We will be calling the board meeting to order in a moment as SPS TV will begin broadcasting.
This is President Hersey I am now calling the board special meeting to order at 3 15 p.m.
We would like to acknowledge that we are on the ancestral lands and traditional territories of the Puget Sound Coast Salish people.
We have with us directors of the Seattle School Board.
Vice President Hampson.
Director Harris.
Director Rivera-Smith.
Director Sarju should be joining us shortly.
Director Song-Moritz.
Director Rankin.
And this is President Hersey.
The superintendent is also present with us as well as staff.
We are also being joined by special guests here to celebrate a very momentous day and a culmination of much work.
This evening we will be swearing in the first school board student members that will be joining the Seattle School Board.
This yeah you can clap for that.
This is a big deal.
This moment is the culmination of years of work by the Washington NAACP Youth Council in coordination with SPS and many students across our system.
We are joined also tonight by Rita Green representing the NAACP.
We have with us Rena Mateja-Walker Burr and Sabrina Burr, two folks who have not only been a part of advocacy in this area, but were critical, and I mean critical, in the design, development, and the overall advocacy that brought us to this moment that we are celebrating tonight.
Yes.
Before I begin I wanted to give Rena the opportunity to say a few words.
Would you like to say a few words before we move on with our program.
It would be an absolute honor.
Yes.
Clapping is.
This is a momentous celebration.
I just want to say thank you so much for just making this policy possible and thank you to the students so much for just like wanting to dedicate your time and wanting to make a change in your community and wanting to take that first step.
I'm so proud of you guys.
And I hope with the opportunity that you're given you're open to really open doors for other students as well so that they can see themselves represented in like students who actually go to schools and have a voice in Seattle Public Schools.
I'm just really excited and I hope that this is the first step to really changing the way that we look at education and the way that we look at systems and the way that children and students have a voice at the table so that they're able to actually advocate for themselves.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Rita, is that you back there?
I can't.
Hey, would you like to say a few words before we move on?
That would be great.
It's good to see you.
Thank you.
Hi.
Thank you.
I just want to say this was one of our very first demands.
It was demand number three, which we proposed in 2017. So to let you know that nothing is easy.
It's been five long years for this to actually get from concept to implementation and we're so happy.
And for the students that are on the board just know that this is a huge responsibility for you to be the voice for all you in Seattle Public Schools because there are many youth whose voices wasn't heard which is why we implemented this and it's a great joy and I hope you guys do well.
Thank you.
Thank you Rena and Ms. Green.
Your work and the work of the youth have made true and lasting change in Seattle Public Schools and we will be better for it as we continue on with such an amazing program.
I also want to recognize the work of former school board director Zachary Pullen who shepherded this important policy and worked directly alongside youth and myself to ensure that its implementation was one that would be long lasting and true.
We will now begin the oaths of office.
If the student members could please join me up front.
We're going to try to keep these as far apart as possible.
OK.
All right.
So we will begin with Nasira Hassan.
Nasira, please step forward and repeat after me.
I, Nasira, do solemnly swear.
I, Nasira, do solemnly swear.
That I will support the Constitution and laws of the United States.
That I will support the Constitution and the laws of the United States.
And the Constitution and laws of the state of Washington.
And the Constitution and laws of the state of Washington.
and will to the best of my judgment and will to the best of my judgment skill and ability skill and ability truly and faithfully truly and faithfully diligently and impartially diligently and impartially perform the duties perform the duties of student member of student member of the Seattle Public School Board of Directors of the Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors.
As such duties are prescribed by law and policy.
As such duties are prescribed by law and policy.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
Next up we have Luna Cron-Baron.
Please step forward.
I, your name.
I, Luna Lilleth Cron-Baron.
do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution and the laws of the United States and the Constitution and laws of the state of Washington.
I will, to the best of my judgment, I will to the best of my judgment, skill and ability, truly and faithfully, diligently and impartially perform the duties of the student member of the Seattle Public School Board of Directors as such duties are prescribed by law and policy.
as such duties are prescribed by law and policy.
Congratulations fantastic.
Jenna and Jenna can you pronounce your last name for me I want to make sure I get it right.
Yuen.
Fantastic.
All right I your name do solemnly swear
I, Jenna Yuan, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution and laws of the United States and the Constitution and laws of the state of Washington and will, to the best of my judgment,
and will to the best of my judgment, skill and ability, skill and ability, truly and faithfully, truly and faithfully, diligently and impartially, diligently and impartially, perform the duties, perform the duties, of student member of the Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors, of student member of the Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors, as such duties are prescribed by law and policy,
as such duties are prescribed by law and policy.
Congratulations Jenna.
Let's give another round of applause for our new board members.
