School Board Meeting May 17, 2017 Pt. 3

Okay.

Well thank you to South Shore.

This has been a month of many recognitions and celebrations.

Last week was teachers appreciation week.

And I think we all remember that one or two or three very special teacher that we had in our background that made a difference.

For me Dee Pinkerton at Roosevelt was a teacher that was responsible for me becoming an educator.

If you think of a particular teacher in our school system that you'd like to recognize you can do that at our hashtag thank a teacher.

It's also arts education month and we also send out congratulations and greetings with regard to Asian Pacific American heritage along our Facebook and Twitter sites.

And not in our notes but it is Norwegian independence day today.

Naramore exhibit has been underway at the Seattle art museum.

Thank you for their partnership.

Thank you to Director Blanford for bringing the remarks and for Director Geary for being at that event.

We had I think over 200 of our young artists who had their works on display there.

The overall top award went to Zoe Russell, 12th grade student at Garfield High School for a piece titled Confusion.

We will have during the break tonight we will have up on the slideshow a variety of the presentations made by students.

Tonight I will be sharing a brief overview of some of the things that are happening in support of the strategic plan.

talking about some of the topics of interest in our community.

Good news I don't think we've got that on a table at the back.

I won't have time to get through very much of that.

And then we do have many ways that public can be involved and or that we have been out and about and involved in schools and I believe that's also on the back table.

Our strategic plan has three big goals educational excellence and equity systems improvement and community engagement.

In terms of educational excellence and equity We've been continuing to work on how to put practices into our school that we are finding out make a difference for all of our students and particularly for the students that we have not always served well to close opportunity gaps.

As you've heard me say before, closing opportunity gaps, eliminating opportunity gaps is the important issue of our time.

It's both a moral and an economic imperative for our future and for the future of our students.

One of the things that school boards asked us to do is to clarify and make really clear what the initiatives are that are underway in support of excellence and equity.

And that work has been ongoing as we've been meeting with different community groups, teacher groups, principal groups, talking about the importance of high-quality teaching, the importance of collaboration, and the importance of eliminating opportunity gaps.

Our three big messages have been that Seattle is a high-performing district when you average our scores out we outperform in Washington and nationally school districts with similar demographics.

At the same time we have very high, too high opportunity gaps and we've been working hard, the school board has set in place for the last three years and on track to do for the fourth year coming up making eliminating opportunity gaps one of our top goals and the board has invested in making that happen.

Our third big message is that we have each year more schools that are pointing the way for Washington and for Seattle in terms of leading the way in closing opportunity gaps.

So with that I'd like to introduce Helen Young who is going to introduce Jeff Clark from Denny International to talk a little bit about some of the things that Denny International has been doing.

They've been leading the way for Seattle for some time and they've got a lot of exciting work underway.

Good evening directors and Dr. Blanford, Dr. Nyland.

I'm just looking at you.

As a district we have analyzed our achievement data to determine that Denny international middle school consistently has high growth for all of their scholars including advanced learners.

The team at Denny has recently been awarded the KCTS and OSPI pathway of excellence award for gap elimination as well as been selected by OSPI as a Washington State achievement school for four years in a row and five of the last six years.

Principal Jeff Clark is in his 12th year of his dream job as he characterizes it and is leading an amazing team at Denny international middle school.

It is my pleasure to introduce the Denny dream team today.

Good evening school board members and Superintendent Nyland what an honor it is to be here and talk about something that we are all passionate about and that is gap elimination.

As Director Jung said I feel very blessed and fortunate to have my position as the principal of Denny International Middle School.

It's an honor to serve the children and families of Southern West Seattle, White Center and South Park every day.

We start with core beliefs, our beliefs are that we have 850 beautiful highly capable college bound scholars walking through our doors every day.

I've given each of you a little button as a token of some things that we believe.

It says simply Denny International we all belong.

We love our immigrant and refugee families.

So it's from that core belief that I've been able to hire a fantastic team, we have the best team of teachers in the state of Washington if not the country who work passionately for the benefit of children and gap elimination every single day.

We have a foundational belief that learning is something we are all working on, smart is something we are all becoming smarter and smarter at different skills and standards and through that is a concept called standards-based Learning and grading and so what that means is children are given multiple opportunities to demonstrate proficiency at a particular learning target over time.

And we never give up.

We don't just move on with the curriculum we have ways to circle back give each and every scholar what is needed each and every day.

So I'm going to tell you a little bit about our kind of overall philosophy, our system and from that system many things are added on to have our whole complex system of school leadership that's identified in that packet that I gave you as well.

But next to the microphone it's a pleasure to introduce Adrienne Nestor our assistant principal for literacy.

Hi there, good afternoon.

As Mr. Clark said I'm Adrienne Nestor, I'm assistant principal at Denny, one of many.

And I get the distinct pleasure of working with literacy across the building.

The reason we focus on that, and I'm going to specifically talk tonight about one of the things we do intentionally across all content, not just literacy, and that's common unit planning.

And we do that because we know it's important to close the achievement gap.

That means that our intended curriculum, which in this state is common core state standards, and our taught curriculum and our assessed curriculum are all completely aligned.

They all match.

There are no gaps in between those, there are no missing places, we know that they are all aligned the way they should be.

The way that works at Denny, that goes way beyond a common text.

We have many of our Curricula that we use and the units that we plan are teacher directed teacher created based on common core standards based on who is in front of us.

And intentionally include the fact that we are culturally responsive to everyone sitting in front of us that year and if we need to change that we do that.

that we've included best teaching practices I think Mr. Clark included in your packet our Denny toolkit that lists 10 to 15 of those that we know work with every student and we intentionally include those in our plans.

We respond to data.

As far as continually coming back to those unit plans, in fact I get some very cranky teachers if I haven't given them regular opportunities to have long periods of time to spend talking to one another to make sure that whatever is coming up for the next two months is the best they can make it.

They are very sure to remind me that they need that time to do so.

Teams at Denny have made that curricular process of continually looking at units and making them better year by year and adjusting tweaking this work last year.

What did you do that was different from what I did?

Your scholars did better than mine.

Let's try what you did.

We're going to all do that this year and give that shot for everybody.

Ultimately this entire process results in improved instruction and that's really where the rubber hits the road if you want to put it that way.

That's what makes all of our learners learn.

Thank you.

I'd like to introduce Mr. Moore.

Good evening I'm John Moore I'm the math coach at Denny international middle school.

I've had the pleasure of serving in that role now my second year.

Previous six years I was an eighth grade math teacher at Denny international.

And I'm going to just follow up a little bit on Mr. Clark's comments about assessment and that We get multiple opportunities and that really just every assessment is another learning opportunity.

In addition you know to those common lesson plans we use common formative and summative assessments at Denny.

