very critical about that and understand how we got to the position we got to and where more importantly what it is that we'd really like to see achievement look like.

and work from there to to re reconstruct the system again.

Thank you candidates.

We'll now be moving into Section 6 on COVID.

Question 15. What does Seattle Public Schools need to do in order to comply with Governor Inslee's direct directive of returning all students to in to some in-person learning by April 19th.

What are the barriers to achieving this and how will you address them.

Candidate Souza.

Well there is data to show that this can be done safely under the right circumstances.

However we have heard a lot of concern from families of color Black and Brown families in our community and across the country are reflecting a lot of concern that while there are safe ways to reopen schools if these protocols aren't followed perfectly it's going to compromise their safety and the safety of their families more than their White peers.

Even if there's only a little possibility under good safety precautions a student will catch COVID the potential consequences for a White family statistically speaking will be very different than that from a family of color.

We need to be inclusive in our application of these protocols so all of our families are equally protected.

Families of color statistically tend to have more multi-generational households.

Now again you know this is just looking at numbers.

Kids are trying to protect their grandparents and their parents.

White people's parents and grandparents are more likely statistically to have access to the vaccine sooner.

As of March 8th the CDC reported two thirds of people who received vaccines are White.

Basic health disparities due to systemic racism that have been well studied and well described.

White people if they do have COVID are more likely to have good access to health care even within the same hospital system and more likely to have time off to go get the vaccine.

Time off to go to the hospital in a timely fashion.

Again these are all systemic racial disparities so.

There are a lot of things that we have to look at as far as achieving reopening.

Candidate Perry.

Essential question and impossible to answer in 90 seconds.

I said before when when Inslee said this he's a non-educator telling people they got to be back in the buildings.

And he said it was for the mental health reasons.

But he's not providing any funding.

He's not providing mental health counselors.

And he's expecting teachers to be the mental health counselors.

I think part one of the barriers is that teachers have been made the scapegoat from the very beginning of this.

It's not right.

It's not fair.

People most people go into teaching.

They go in for the love of learning.

They want to serve.

All the teachers I know are working their butts off.

They work from morning into evening.

More work than they did when they were even in the school.

I you know I'm I think in school is would would be preferable.

Absolutely.

That's where you can engage with each other.

That's where the relationships get built which is very hard to do in the online learning.

The supports that some students need do them in the schools.

But at this point you know number one safety safety safety and then let's ease it in.

If it was up to me just I would I would leave high school until September.

I know not everybody agrees with that.

Focus on K-5.

And then you know maybe 6-8 but we're I believe we're moving too quickly right now.

And because people feel like hey we got to do this.

It's a political decision.

It's not a decision based on good education.

Candidate Dury.

Yeah I agree that this was has been made into a completely political decision and I think that in order to make it anywhere close to okay if not successful is to really involve the teachers staff and students those impacted by being in the building every day or however long folks are in the building and off-frequency.

I think that involving folks from the very beginning and and clearly now expediting that involvement and to to figure out what how we can best return to in-person learning by that deadline that has been handed to us.

And then also I think there is a huge need for transparency and communication.

The more people can trust the process and the system or sorry the process and and the procedures to get back to build into into the buildings.

the more that they will feel comfortable returning as well.

Instead of working behind the scenes and rolling out directives we need to be very clear about process.

We need to be very clear about what we think will be successful and what won't be frankly.

And just to be very honest about the entire situation as we move forward.

We also need to be prepared for the families who are going to choose not to go back to building and have us have communication to them as to how we will support them and their families.

And I will stop there.

Candidate Rivera.

Thanks.

I feel that in order for Seattle Public School schools to comply with Governor Inslee's directives they need to move mountains figuratively and almost literally.

It just it feels like the the public opinion is so distrustful right now.

And even even getting people to understand that the buildings are ready and that the safety is in place and it's happening.

Parents either either they haven't heard it or they haven't really understood that yet.

And so there's a lot of disconnect happening there.

And, you know, Inslee, this has just been such a volatile time with things back and forth and who's going to school and who's not and who's essential and how we're going to serve our most vulnerable students.