We will now pause for a few minutes for pictures and then we have refreshments and things so just give us a few moments.
right now so folks could have a quick seat.
The best part hasn't even happened yet.
Oh is that one yours?
Okay cool, fantastic.
Does everybody have what they need?
Okay perfect.
Take your time, no worries.
Okay thank you all for your patience as we got some historic pictures to remember this momentous occasion.
We will now come back together to hear from our new school board student members.
Student member Hassan please come up to the podium.
Hi guys my name is Nasira Hassan and I am an upcoming senior at Chief Sealth International High School as you might already know.
As I think and reflect on why I am here today and why I have the position I do as a student member on the school board I continue to circle back to my passion for being an advocate for not only myself and my peers but also my community as a whole.
I've experienced many adversities and challenges in my years of schooling.
As a young African-American Muslim woman, nothing came easy.
And from that, I grew and expanded my knowledge on how to make a difference, how to be a leader, and how to use my voice as a student advocate.
I'm here to listen to my peers within the entire SPS district, their concerns, worries, thoughts, and opinions.
They matter just as much as mine and my fellow student member peers do.
The many changes that need to be made within our system will only come if we work together.
Us students are the change, so let's work together to make one.
Thank you.
wherever you would like, whatever makes sense.
Luna.
Thank you and thank you Director Hersley.
My name is Luna Crombrone and I am an upcoming junior at the center school and I use she, her, hers pronouns.
And I stand here today before you as a student, as a student-born member, as a human being, as a child.
As a child who was forced to grow up too fast because my school never taught me the skills I needed to know to survive and thrive in our modern world.
I stand here as a child who is grappling with the fact that she was sexually assaulted a month ago and can't stop wondering.
If we had been taught comprehensive consent education from a young age in schools, would it not have happened?
Our students are struggling.
Our students are hurting.
We are tired and we are angry.
We are done with our needs being put at the butt end of a half-baked compromise.
But today, I choose not to be angry.
I choose to be full of love.
In order to heal and grow as a community, we must show each other love and compassion.
And love is more than just words.
It is an action.
Love is a radical action that defies the oppressive rules that this school district is built on, that this country is built on.
School board directors, Seattle Public Schools community, now is the time to let go of our positions of power.
It is time to break down these hierarchies of socio-political status and take the time to learn from each other.
Show each other compassion.
It is time to show our community love as an action.
Thank you.
Jenna.
Hi everyone I'm Jenna Yuan a senior at Franklin high school.
I've been a Seattle public school student since kindergarten.
I want to start off by saying that although this district is in no way perfect it has provided me with a good environment to grow as a student emotionally and academically.
It also has provided me with amazing opportunities like this one.
If I were to tell my freshman year self that I was going to be a school board student member I would not believe it at all.
I used to and still kind of am the quieter person in the background listening closely but not sharing my thoughts because I just felt like people didn't want to listen to what I have to say or what I have to say is wrong.
which is a really toxic mindset that I want to get rid of, hence why I have really pushed myself to get more involved in the community.
And after doing so, I've learned that it's really important for everyone to express their opinions because if you don't advocate for yourself, no one will.
So please don't belittle your own thoughts and opinions because what we all have to say is valuable.
Taking everyone's voice into consideration is key to growing, to further growing our community.
Through this position I want to give the group of students who feel unheard of voice and amplify everyone's voice so actions are actually being taken.
I am so honored to be chosen for this position and I will try my best to set a good example and solid foundation for future generations of student board members and student representatives.
Thank you so much for listening.
Let's get another standing ovation for these students.
I'll just say as we wrap up this celebration and honestly there is no amount of celebrating that we could do that would really express how excited I know that I, the rest of the board, leadership team, educators, students, everybody in this room are for the work that you have already done and will continue to do.
I think that as we continue to try our best to make a sound transition to being solely focused on student outcomes having your voices in the decision-making space is going to be an absolutely critical part of how we move forward and what I want to do in this moment right here in public recorded hey everybody that's watching If at any time we as board members are not positioning ourselves to be as helpful and as useful to you as students please do not be afraid to hold us accountable in whatever way that looks like for you because honestly we do not want to have you in this space just for us to benefit from you or the system to benefit from you.
We want it to be a mutual two-way partnership so that we can help you develop in your own leadership journeys, in your own journeys for advocacy, whatever those destinations might be for you individually.
So I just want to make it very clear, this is a partnership and we really want to make sure that the communication and the trust and everything else that comes along with those relationships is two-way and reciprocated.
So thank you.
We really appreciate you.
And now I'm going to shut up and we're going to have cake.
That being said the special meeting introducing our new student board member stands adjourned at 343. Thank you very much and please help yourselves to a fresh drink.