Particularly on the math team they are aligned to the common core and also the SBA test the students will take at the end of the year.

We meet weekly.

as grade level math teams to go over data to look at each assessment and to make sure that we are meeting the needs of all scholars.

We will plan individual interventions to make sure each scholar's learning needs are met.

Sometimes that can look like a whole class intervention where the majority of maybe a large enough percentage of scholars needed the intervention.

More often it looks like I'm tying kids into our other support systems such as our tutoring program.

We have city or core members as well as university tutors and then also our after school math program are very robust program.

I believe Mr. Lai is going to be speaking on in a bit.

Really, assessment, a test is just the beginning of the learning process for scholars.

And our scholars all know that one assessment is not going to make or break them, it's just going to tell them where they're at and we're going to move forward from there to meet their learning needs.

Now I'd like to introduce Mr. Colin Slingsby.

Good afternoon Colin Slingsby I teach eighth grade literacy at Denny.

Just to use a sports analogy I've also coached in Seattle for 16 years at the high school level.

We all know the importance of quality practice and so in seeking sort of unique ways to help address the achievement gap and thinking about the fact that a unit doesn't always work to just teach and then assess.

Some things that we've tried in eighth grade literacy are giving a lot more formative assessments, using the data from the formative assessments to regroup students even if that's like a hybrid class.

So one thing with my PLC that my colleagues and I have tried is we will become an expert in teaching a particular level of learner, we will trade students.

We will teach the new lesson and then we will reassess kids testing where they are at.

It's a lot more effective way of knowing each kid, knowing what level they are at and exactly what they need with the instruction.

And it's something that we have tried a lot this year and are excited to sort of continue that work in.

So I just wanted to provide that as a sort of a concrete example following up on Mr. Moore.

So next I will introduce Gary Lai.

I've been teaching for 10 years now at Denny.

It's been my only job teaching and it's been a great job.

And part of it is because we are allowed to spend so much time with the students whenever we can, whenever the resources allow.

Like for instance at the beginning of the school year I go to visit as many as I can of the students that I'm going to teach.

and that gives that connection right away so that the parents know, the students know that I care and that I'm trying to do my best for them for not only the sixth grade year but all the way through to eighth grade.

And so that coupled with the out of school time that we do three days a week I spend with the kids after school just working with them to give them extra time to show their skills, learn new things and give them second chances to learn their information.

That as well as break camps like during spring break, winter break, midwinter break I just give those days so the kids know that I am always there for them.

So there is no need for them to rush to get the work done in like a one week time.

They have a year to learn and so we want to give them that opportunity to let them know that the learning is a constant thing that happens not just one month at a time, one week at a time, one day at a time.

It starts here and it ends you know whenever they die I guess.

So that is our goal is just to basically give the students the time and the opportunity that you know they need to show their learning because they all mature differently, they all mature at different rates and so what a student can do at the beginning of the year may be different than what they can do at the end.

And so we want to give them that chance through standards-based grading and through extra time and breaks to get that learning proven.

So I don't think there is anybody after me except for Clark maybe.

So yeah I will introduce him again.

Thank you.

So in summary the system is we know exactly what we are teaching, we know exactly what the best practices are, we plan that together as tight grade level teams, we routinely check in on how each child is doing and use that data to change our common plans to provide interventions, supports and extensions during the school day, after school, on breaks, over the summer, whatever it takes to not give up and to make sure that every child is reaching that high mark we know that they can.

Again I want to say thanks to my team for doing an awesome job every day.

The last question I was asked to answer is identify things that we have been given to support our work from Seattle Public Schools and we have been given many things and many partnerships.

I want to recognize Director Jung for her vision that is P through 16 in southern West Seattle.

I want to recognize Ms. Codd in HR for making decisions that place children and equity first in HR.

I want to recognize Dr. Jones for his work in bringing continual innovation to equity and programs.

We are learning from people across the country, people specifically like those in Oakland and bringing those practices here to Seattle Public Schools.

I want to say thank you also to assistant superintendent Tolley for embracing standards-based grading and allowing us to do the pilot.

We need to take that pilot to the next level.

I also was asked what else do we need?

We need a longer school year.

180 days is not enough.

Denny should be a year-round school.

I don't believe that all schools in the state of Washington should be year-round but we should be very targeted in how the state funds education and how we roll that out to make sure every kid is getting what is needed.

I'd also like to thank the Nesholm Family Foundation, the city of Seattle for the families and education levy, principal Mia Williams, Aki Kurose and principal Chris Carter from Mercer, two outstanding thought partners of ours.

Together we are trying to move all three of our schools to the great place that we know our children deserve.

Thank you for your time and thank you for your support.

Thank you Danny for sharing some of the good work that you've been doing for a long time.

And it shows in so many ways.

Oh yeah I'm sorry I'll invite the board down to take a picture with them and I'll bring the certificate.

you

And thank you for the buttons.

We all belong.

Part of the relationship building piece that we're doing district wide and that Danny's doing so well.

Well I need to rush to get through the remind remainder of my.

Yeah.

I do didn't want to take.

Well maybe I don't.

Too much paper.

I won't do that you'll have to read it.

I had a great quote from a student.

One of the things as I visit classrooms I get to see great teaching I get to see great work that kids are doing.

One of the things that kids are doing throughout the district is writing opinion pieces.

So we used to do five paragraph essays and now we're working on having opinion pieces and one teacher from Madison middle school their class all wrote opinion pieces and sent me lots of letters from students some of which might be our next solicitor general in terms of their eloquent remarks.

Improving systems is our second systems goal and budget has been first and foremost in that area trying to figure out how we save $50 million and continue to do the good work that we are doing.

We were fortunate to get the levy cliff money much of it back that allowed us to bring back 200 positions.

We are now down to as we said when we started the process we are down to a very few potential reductions in force.

We said from the beginning we didn't expect to have many of those but we didn't know that we could survive a $50 million cut without any reductions in force.

Due to the fact that the legislature is not done the deadline for notifications for certificated staff has moved from May 15 to June 15. So over the end I guess the good news for that is that some of those positions continue to evolve.

We have more retirements, we have more resignations, those open up positions for people who we would desperately like to keep in the system.

So at this point in time we are down to I think maybe somewhere in the vicinity of a dozen certificated and a dozen classified staff and we hope that number continues to go down before we need to do formal notification.

The last goal is school family and community engagement.

We started last night a series of meetings with Native American families throughout the district.

The next one will be on May 22 at Beacon Hill International School.

I hope that we have a lot of families who will come out.

talk with us about their experiences, what works, what doesn't work, what they think that we can do to continue to improve native education.

One of the areas under community engagement is in regard to school schedules.

And this seems to have many many many permutations.