And even last week, Inslee made these grand declarations about the opening day of the Mariners, and we will have the public there and into restaurants and all of these other things, opening the economy and the public and everything else back up.

And then on Friday, he adds, oh, yeah, and you guys are all going back to school in three weeks.

It it seemed out of left field.

I'm sure that there was a lot going on behind the scenes and I'm assuming that a lot of thought also went into this decision.

But it seemed rather hasteful and it really throws a wrench into the progress that the district has been making with SEA and moving the trust forward in among families.

And we have to be understanding for the people that don't want to go back to school.

Thank you candidates.

We'll now be moving to our next question.

Question 16. What will you do to center students and families furthest from educational justice in the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic and maintain community safety.

Candidate Perry.

I feel like I'm going to just be repeating myself here.

There was an article a while ago I think it was the Somali Community Center where they had set up their own pods.

The communities in Seattle have to have a voice about coming back to school or not coming back to school and we have to offer multiple alternatives.

Again I think we're moving too quick on this and it's you know we haven't done well as a district to begin with.

And safety has to come first.

So you know I don't have much more to say about this one except let's do it right and not you know bulldog not to be the bull in the china shop and bulldoze bulldoze our way through it.

I guess I will say one other thing.

Just in the paper today Duke University went into full quarantine 14,000 students.

Italy shut down again.

It's it's just because we're getting the vaccines and I think about maybe at most 20 percent of the whole country has gotten vaccines.

That doesn't mean we're safe yet.

And if we rush to judgment if we rush in it's not going to work.

And I think as Eric said we know which communities are going to get hit hardest if we do this wrong.

So those voices have to be front and center at the table and teachers need to be respected and they need to feel safe when they go in.

And they can't be asked to do double duty.

Teach in school and then teach you know the other half the kids outside of school so they're really teaching twice in the same day.

I just want to remind candidates quickly that you feel free to use your 90 seconds but if you feel like you have already covered some of what the question asks again you do not have to use the full 90 seconds you're allotted.

Candidate Dury.

Yeah I think we covered a lot of this in the prior question or I feel like I did as well but I think it's about transparency and process.

and being open to the fact that there are going to be many families who do not want to come back to in-person in-building learning and to have very clear have a very clear understanding of what that means for families and to be able to show that that is not choosing to keep your your child or your youth from education.

that we have a process and we have an idea of what that plan is to make sure that children at home are still being educated if you need to keep your your child and family safe by staying home.

Candidate Rivera.

So I think what it comes down to for the most part is Family choice part of it is about the public opinion but it's really about the families and do they feel safe and do they want their students back in school.

Are they comfortable with that arrangement.

I know my kids are really quite thrilled at the thought and I'm definitely enjoying the idea of some peace and quiet.

It has been a very long year and I think it has been a very long year and weighed heavily on everyone.

New York City has been open.

more or less off and on for the entire year.

Students or families were given a choice at the beginning of the year.

Did they want to go completely remote or did they want to go hybrid.

And the families were able to make the choice that was right for them and what they could best facilitate.

And I think a lot of people here in Seattle are very excited about the idea of returning to school but I think it still hasn't gotten through that that is not returning to school Monday to Friday for a regular school day.

And the reality is going to be a lot harder when people realize.

And so it's about it's about those options and how do we do it.

And yes how do you expect teachers to be online and in the classroom at the same time.

That's really we ask a lot of educators in general but it's it's really too much.

And it's like Principal Perry said it's it's too quick but it's not fast enough.

And people are anxious but perhaps not even realizing what they're anxious for.

Candidate Souza.

We need to have a good understanding of what the concerns are because they're not necessarily going to be the same concerns that White families have.

Again we need to to know what these concerns are.

It's of the utmost importance.

Sabrina Burr former Seattle Council PTSA president.

She gave a great interview on NPR a couple of weeks ago listing concerns that Black and Brown families had had related in a survey in her district.

Just tonight my kids helped the NAACP Youth Council put on an event where BIPOC doctors talk with families of color in our community to communicate them with in an accessible way about COVID-19 and the pandemic in an anti-racist way.

It's not about talking down to them from far away but people that they can actually have good communication with and trust.

