Thank you.
We have now reached 530. We go next to public testimony.
The rules for public testimony are on the screen, and I ask that speakers are respectful of these rules.
I do not want to rule anyone out of order.
I would note that the board does not take public comments on items related to personnel or individually named staff.
Thank you.
The majority of the speaker's time must be spent on the topic that he or she have indicated they wish to speak about.
Each speaker has a two-minute speaking time.
When you are 30 seconds away from the end of your two minutes, you will have a yellow light on the podium.
Please conclude your remarks when the red light comes on.
Ms. Shek, please read off the testimony speakers.
Read a time, and when you hear your name, if you would line up behind so we can keep rolling.
And thank you very much for taking your time to come speak with us.
It is hugely appreciated, and we do listen.
Thank you.
First up for polling testimony, we have Max Sebastian Pedro, followed by Andrea Radosevich, and then Clifford Mayer.
Hello, my name is Maximiliano Sebastian Pedro.
I'm from Guatemala, the city of Guatenango.
I speak Acateco, Spanish, and English.
Acateco is an indigenous dialect from the Mayan people.
I am a student at Seattle Grove School.
I have been at our school for one year and six months.
In the United States for one year and eight months.
I like my school because it helped me to be successful.
My classmate told me, don't worry, English was difficult for me.
To learn science was hard because I didn't understand, but now I can do it, so.
Problem number two, I would like to have more clues in my school.
When we move from place to another place, it can be a frustrating challenge, so you have to say goodbye to your friends, family, et cetera, you know, guys, so.
I would like that my school are given the opportunity to make a group of students from come from my country and culture.
So because the Mayan community of Guatemala is increasing in students, I need help so that they can get familiar with the English.
The American culture with the I mean kind of cute American killer, so it's hard for us because we we're not familiar with the English is hard for us to understand it I will work with my principal to make that happen So anything you can do to support our school my principal and our communities will be the most appreciated So thank you for the opportunity about my experience, so my school and our learning.
Gracias.
Hi, I'm Andrea Redosovich.
I'm a parent at Washington Middle School.
The proposed strategic plan recognizes the importance of educating the whole child, especially if we want to accelerate growth for students who are the furthest from educational justice.
Unfortunately, Washington Middle School is a long way from educating the whole child.
The administration in our school focuses on test scores to the exclusion of all else.
Here are examples of how that looks in practice.
Talking to the kids constantly about test scores and how too many kids in the general education program are failing standardized tests.
This is often done by projecting giant slides on the cafeteria wall at lunchtime.
Slides that blame the restrictive and unpopular hallway and bathroom rules on the fact that too many kids in the general education program are failing the tests.
Slides that talk about L1s and L2s.
Slides that list the names of the students receiving detention last year.
This is not educating the whole child.
It is public shaming, and it is wrong.
The children in our school that the principal refers to as L1s and L2s, these are children whose names and dreams and incredible strengths.
We need to recognize and celebrate those strengths and build on them.
That is what our teachers want to do.
They want to educate the whole child.
But their voices are being ignored.
Our teachers are tired, discouraged, and seeking to leave.
Many students and parents say that school feels like a prison this year.
There are restrictions on going to the bathroom.
There are hall sweeps, locked doors, security guards banging on the stalls in the bathrooms.
When you think about the school-to-prison pipeline and then you think about the climate in Washington Middle School this year, that is not a comfortable thought.
Once again, this is not educating the whole child.
As you consider this strategic plan, please think about how you will make sure it is properly implemented, consistent with the vision of educating the whole child, and what you will do when it is not.
Thank you.
After Clifford Meyer, we will have Chris Jackins, followed by Sarah Sense Olsen, and then Carol Simmons.
I want to thank Director Geary and other people in the room who worked on the strategic plan.
You clearly put a tremendous amount of effort into it.
Thank you.
It has some great elements, especially what I hope is a new commitment to equity by this district.
And I think we should all be thrilled that the board has prioritized predictable and consistent operational systems.
Sounds like high standards for transportation, student assignment, outreach, and more.
Thank you.
But you're not setting those standards for schools.
Someone took that out of the newest draft of the strategic plan.
Why?
At Washington Middle School, we could use some higher standards for student scheduling, for teacher assignments, for communications from the principal, and more.
Like maybe the student discipline process shouldn't include the public shaming of students who have detention, gender neutral bathrooms.
We should be able to figure that out.
Really.
So I'm asking you to give some more thought to this strategic plan.
Do not pass it tonight.
Think about restoring what was in the draft earlier this month, that the idea of predictable and consistent operations is possible to be asked for from school administrators and your school buildings.
Not just the central staff should be held to these standards.
And I know that when you talk about operational, you may be thinking, all right, well, this is not the academic side of things.
And what I'm talking about maybe is mostly that academic.
Well, we, the families who are the consumers, the students who are the people being educated, they don't get what operational is, what academic is.
They just want responsibility in the school buildings and to know that things will be done right.
Thank you.
My name is Chris Jackins.
Box 84063 Seattle 98124. On the strategic plan nine points.
Number one the plan states that students of color who are furthest from educational justice will read at grade level by third grade.
Long-time former African-American School Board Director Michael Preston often objected to such an emphasis.
Mr. Preston felt that it tended to imply that students in later grades not meeting the cut were essentially already lost.
Number two, the plan claims an intentional focus on African-American males, but the district refuses to reopen the African-American academy.
Number three, the plan is a rote private sector approach, just like closing schools and money following the student.
One aim is to try to blunt criticism and cover the district's