First one is we heard from a lot of families saying please let us know what the calendar is for the coming year.

That information is posted on the website at least in regard to when school starts and stops for next year and we are still finalizing some of the details particularly around early release is later on the agenda tonight and part of our partnership with SEA.

Bill schedules has been on the mind of many particularly those in Tier 3. So currently we have a three tier busing system.

We were able to get something like 80 plus percent of our schools into Tier 1 and Tier 2. That was the good news.

The bad news was Tier 3 continues to let us know that that works an imposition and a hardship for a variety of reasons.

The city of Seattle has heard about our concern and the mayor announced that they would be seeking funding to come up with the $2.3 million that we need to move from a three-tier to a two-tier system.

So, we really appreciate the city, I mean the city does so much for us, $35 million for the family and education levy, preschool, summit funding, and they have stepped up and said we want to try to see if we can find the funding for you.

So, for the two-tier.

So, we don't know yet whether they will be successful in doing that, but we certainly appreciate their effort to do that.

We have let city know that we do need to know by June 15 so that we can notify families and care providers what that schedule will look like for the coming year.

Tonight actually yeah.

So, coming before the board soon will be this issue of tentatively approving the two-tier system if the city comes through with funding.

And then also later tonight will be information on early release.

Currently our early releases occur sporadically throughout the school year as part of our bargaining with the SEA a year plus ago we agreed to extend the school day and then to make those early release times more consistent and to provide more time for teacher collaboration.

I don't have all of the math here in front of me but basically we are adding 60 hours to the school year and a little bit more than half of that time is in the student day and the other half of the time provides time for teachers to do what we just heard from Denny is to have that time to collaborate and do great things for kids.

Yeah so we'll continue to monitor the situation with the city we'll hope for good news regardless of whether it's two-tier or three-tier we will announce that to families by June 16. Topics of community interest, there's been a lot of interest in waitlists and I see we have people in the audience tonight who want to talk to that.

This has been a challenging year for us.

We continue to be $50 million short on the budget.

That does mean that about half of our schools are still one teacher short of the number of teachers that they currently have in the building.

I think that's added some pressure so our system the way that we do our enrollment process and the way that we do staffing for schools remains the same as it has been for the last dozen years or so.

I think one of the differences is that we've got 50 schools who are wanting to do everything possible to figure out can we get more enrollment and can we keep all of the staff that we currently have.

And I certainly understand that.

And that's what we desperately want from the legislature as well.

However, we have never used waitlist as a way to save staff because then when you move the waitlist you take students from another building and you give notice to another building even later in the process saying that now they have teachers that are displaced.

We continue to work on that issue and there will be seats opened up in the normal process of the waitlist process as highly capable students are assigned or as students let us know that they won't be coming back next year.

The last announcement that I have in terms of community interest is biology and commencement.

So the biology exam kicks in for the first time this year to say that's a graduation requirement.

Up until now we've had reading and math as graduation requirements we have not yet had science as a graduation requirement.

There have been attempts the last few years in the legislature to actually they have delayed the implementation and this year I understand that there is we think agreement between the house and the Senate.

One of them wants to do away with this particular requirement, the other one wants to do away with all graduation testing requirements.

And I guess we will have to wait until the end of the session which will be after graduation to find out whether the science exam continues to be required for graduation this year.

So recognizing that that puts about 300 of our students in jeopardy hoping to invite family from wherever to come to graduations and not knowing whether they will graduate or not.

So the state law is the state law and we will continue to follow the state law however board policy controls who gets to walk.

And so I'm announcing tonight and we will be posting on the website that I'm recommending to the school board that we do a waiver of our policy to allow students to walk this year regardless of whether they have met the science testing requirement.

And that will be taken up by the board.

Thanks.

That will be taken up by the school board as part of their work session which will be constituted as a special board meeting next week on the 24th.

And that will give the board an opportunity as a whole to talk about that issue, act on it and get notices out to parents and students at least three weeks in advance of graduation.

I didn't quite make it by 530 tonight.

There's a lot of good news in the flyer at the back of the room.

There's a lot of information about places that I have been, that our staff have been, community events, school visits.

I'm forgetting something.

Ah in this room last Thursday we had a scholarship gala by our Seattle scholarship foundation.

Wow we will find a way to get that on digital.

Record a year from now a heartwarming stories by so many of our students.

Scholarships are given particularly to students who have overcome very unique and challenging times in their lives.

So thank you to Director Harris and Director Peters for being there and being an important part of that event.

That concludes my remarks.

Again we welcome Dika Mooman from Cleveland STEM high school.

Ms. Mooman is a senior an athlete and a student in the School of Life Sciences.

I will now invite Ms. Mooman to provide her remarks.

As someone that participates in many extracurricular activities I've had the close-knit community with Cleveland to aid me through each of them.

Cleveland has been the core of support in almost everything I participate in.

In poetry, running, writing and more.

Not only have my peers provided the unique system of support, love and encouragement but the staff have also pushed me to be the best I can be outside of the classroom.

This April I performed at the Youth Speaks Grand Slam poetry competition as a finalist.

My humanities teacher spread the word at Cleveland and soon enough I was met with the support from my Cleveland community.

Many of my teachers and peers came out to watch my performance and it was comforting to know Cleveland has more to offer my peers than just an education.

Students and staff offer a community.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Again I hope that you will stick around and provide feedback and comments on the testimony you will hear later.

We have now reached the consent portion of tonight's agenda.

May I have a motion for the consent agenda?

Pinkham I move approval of the consent agenda.

Harris Approval of the consent agenda has been moved and seconded.

Do directors have any items they would like to- Pinkham We need a second yet.

I'm so sorry I apologize.

Thank you.

I second it.

Approval of the consent agenda has been moved and seconded.

Do directors have any items they would like to remove from the consent agenda?

Seeing none all those in favor of the consent agenda signify by saying aye.

Aye.

The consent agenda has passed.

We have now reached the public testimony portion of the agenda and it is not yet, excuse me, we have different variables depending on where we are on the time continuum here.

And I'm new to this.

I would ask that folks keep an eye on the rules that are on the screen there and that they are respectful of these rules.

I would note that the board does not take public comments on items related to personnel or individually named staff.

I would also like to note that each speaker has a two-minute speaking time and when the two minutes have ended please conclude your remarks.

Ms. Shek will read off the testimony speakers three at a time so if you could line up behind when you hear your name that would be very helpful.

Ms. Shek thank you.

First up we have Paul Lee followed by Rachel Kafton and Elizabeth Hughes.

Good afternoon my name is Paul Lee and I am a senior at Cleveland high school.

I would like to thank the Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors for providing me with the opportunity to express my concern regarding the lack of career and technical organizations also known as CTSOs in Seattle Public High Schools.