These these forums and this open communication will be key.

There's also issues of vaccine availability and information for families in multiple languages and having clear expectations.

Again it's understanding what these concerns are listening and trying to identify and answer them because these are concerns that aren't necessarily going to be the same that that the White families have.

Thank you candidates.

We'll now be moving to our last question in the COVID section.

What is the biggest challenge.

Question 17. Mia are you there to ask the question.

Yes I apologize if I keep you to just listen.

What is the biggest challenge to reopening schools and how will you address it.

What is your stance on reopening schools in the fall.

Again feel free to answer more briefly if you feel like you've already touched on these points.

Candidate Dury.

I think the biggest challenge is to define what safety means to different folks as we talk about returning to school.

What does that safety mean.

And I think how to address it I am reiterating myself again but is about transparency about communication on multiple different levels and multiple different avenues and multiple different ways.

And also to remember that communication is a two-way street.

We need to be asking for information just as much if not more than we are pushing it out.

And so I think that we really need to be mindful in ensuring that we are listening and communicating Even the smallest detail that we think you know having been in the weeds on it is obvious.

It's not obvious to folks that are not in the weeds on something.

My stance to reopening the schools in fall.

I mean at this point I think that we are going to be told what to do apparently but a little bit.

But also I think that come fall we need to be real about the fact that it might not probably won't be 100 percent in and we need to really focus I would say our energy on ensuring that we can make that the best return to in-building as possible where we have taken the time to address the multiple issues that have come up and to show through the action of through action and plans that are clear with deadlines that we have listened and have heard and are moving forward in a way that is centering voices from the community.

Candidate Rivera.

So I would love to see the kids back in school full time in the fall and for daisies and springtime and summer and whatever.

Unfortunately that's more of a wish than a plan.

I always like to hope for the best but in reality we're have to plan for whatever comes our way.

And I think it's the same thing.

Families need to have a choice.

Will they feel comfortable.

Will they want their kids back in school.

And how how do we make them feel safe.

And how do we give the educators their the tools that they need to be able to teach the kids in whichever capacity is thrown at them.

And hopefully we can do those things.

The thought of the kids not being able to go back to school in the fall really weighs heavy on me.

And I'm hoping for some semblance of normalcy whatever that means by then.

And it's a question of working working with our educators hoping for the best with the vaccines which is obviously completely out of our control.

And looking for normal while allowing people to make the choices that are right for them and their students.

Okay.

Candidate Souza.

We vaccinated 4 million people over this past weekend.

And by the fall I think we should have a much better idea of what the vaccine and levels of immunization are.

It's hard to make any decisions right now and make bold predictions about what's going to happen in the fall.

It's going to be open in some way.

We need to make sure to prioritize the concerns of the more vulnerable families as I mentioned in the last question.

We need to listen and find out what do they need.

But yeah I do believe we're going to be looking at a very different situation medically speaking in the fall.

And there's going to have to be there's no There's no game plan for this.

There hasn't been through this entire time and the school system is something that thrives on having a system that goes year after year after year.

It isn't always perfect.

It isn't always great.

But right now we don't have a game plan.

But the more information that we find out from healthcare professionals from the systems the more we're going to be able to use that information to make more educated decisions and plans going forward.

And again communicating and listening with families and trying to make sure to give as many options as we can.

And Candidate Perry.

I think if the response to COVID goes how it's been going we should be able to reopen schools in the fall.

Most students should have the opportunity to go back into schools in the fall.

I think there's two really big challenges.

First the district needs to plan for this now.

Not wait till June not wait till July or August.

Plan for it now and involve all the stakeholders in that process.

I also think we're at a moment in time where we can reimagine education.

We haven't had very many moments like this.

We have a top-down one-size-all you know teaching and learning system.

I think we have to ask the questions about what we teach how we teach and how we assess.

to be done differently differently if all students are going to be able to be successful in this system.

The disparities have been there for years.

I mean on the assessment piece we we focus on high take high-stake tests.

We need new ways to assess and understand intellect and achievement.

I think the way to go about doing this it's we can do I think it's the way that we can attack racism in the district the quickest.