Career and technical organizations such as FBOA, HOSA, or DECA are vocational organizations that enable high school students to navigate career fields of interest and cultivate connections with professionals within the field.

As an aspiring healthcare professional I am grateful for the integration of a CTSO into Cleveland high school's biomedical sciences curriculum.

Through HOSA I have had the opportunity to compete in various biomedical science competitions at the state and national level.

Enabling me to develop skills essential to healthcare industry and develop the confidence needed to tackle some of today's most prevalent public health issues.

Furthermore, having served numerous HOSA members statewide as a previous Washington HOSA state president, I have watched as new and returning members this year take the initiative on our national service projects.

This year, HOSA's partnership with the National Alliance on Mental Illness helped enable over 200,000 students nationwide to advocate for mental health awareness.

I believe that the integration of CTSOs into Seattle public high schools is a step forward to ensure that our students will develop the knowledge, confidence and leadership to become the professionals that they aspire to be.

I urge you all to continue supporting the integration of CTSOs into our schools as they are crucial for enhancing the high school experience of students enrolled in the Seattle public schools district.

Thank you.

Hello I'm Rachel Kofton but at this time I'm ceding my time to Mackenzie Palmer.

Hello I'm Mackenzie Palmer a junior at Franklin high school.

Every student, every classroom, every day.

That is the mission of Seattle Public Schools.

But because of under and over enrollment in our high schools, every student is not being served.

We have students in some schools who are in need of classrooms.

Meanwhile we have empty classrooms at other schools.

Schools like Franklin aren't getting the funding they need to serve every student because they are below capacity.

Below the benchmarks for additional admins and funding.

Schools like Roosevelt and Garfield are so far over capacity their buildings literally cannot hold the number of students enrolled there.

And their administrative supports are capped.

Yet we are telling students who want to come to Franklin who are on the waitlist for Franklin that they cannot come to Franklin.

We are capping the waitlist for under enrolled schools and instead sending these students to over enrolled schools.

If as a district we really do believe it is essential to place the interests of students above all others in every decision we make, if as a district we really do believe that our core work is in supporting student learning then we will address the issue of under and over enrollment, we will adjust enrollment procedures so that our schools are closer to their capacity and serve our students needs more adequately.

Soon you will hear from a few of my other classmates but first let me make this clear.

This is not a Franklin specific issue.

This is a district issue and every student issue and every classroom every day issue.

Thank you.

Hello my name is Elizabeth Hughes at this time I will be ceding my portion of the time to Amy.

Hello my name is Amy Juth and I am a senior at Franklin high school.

Though Franklin does not have an APP or an HTC track like Garfield, we are not a STEM specific program like Cleveland and we do not have an IB like Beach or Ingram, Franklin is an amazing school.

Our approach to learning with heterogeneous learning communities where different perspectives are in the classroom learning together is what makes Franklin such a special and unique place to learn.

Franklin's classrooms are not segregated by standardized testing scores or previous academic achievements, but rather by student choice.

Franklin is a place where students can pursue many different interests with success because at Franklin we believe not only students should be immersed in diverse learning communities but they should have diverse interests to be most prepared for life after high school.

To the district we are not a special option school but to us these heterogeneous learning communities are what makes us special.

For some more background on Franklin we have the highest percentage of ELL students and the highest percentage of free reduced lunch students in the whole Seattle public school districts.

Thus we are the highest need school in the district when it comes to funding and resources.

Franklin's incoming ninth graders statistically are the lowest performing across the district.

But by the end of their senior years Franklin has brought every student up to average.

Franklin covers more ground than any other school academically.

Despite this we lack the funding we need for adequate resources because we are seriously under enrolled whereas lower need schools with significantly lower percentages of ELL and free reduced lunch students are over enrolled in receiving more funding.

We know there is an issue with enrollment when Franklin the highest need school in the district has too little students to receive the funding it needs.

We know the district is not serving every student in every classroom every day when the school with the highest needs is underfunded because of under enrollment.

Thank you.

I'll be ceding my time for Rachel Kofton.

Hello I'm Rachel Kofton I'm also a senior at Franklin high school.

Now I want to reiterate that this is not a Franklin issue like you may be thinking.

Under enrollment is an issue that is negatively impacting every student in every classroom every day.

Schools that are under enrolled by more than 100 students and not meeting the benchmarks, the benchmark of number of students to receive the necessary funding include Rainier Beach, Franklin and West Seattle.

Franklin currently has two classrooms that have no assigned teacher.

Beach and West Seattle also have classrooms that are never in use.

That right there is the district's money going to waste.

Franklin like Beach and West Seattle has the capacity and the need for more students.

But where are they?

Ballard high school is 300 students over capacity.

Roosevelt is 600 students over capacity.

And Garfield is projected to be 500 students over their capacity next year.

Students from over enrolled schools have told me that some of them don't get a locker because there are too many students.

Instructors are sometimes forced to teach class in the hallways because there are too many students.

Often students cannot get into the classes they need to graduate because there are too many students.

In fact the district is even planning on spending money over $1.6 million to be exact on new portables for Garfield because their building does not have the capacity for the number of students the district has enrolled there.

There is absolutely no need to waste $1.6 million on these portable classrooms when empty classrooms are right here in front of us at schools that are under enrolled.

Thank you.

Next up for public testimony we have Chris Jackins followed by Robert Tidwell and Erin Fairley.

My name is Chris Jackins Box 84063 Seattle 98124. Great job everybody speaking so far.

On the contract for a point of sale system it was noted that an outside company will be responsible for the security of credit card numbers and for collections.

Does this mean that families whose transactions do not properly close may be subject to private debt collection?

On the Franklin athletic field contract, five points.

Number one, staff indicated that a reference to field lighting for Franklin would be put into the title.

This did not seem to happen.

Number two, district staff stated that an environmental threshold determination is not required because only lighting infrastructure is being installed, not the actual lighting fixtures.

Number three, this goes against the intended spirit of the state environmental policy act or SEPA.

Why would the district spend money on the infrastructure unless it had already decided that the impacts from the lighting fixtures would not be significant?

Number four, it signals that the district does not intend to properly weigh public comment that is required by SEPA.

Number five, further the Franklin item was already voted on today before the public was allowed to comment on the item.

Please bring a motion to reconsider the Franklin contract.

On school board elections I favor having lots of candidates run for school board to get a public discussion of issues.

Three positions are up for election this year, number four, number five, and number seven.

The candidate filing period ends May 19. Also as the superintendent noted today there are people on the public testimony waitlist who want to talk about school waitlists.

Please bring a motion to allow everyone on the waitlist to testify.

Thank you.

I'm Robert Tidwell I succeed my time to Bonnie Tidwell.

Tidwell Hi I'm Bonnie Tidwell.

I am one of the skill center teachers and we're here because there are 50% cuts to some of our programs.

My programs are medical programs which is the high need extremely and we meet a diverse population of people.

There is one of these for the board member.

Sorry a little nervous standing up here talking to you guys.

I wanted you to know just this last week I've had three students that came to the program that will not be able to attend it because we only will have an afternoon session next year.

They cannot do that because of their required classes that they have to take.

were in the afternoon they wanted the morning session which they cannot do.

So we will lose time and we will lose effort for the students that badly need it in a field that badly needs it.

My class numbers have vacillated.

Last year was my worst year but I've also been moved from Wilson Pacific to Lincoln and next year I'm moving to Marshall so it's very hard for people to know where my program is when it's moved around.

I have never been in a comprehensive program.

I'm supposed to move back to Lincoln when it's filled in two years and I will have it then.

This is the first year for a brand-new program.

I teach three programs in one classroom.

This is the first year for administrative medical office assistant.

It has not even had a chance to build and I feel that this 50% cut is going to be detrimental to many students because they won't be able to take it.

Okay I also feel that I know we need to add new programs to the skill center but it should not be to the detriment of the existing program.

To cut existing programs by 50% to add new ones it doesn't make sense to me.

Advertising has also been not correct in my program and for my program which I think leads to the loss of students in my program.

I just want you all to know I have 49 tech prep credits in my program now.

And those 49 credits will only be allowed now to be served with half of the students.

And my program is very diverse.

Please conclude your remarks.

Thank you.

Okay.

So sorry.

Okay.

I would like to see more of my time now to Song Mei this is a student.

Your time is expired.

Oh my time is up now.

Yeah.

The buzzer went off and the red light went off.

Okay.

It goes fast goes really fast.

After Erin Fairley we will have Alexandra Porter and Mackenzie Palmer.

Thank you I'm Erin Fairley I'd like to cede my time to student Elizabeth Hughes.

At this time I've provided an image and a piece of paper and if that could be distributed to the board members.

Thank you.

So this image that I've presented you with I don't know if you all have received it, it's the equity image of three children trying to watch, that's the one, three children trying to watch a baseball game from behind a fence.

And this is an image that most people are familiar with and most people can agree upon as the definition of equity.

The board has made it our goal to provide every student with these equitable resources and treat each student in every classroom every day equitably.

There is some disclarity amongst this image however because it's unclear as to what those boxes are.

Who are the students that we need to be serving and what resources do they need?

My mom is an ELL teacher at Bailey Gatzert and a couple of weeks ago we were talking about this image and she asked me what the boxes translate to in real life.

Again how do we identify the kids that need the most supports and what are the boxes or the supports that they need?

FRL, ELL and SPED are the easy answers to the first question.

So schools with high concentrations of these students such as Franklin are the schools that should be getting the most supports.

Unfortunately due to this enrollment issue they are not.

This brings me to the second question which is what are those boxes?

What are the supports?

One example would be administrative supports.

Because of Franklin's diversity of language and socioeconomic status administration needs to take several different forms in order to reach all the corners of the school.

The current administrative team at Franklin does not have the bandwidth for this ask.

It needs more supports.

In order to acquire more supports we need more funding and in order to get more funding we need a higher enrollment.

Supports can also come in the form of academic counselors which again are reliant on the number of students.

Please conclude your remarks.

All right.

Thank you.

And oftentimes the roles that should be covered by people at the school are covered by the students.

SPS is committed to serving every student in every classroom every day because our highest needs students are not being equitably served.

We as a district are not meeting this commitment.

Thank you.

Hello I'm Alexandra Porter and I'm a co-chair for the site counsel at Licton Springs K-8.

And I have submitted some documents that recently it has come to our attention that between district staff and facilities are under the impression or maybe giving the impression that all is okay right now with the current room assignments for Licton Springs at the Robert Eagle staff location.

We are still only being given eight rooms and I am here to say that it is not all okay at this point.

And so in the document you have a few pages that are outlining all the different points of where the problems are with the current room assignments.

Let's see.

I will let you read those but we are here tonight at least I am on behalf of the site council to ask the school board to maybe give a more written directive to facilities in being able to designate the Southwest wing of the Robert Eagle Staff school for Licton Springs to be able to use and for us to be able to continue our program as it currently is being run.

We have the budget for our staff and the building, the Robert Eagle Staff building has the rooms available and for us asking for the southwest wing it actually isn't taking away any resources from the middle school or any other programs.

So at this point it just seems like there's been a lot of miscommunication and misrepresentation among different parties on what our needs are and so that's why I'm standing here tonight to say to ask the board if we could have a louder voice of advocacy for what we're doing currently.

Because at this point it's not a resource issue because they're all there and the numbers like I said in the document you'll see we'll check out with that.

And we just found out today that our principal is going to be changing positions to a different location so we're also going to be during this time without that aspect as well for us having a voice and so we are just not trying to get left in the drift here.

So thank you.

After Mackenzie Palmer we will have Vanessa Brannon and Helen Buckland.

I'm Mackenzie Palmer and I'm ceding my time to Elizabeth Hughes.

Putting these students from severely… Director Harris I'm sorry I don't think that the rules allow for ceding your time for someone that's already spoken.

I apologize.

You could bring, excuse me you could bring someone else up if the original person that had signed up wants to read what you've prepared.

She is also already spoken.

The rest of our information is on the form you're handed.

We're also all available after the meeting to answer any questions.

Oh well then go ahead.

Thank you.

Putting these students from severely over enrolled schools without a classroom to learn in, in the empty classrooms at under enrolled schools like Beach Franklin and West Seattle will not only save the district a significant sum of money but will work towards solving all of the issues of over and under enrollment and help higher need schools achieve the funding they need to prepare Seattle students for life after high school.

We understand that this is not something that is easy to fix.

We understand that the district cannot simply reassign current students at over enrolled schools to under enrolled schools.

But the immediate attention on this issue is imperative so that we can better serve our students and better serve the equity that we claim we strive for.

This is why we ask that the waitlist for under enrolled schools cease to be capped and that the waitlist for over enrolled schools has a lower cap.

Furthermore the district needs to adjust the projected enrollment so that our schools are closer to their capacity so that students are given the opportunities and resources they need to be successful.

Working towards this goal will help us serve every student in every classroom every day like we are committed to doing.

Thank you.

Hi I'm Vanessa Brannon mother of two Licton Springs students and a member of our site Council.

I spoke here in December and I've attended several of your community meetings over the winter.

First I want to thank you so much for your hard work and your commitment to meeting our schools needs.

When amendment five was passed in January promising sufficient space to maintain Licton Springs integrity and current quality of education our school community breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Unfortunately we were recently informed that we have only gained one room bringing up our total to eight rooms for nine classes three special education programs science and art.