And we set up some kind of process with students with teachers with some other people it can't be led by the central administration it won't work that way where we talk about inquiry and competency-based learning where students learn they show and then they produce and they they show their own meaning and that way we can tackle the assessment issue.

Thank you so much candidates.

So we have some extra time beyond the sections that we addressed and we'll be moving into some final questions that are from like disparate from all of the sections.

Question 18. How will you work with district employees the superintendent the union and fellow school board members while also holding them accountable.

Candidate Rivera.

So that is really what I see as a big issue for this board.

And I imagine the people on the inside may say it differently but it looks like people need to be working together.

And it's not only the district employees the superintendent the union and the school board members but also like I mentioned the city the state the national levels as well.

Throughout this process the people that I've been talking to all all of those people and getting their opinions and talking about what's going on with the union and how are we bargaining in good faith.

And Dr. Jones just said something in the editorial or in the Times this morning and it talked about we need to know what's happening before we get to the bargaining table.

We need to know what those issues are and how we're going to solve for them.

And I think that all goes back to that big piece of communication.

I know that they've outlined so many things that have been that they are doing and that have been done but somehow things still still aren't getting through and the connections aren't being made.

Through the conversations that I've had it's really been about connecting with people and the humanity.

And I have no problem also holding someone accountable.

Direct and honesty are really the ways that I am.

And you just have to remember to temper that with listening and going for the understanding so that hopefully you guys can work together all of us to make a better outcome for our students.

Candidate Souza.

I absolutely agree with Laura Marie that communication is essential with this and that's something that I've found throughout my career and throughout my life.

done really well with being able to talk to people, ask questions.

I started as a journalist.

I would try to find out as much as I could.

I would try to ask leading questions and listen and learn and then be able to share what I have learned and to be able to further progress.

The people here, the decision makers here, We are all going to be coming into a position fresh and having to learn a lot and ask a lot of questions and then be able to make decisions that are impacting the district.

So in my career as a journalist I would write about what I learned.

I would hold the people accountable but now we are the ones who are going to be accountable for this.

But the principles are the same.

It's I've already been talking to these people.

I've already been trying to identify what these issues are.

I've already been writing pieces to the Seattle Times.

I've already been writing to our legislators.

I've already been trying to hold people accountable even though I'm not in on the board.

I am actively trying to learn how to get the get the ball past the goal line on all these different areas.

And it's going to happen with communication and listening and being able to identify the priorities and try to make sure that everybody's on the same page.

Candidate Perry.

Yeah I'm looking at the list of these four different sort of sectors.

And speaking as someone who's been working in the system the last 20 years we have little interaction with the superintendent and we have little interaction with school board members.

And most of it in the in time well there's more than one union but let's just say the teacher's union.

So that's district employees.

We're all district employees.

You can include 609 too you know working with the people who are cleaning the building.

People who provide the food every day.

That it's all about trust and it's about building relationships among amongst us and putting students first.

In terms of accountability that's really hard.

We do not have systems in Seattle Public School that work to hold people accountable with consequences.

And one of the things that's lacking in Seattle Public Schools is all evaluations are done down.

They're never done up.

So I don't evaluate the people who evaluate me.

I don't evaluate the people who evaluate them.

It's always a downward cycle of evaluation.

And that doesn't breed trust and it doesn't breed accountability.

So I could say more but I could say a lot about this question but that's where I'll leave it for right now.

Candidate Dury.

To me it's about involvement.

I think that many folks especially with COVID and in the last year that we've had have felt particularly excluded particularly the unions and district employees and I think that we need to rectify that and start involving people from the very get-go or as soon as possible now.

And really coming to every conversation and every interaction with curiosity and and a commitment to to taking and holding multiple truths at the same time.

And then in terms of accountability to me accountability is about being very clear on expectations and having cycles of auditing or review that are done regularly that people know are going to happen regularly and then are communicated out to the community as well that is also transparent to the community and the constituents involved.

Thank you candidates.

I think we have time for one more question.

So this will be our final question before moving into closing statements.

Question 19. How do you plan to engage community voice in District 4 and in Seattle Public Schools.