Our school's parents have stepped up in response to our space crisis.

Personally I joined our site council and I've been attending BLT meetings over the last few months.

In addition to your pledge for support our school has received a staffing budget that provides full funding for our school's needs.

The only missing piece is our facility.

With only eight rooms all but two of our classes will be in combined spaces.

I'll remind you that our school's population includes some of the most disadvantaged learners in our city.

With 30% native 60% free and reduced lunch 10% homeless and over 25% special needs.

These are the students who fall into that opportunity gap you're so actively working to close.

Single grade classrooms are one of the best ways that our school has been able to start to close this gap.

As a parent of special needs students I want to draw your attention to the most problematic shared space we are facing.

Combining the resource room and the access program.

When we have spoken out about this we have been told that it is already in effect in several other schools.

Obviously our own schools are top priority but on this issue I want to speak on behalf of all of the families in every school where these programs are already combined.

and where they are planned for the future.

Combining these programs is doing our students a disservice.

In this issue the opportunity gap is widening.

These two programs resource room and access are vastly different and the students have very different needs that cannot be met in the same space.

I'm hopeful that you'll step in and make the situation right for the vulnerable children at Licton Springs and across the district.

Thank you.

After Helen Buckland, we will have Michael Tamayo, Lynn Lee, and Chris Names.

Good evening directors and Dr. Nyland.

Thank you for allowing public commentary here.

It's really appreciated the opportunity to collaborate with you and for you to hear our voices.

My name is Trez Buckland and I'm a clinical assistant professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Washington.

For over 20 years I have served as a volunteer on the health and human services advisory board in Seattle.

I've seen the difference the skills center health sciences medical assisting program makes.

Medical assisting is a fast-growing medical profession with long-term employment outlook according to national surveys.

Students representing socioeconomically and racially diverse groups learn core knowledge and skills needed in the health sciences.

They learn about medical law and ethics.

medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, pathology, computer applications, rehabilitation, nutrition, communications, employment skills, career planning, clinical skills, implementation, and engage in hundreds of hours of field hours.

The class uses leadership projects, modules, and project-based activities in school and community-based industry settings.

Because this course articulates with various community colleges, students may receive credit there as well as in their high schools.

As described in the March 2013 publication from the American Institutes for Research, career and technical education provides young people with the academic, technical and employability skills and knowledge to pursue post-secondary training and higher education and enter a career field prepared.

Students receive much guidance in this program.

and skilled instruction.

The current health sciences medical assistant program has been integral to the success of many.

For the sake of our students and their futures we can't afford to lose even 50 percent of this gem.

I urge you to support this program at the full 100 percent.

Thank you.

Hi there I'm Michael Tamayo I'd like to cede my time to Nan Johnson.

I'm Nan Johnson I've been with the Seattle school district.

I'll see my 18th graduating class this year.

Out of those students I teach woodshop at Chief Sealth and I'm now halftime at the skill center.

We're going to lose the woodshop at Chief Sealth this year.

It's a very sad thing.

The average age of a construction worker in this city is over 55 years old.

The students I teach are going into apprenticeships.

Right now I have project engineers, architects, painters, carpenters, I have iron workers, plumbers, electricians.

Those students come out of high school ready to go into an apprenticeship.

Now apprenticeships What?

You're not going to college?

No.

Every registered apprenticeship in this state is tied to the community college system.

When they finish a four or five year apprenticeship at no cost to them they also have an AA degree.

and they are making a livable wage when they get out of high school.

One of my favorite stories is one of the teachers at Franklin her younger brother was in my program he became an apprentice electrician.

When he started his apprenticeship right after high school when he was 18 years old he was making more than his sister who had been a teacher for eight years.

Now today when she is, I think she is a principal now, he is still making more money as an electrician than she is today.

I serve really racial diverse classes, I'm closing the achievement gap.

I have students who make more coming out of high school than their parents ever make in their career.

How I'd like to close is my, I'm passionate about what I do, my students the alumni are passionate about it, on the West Seattle blog which you have a packet of our comments.

We started, my alumni started an online petition And then there was the other packet you have is the petition that was done in Chief Sealth high school.

75 percent of the students signed this petition to keep the woodshop.

Harris please conclude your remarks.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Hi my name is Lynn Lee and I'd like to thank you all for the job that you do.

I know it's often thankless and I'd like to thank you for being here but anyway my remarks are solely directed at the bell time and the effect that they have on high school athletes.

I have two sophomores at Ingram high school and I understand the reason for the late bell time, the late start times and the positive effect it has on teenagers.

Unfortunately it also has unintended consequences.

This year the later release time of 310 at Ingram caused many athletes to miss a considerable amount of academic time.

Currently most high school sporting events begin at 4 PM on weekdays.

Our students miss their entire sixth period, often their fifth period and sometimes even more time.

Some teams like boys baseball have three to four games a week.

This spring they had 22 games with 18 students on the roster.

With the 3.50 PM scenario with a 4 PM start time these students would miss an average of two hours for each game of a 20 day game season.

That's 540 hours for one team at one school.

We have over eight we have eight sporting sport teams in spring alone.

Our track team has over 150 students.

We have over 300 varsity players.

If you extrapolate the missed time these students have over the whole Seattle school district the numbers of missed academic time are just staggering.

I'd like you to consider having.

Uncoupling the high schoolers from the school bus tier.

Most of the kids don't take buses, the yellow buses, so I would like you to see if you could come up with another way for them to get to school so that the principals and the athletic directors have more control over the time so that they maybe start at 830. and get done it at 320. I know there's been a lot of money spent on private buses to get kids to sporting events so I'd like you to consider all the implications of all the money that's spent on extra buses and uncouple the high schoolers.

Thank you.

Thank you.

After Chris Names we have Garcia Ribeiro, Timothy Knope and Garrett Yeager.

I'd like to thank you for your time.

I'm Chris Names I am a CT instructor for the aerospace and maritime programs here.

I'm here tonight to support my other colleagues in the importance of our CT programs and with that I'd like to cede my time to Diana and Gloria.

Hi my name is Diana and I was a student for the medical assistant program a year ago and if there was only one class provided I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to take it because of my high school requirements.

And if I wasn't able to take it I wouldn't find the love and passion I have for nursing in my career path and I feel like by cutting these the medical assistant for only one class a lot of the students who are seniors won't be able to take it and they won't be able to experience The great class it is, we do clinicals, we did a lot of computer pathology and atomic physiology and I wouldn't be so proud for college as I am now.

Thank you.

Hi my name is Gloria Gonzalez Zapata.

So the medical, I was part of the medical assisting class two years ago and one, there was only one Caucasian student out of the 10 of us and so I believe greatly that this program is for minority students and the quality of teacher really matters because at my regular high school I was told all the time that I wouldn't be able to graduate, that I wouldn't be able to go to college.

And now here I am a UW student and I think that has to do a lot with the medical assisting class because I was always encouraged that I did belong, that I was worth it, that I am smart.

Thank you very much.

If I can step back up for one second I would love to encourage all the board members to please come by and check out our programs and see the success we are having with these students and how it's continuing to grow and support the fact that these programs need to continue to grow and need support.

Thank you.

Hi my name is Graca Ribeiro and I am a Seattle Ski Center culinary arts teacher and I am My program is one of the programs that has been cut in half as well and I think it's not a good thing for the students and in my class they have opportunity to, it's a pro start program, my program is very unique, it's the only program in Seattle public school that has a pro start one and pro start two.

It's a two and a half hours class so the students have an industrial kitchen, they have access for everything.

We cook for 100% from scratch.

They are professional, I come from the industry.

And cutting the program is not going to be good for students because some students has a requirement for graduation and cannot attend one section.

Having two sections they have more opportunities, they have more students they can come and do a good job.

So Washington restaurant association is their program, they participate in competitions, scholarships, opportunities and so I have a cold so that's why I'm speaking like that.

Okay and I have Jayla Cox and Vanessa so they're going to talk now.

Hello, I'm Vanessa Garcia-Quesada.

I'm a senior at Cleveland High School, and I do Skills Center Culinary Arts.

As a senior, I unfortunately in freshman year didn't take school very seriously, so unfortunately I wasn't allowed to do this program until senior year.

Okay so I needed first period to do it so unfortunately if you cut first period a lot of students like me won't be able to take the class.

Thank you.

I'm Jayla Cox I started this program in the summer and I fell in love with it.

This isn't just a cooking class this is culinary arts it shows you all about the business how to cook and like everything like behind it about like that goes into running a restaurant if you would like to have one.

This program has really helped me during the school year.

I love it in the morning because the classes that I am required to take I can only take in the afternoon so the morning class it really helps me and it gives me a better chance in life and this is something that I hope to do with my life and if you guys cut it I won't be able to do it anymore so can you please not?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Timothy Kopp.

Kopp.

Kopp.

Good evening my name is Tim Kopp I'm here in support of the skills center.

I'm ceding my time to Kerry Schneider auto shop teacher.

Hi my name is Kerry Schneider it's only my 28th year.

I teach the auto shop for the skill center.

I'm located on the Washington middle school campus.

The district was originally set up with an auto shop program or an automotive technology program north, central and south.

I'm so under advertised that my program doesn't even have a listing for a location for next year.

But I'm going to cede the rest of my time to these guys.

Hello my name is Jabari Ade, I'm a born and raised Seattleite, grew up running around the school district.

Many of you might know my mother, she used to be a union president for Seattle Public School District as well.

I like to think of myself as a success for not only the skill center but also our trade programs for the Seattle Public Schools.

I myself was never a very great student, struggled with IEPs but I like to think that I have turned out to be a pretty good success.

I was fortunate enough to find city campus automotive what the skill center used to be known as.

During my time there I learned Very important things.

I learned that students came first in our program regardless of their race, gender, or whatever it may be, economic status.

This is directly related to your guys' core beliefs, to the school district's core beliefs.

At City Cabinets Automotive, I felt that I was giving education that was applicable to what you might say is a 21st century education.

If that sounds familiar, that's because it's exactly your vision.

I just want to ask this, if the Seattle Public Schools mission statement is to be committed to ensuring equitable access and enclosing the opportunity gaps and excellence in education to every student, then why would we limit ourselves in that?

Why would we cut these programs by 50% that actually have the ability to give students access to things that they might not have had?

Thank you.

Harris you can introduce yourself and give us a couple of sentences but that's it I'm sorry.

Sarver I'm Van Sarver I'm actually a businessman here in Seattle.

graduated from Nathan Hill high school in class of 2003. I've worked with Kerry for ever since then volunteering in his program.

And with that what I found is my three brothers and I have all gone through his program.

We are all successful business owners in Seattle.

From the maritime industry all the way into firefighting and all over the map.

We built companies sold companies and done that.

This is what kept us in school.

If it wasn't for these type of programs we would not have stayed in school.

We were all great students 4.0 A's and B's that's all we had.

But this is what kept us in class.

Otherwise we would have just left the school district altogether.

Thank you very much.

Ms.

Shek because of the length of the waitlist this evening we will be moving it forward five names less the two folks that didn't show up.

Thank you.

Hi I'm a second grade teacher at Roxhill elementary and I use out-of-classroom learning extensively in my teaching.

For many of my students this is the way they get to participate in these experiences because we provide them at school.

But now I'm being limited in my use of this valuable learning tool and I've been told it's because our students are not prepared based on ESPA scores and repeatedly told that out-of-classroom learning is a loss of instructional time.

So tell me, which of these activities should I stop doing?

Should I not go to the police station with my students, a majority of students of color, so that they have a positive experience of the police?

Should we not go see a classical music performance at Meany Hall where my students listen to musicians of color?

Should we not go to the museum of flight and be introduced to aerospace engineering?

Or shouldn't we go to Oxbow Farms where my students for the first time picked and ate strawberries off the vine?

Should we not go to the Burke Museum to learn about fossils from handling actual dinosaur bones?

Or should we not visit our local public library and apply for library cards?

These are just a few of the experiences I give to my students but now I can't.

Now I have to pick only three.

So which experiences should I deny my students?

Which would you deny to your own child and say that it was a loss of instructional time?

You create committees and departments to look at the opportunity gap.

Allow teachers to teach in a way that actually closes the opportunity gap.

You speak about creating equity within our school district but you create inequity by allowing these types of policies to stand.

Frank Cooper superintendent of Seattle schools from 1901 to 1922 said some of the best school results are intangible and do not subject themselves readily to measurement.

Why am I still standing here fighting for this 100 years later?

Stop hiding behind a false idea of what rigor is.

I would like you to be courageous, I would like you to be bold, and I would like you to stand against inequity and allow all students to have every opportunity to learn.

Let me educate my students with the opportunities you would give to your own child.

Thank you.

Good evening directors.

I am here tonight with the racial equity and HCC team to ask that each of you take major and innovative action to put an end to longstanding racial injustice in our advanced learning programs.

Spectrum and HCC are under review this year and next.

We will be here consistently asking you urgently to address this inequity.

State law and policy 0030 require that we find advanced learners across all colors, schools, cultures and languages.

How are we doing?

In Seattle Public Schools a white student is 20 times more likely to qualify for HCC than an African-American student.

20 times.