Which community organizations in District 4 and in Seattle Public Schools do you plan to work with and why.

Candidate Souza.

There's going to be constant communication going on with different organizations.

I mean first of all the NAACP Youth Council that's putting this on tonight following their Twitter feed following their their demands and just staying on top of what they're doing by hearing about it through my own family.

It's it's been.

really exciting to see that.

And I know that there are lots of other community organizations within the district and throughout SPS that have social presences that I can follow and that I can help amplify and at least learn.

It's so easy just to be able to once you've identified who they are to follow their social postings and find out what they want and what they're looking for and then try to integrate that into what's happening.

bring them into the fold and make a solution like NAACP Youth Council for example bringing your concerns wanting more of a voice wanting to uplift student voices and calling for that being able to receive that with what's happening tonight.

I'm going to continue to work with groups that are going to be promoting social equity making sure that that all the voices are heard that can be.

Candidate Perry.

I think in terms of District 4 I would make myself available.

Let's talk about the issues.

Let's put it all out on the table.

You know let's have a reconciliation process and see how we can contribute to the rest of the city.

One group we haven't talked about tonight is the LGBTQ community in Seattle and also in Seattle Public Schools.

This community which crosses race and crosses socioeconomics faces lots of barriers.

And many students who identify as LGBTQ particularly trans students and non-binary students are not safe in our schools.

And I think we need to have a really aggressive initiative of education and making sure that they're safe.

Each school is safe for every student.

There's a reason why NOVA now has 75 percent of its students who identify as LGBTQ.

And I mean there's many reasons.

Number one is it's safe.

And you know all our bathrooms are non-gender and all-gender.

No other school has that.

It's a high school level.

And it's imperative that we make those kind of changes.

And I would take these issues out to people.

Like I said before I you know I I try to speak my truth as I understand it the best and listen and listen.

And then we have to act on what other people say.

One of my mantras is we have to grow as a program.

The longer we've been around the more we have to grow.

We may have experience but we have to continue to keep growing.

Candidate Dury.

Well to engage community voice from this district it's about holding a regular conversation time where I would be available to to listen and converse with constituents in this district.

But moving beyond that as well acknowledging that a set time doesn't work for everybody to really actually move and seek out time time to speak with individuals and groups in the community.

on at a time and place that is convenient for them as well and making myself available in that way in addition.

And also always following up with who else should I talk to.

Asking the people I'm talking to who else they think I should be talking to or the people coming forward.

In terms of community organizations in this district and across the public school system I think working with student council unions as you all as the NAACP Youth Council and other organizations that are youth-led and focused.

Teachers staff and also really working with the Seattle Council PTSA who already hold district meetings in the different districts around the city and participating in those to listen and hear from across the district how to best serve the the district as a whole instead of just our District 4 area.

Candidate Rivera.

Thanks.

I would be happy to engage and make myself accessible to our community.

And I think that it is not the right or appropriate answer to say all organizations but I do want to say that I would be open to all organizations.

The more obvious the Seattle Council PTSA and the individual PTAs just because They do have that network in place and they are often able to mobilize and can help can help communicate in a lot of instances.

I think the other important thing is communicating with the principals and staffs of schools.

A lot of times the educators have been talking about that a lot.

I've been hearing a lot of that chatter and from the people that I've spoken to.

But more than that I'm particularly interested in engaging with the cultural institutions of the area.

The nonprofit world has really been doing the work and getting things right for quite some time.

And when I worked at a museum we had a groundbreaking study it was called the Educational Value of a Field Trip.

And it was shown in one hour a one hour visit to the museum and a hearty discussion with the arts and an educator.

And we had major jumps in empathy and critical thinking.

And I think that is what all all people but definitely all students could use in going forward and making making making everything a bit better.

Thanks.

That concludes our time for questions this evening.

I'll let us flip through all our extra slides.

All right.

It is now time for closing statements.

Candidates you will each have one minute.

Candidate Rivera.

Hi again.

I will repeat.

Yes you guys do not mess around.

And I really appreciate your planning and professionalism this evening and the opportunity to warm up a bit as the evening has gone on.

Gratitude is definitely my theme and even more so because this is definitely not as easy as it looks.

But it has been a really special experience and I have learned so much throughout this process.

And really the greatest lesson is learning to appreciate the advocates and the watchdogs and the people that are out there doing the work every day and getting to see some of that more more detailed work in this process.

I'm very thankful for this opportunity and all of the time and insight and wisdom that I've been given.

And really for all that I've learned.

So thank you.

Thank you to all of you.

Candidate Perry.

Sorry I keep losing track of where I am on the line here.

I apologize.

I would say there's a cost in not holding systems and people accountable.

And I agree with what Erin said earlier that you know one of the major tasks is we're going to have to deconstruct dismantle and then reconstruct the system.

I think we have a great opportunity to reimagine education reimagine teaching and learning.

You know I've witnessed this over the last 35 years when you change the environment and students know and believe that they can drive their own education that it has worth that it has meaning It's an absolutely beautiful experience and the students are well prepared by the time they finish K-12 to be able to ask the kind of questions, advocate for themselves, and advocate for their community.

Because we face a giant social justice issue right now that has to be addressed, and it's youth who are leading that process.

Youth lead revolution, so let's go for it.

Candidate Souza.

Well thank you again for hosting this event.

Anissa Edan Mia you guys did a great job and I'm thrilled with the progress that you made with the board with 1250 and pushing us to be better for you.

This is all everything that we do is for the students and we really appreciate you taking an active role in this.

Now I've learned a lot tonight and taken a lot of notes and the questions have been fantastic.

It reminded me that I have a lot of learning to do and there are a lot of issues facing the district that I need to learn more about and that's going to come with the experience.

I know that this is a vital job.

It's a critical time.

This is a huge responsibility and I am floored to think about how much needs to be done and the impact that it has on so many people.

But I'm ready to do that work and I'm ready to to help support all of the families in the district.

I want to try to help the district.

And be better.

Thank you.

Candidate Dury.

Well first I want to say thank you to the NAACP Youth Council for hosting us tonight.

This is a perfect example of why we need to center youth voices.

These questions were essential and and gave us a lot of food for thought and shows what needs to happen across the district.

There's clearly a lot to be done and it's really exciting time I think to be part of all of this.

I'm looking forward to the change and the dismantling and reconstruction that will center action and community that we have going forward.

And I would be honored to serve in the role as a district 4 director and look forward to doing the work with the community colleagues of the board and the district as a whole.

And that concludes our responses from the candidates.

I want to thank the candidates.

Thank you all for participating so thoughtfully in this forum for spending your evening with us and with community.

We really really appreciate that.

Thank you also to the school board for collaborating with Mia Adan and I and the Youth Council on this very important event.

I will now turn things back over to Board President Hampson for concluding remarks.

Thank you Anissa Mia and Edan for your questions and for planning and moderating tonight's forum.

And thank you so much to our candidates.

We appreciate you all for participating or watching tonight and invite you to provide your input to the school board on what you heard by going online to the school board director appointment page.

The link is provided on tonight's agenda.

Online feedback is due by 12 p.m.

on Thursday March March 18th.

On March 24th the school board will vote on an appointment to the District 4 position during the regular school board meeting which begins at 330 p.m.

And before I adjourn us tonight I just wanted to take a moment and honor a former colleague of ours former school board director Marty McLaren who passed this week and most of us are just learning of that.

I reached out specifically to our new Interim Principal Dr. Brent Jones and he who I knew had worked with her closely as as many on this board and on staff have.

She became an active and pivotal member of the African-American Advisory Committee and was instrumental in helping to center African-American males in the strategic plan and other key initiatives such as promoting Policy 0030 ensuring educational equity.

And I just felt it was important to my own personal experience with her was that she was someone who was on a never-ending trajectory of growth of personal growth of community growth relational growth.

And she's someone that I truly believe that we should all keep in our hearts and our minds as we continue to move forward with this work.

And I'm truly sad to to know that she's passed.

So rest in peace Mary I mean Marty.

And with that this board special meeting is now adjourned at 822 p.m.

Thanks very much everyone.