Many other groups are equally underrepresented.

This should come as no surprise.

To qualify for advanced learning students must already have exceptionally high scores on standardized tests.

On this the data is clear.

Privileged students do much better on these tests.

This bias is in direct violation of state law and district policy 0030. The WAC makes it clear that identification of highly capable students must look beyond current academic performance.

It states that highly capable students are students who perform or show potential for performing at significantly advanced academic levels when compared with others of their age, experiences or environments.

We must break this cycle.

Now is the time for change.

These programs have been reviewed many times before.

This time must be different.

We need to make radical changes in who gets identified and how they are served.

If you value advanced learning in Seattle Public Schools please help us protect these programs by making them inclusive.

Thank you.

Hello my name is Erin Clonis and my son is a first grader at Dearborn Park international school.

He is enrolled in the Spanish immersion program there which has been a huge benefit for him.

We are lucky because we live in the attendance zone for this small but vibrant and diverse community.

And I say lucky because we truly are lucky.

The attendance zone for Dearborn Park international school is one of the smallest in Seattle Public Schools.

Our attendance zone is under one square mile, includes a large park and is one half the size of the attendance zones for our two neighboring elementary schools.

As our current enrollment issues highlight Dearborn Park needs students from outside our small attendance zone to fill our classrooms.

And people want to come to our school.

They want to come to be part of the innovative immersion program, they want to come to keep siblings together and they want to come because we are building a reputation as a small but mighty community.

And the district lets them think that they can come.

The district allows families to think that Dearborn Park is an option for them and then quietly behind the scenes and with no transparency the district decides that none of these families will get a spot at our school.

It is wrong to offer people false choices.

It is wrong to not value the desire of families to keep siblings together and it is wrong to hold up the Dearborn Park immersion program as a model for innovative education and then close off access to that program.

Because our school is currently under enrolled for next year we are slated to lose two teaching positions.

This will result in having to have two split classrooms which is the model that does not work in an immersion program.

There are 30 students on our waitlist.

30 students who want to come to our school and are being denied this option.

do the hard work necessary to ensure that families in Seattle Public Schools can access immersion programs to ensure that siblings can stay together and to ensure that Dearborn Park can retain our staff.

Thank you.

Shek Kimya Dawson After Kimya will be Ethan Rogers Jr. and Monica Greenberg.

Hi I'm Kimya Dawson my daughter is a fifth grader at Licton Springs K8 and I just want to quickly say thank you for supporting our school.

I know that many of you really do have our backs.

But I saw Dr. Nyland's statement today about how our staff and teachers and families are excited and ready to move into our new space and that's just not the case.

We are really freaked out.

We don't have enough space in that building and My daughter and I just moved up here two years ago and it was supposed to be a temporary move and then we found Licton Springs and this kid who was anxious and would have fallen through the cracks somewhere else found a home there.

And these kids take care of each other and they support each other.

I wish you could come to our four times a year clothing swaps and see these kids who are underprivileged share with each other and support each other and never shame each other about who has what and who doesn't.

I wish you could see you know the Fridays when the middle schoolers put together the food bags for kids to take home.

No one is ever ashamed that they have to take a food bag.

They walk out of there like woo look at my bag.

We have a holiday bazaar where the kids all bring stuff from home and the kids can go shopping for presents for their families and they are all excited to see people take their stuff home.

We are a community that exists, these kids love and support each other, the teachers and staff love and support them.

And in this new building we don't have enough space.

And the teachers are scared that they are not going to be able to serve these kids that they love and want the best for.

And the space that we do have is scattered between three floors of the building.

The special ed kids are going to be next to the Robert Eagle Staff middle school kids and sharing a bathroom.

I mean our community is not going to be as solid and tight and cohesive as we are now and as we need to be.

Thank you.

Good evening thank you for extending the speaker list tonight.

My name is Ethan Rogers my son Casey is in the HCC program at Hamilton.

I spoke two weeks ago about the districtwide ninth grade waiting list situation including the Ingram HCC list which Casey is on.

Two weeks ago, during the time when the school members made their own comments about the waitlist, transparency was a major theme.

Two weeks later, the waitlist situation is even worse.

And the transparency issue, let's just say, appears to be more opaque.

Seven of the nine ninth grade waiting lists have increased.

A net increase of 21 students over the nine lists.

My son has moved from nine to 11 on his waitlist and other parents on this waitlist have told me that their students have moved backwards in the wrong direction from two to four spots.

As there are only two Tiger breakers for the Ingram HEC waitlist and those are one siblings and two a lottery, the lottery should have established the waitlist.

I do not understand how any students should be moving backwards.

What I heard, and this is rumor, was that the district lost the forms of two students and compensated by putting them as number one and number two on the waitlist.

Great for them, unfair for students number three through 44. Now from my standpoint this is still rumor.

But trying to get information is where there appears to be limited transparency.

Both the other parent I referenced and myself tried to get an explanation from the district for the move backward.

An employee was good enough to take my call, good enough to consult with their supervisor and good enough to get back to me with an email within several hours.

However the entire substance portion of the response was during the inquiry process waitlists move in either direction.

There is no error with the placement of your student according to the on-time application and correct tiebreakers and lottery numbers.

That sheds no light on why someone moves down the list.

I responded with a specific email that had specific questions, it's been seven full working days and I have received no reply.

The other parents have not seen an explanation either.

In conclusion I believe enrollment staff is professional and are working during what is probably crunch time for them.

I'm trying to problem solve and don't feel anyone is to blame.

But you've got 44 students on the HCC list, and 350 ninth grade gen ed and HCC students.

This is their transition, this is their future, surely this can get figured out and soon.

Thank you.

Hi, I'm Monica Greenberg.

I want to thank you again for your time and for your ongoing support of us, although I do really feel like we have to stop meeting like this.

I am here on behalf of the parent council for Licton Springs K-8 to kind of echo the concerns that you've already heard that we are still greatly distressed by the plans for our space allocation next year as it has been communicated to us.

There seems to be some lingering confusion regarding our feelings about receiving eight classrooms for up to 250 students in nine grade levels and three distinct programs for students receiving special education services.

So I want to clarify how we are feeling as others have.

We are confused, we are distressed, we are upset, we are distraught.

We are not prepared and excited, although we really want to be.

we really wish we could be.

We are greatly looking forward to our new school in a location that is sacred to our many native students and their families.

And we had sincerely hoped that amendment five to the student assignment transition plan could have settled the matter of providing a real and permanent home for our school where we could continue our academic programming with integrity.

However, every time we seem to think that this whole space allocation issue has been resolved we feel like we get pulled back into this struggle for our schools basic survival.

Eight classrooms for up to 250 students in those nine grades and three different programs for special education just is not enough.

And so we really need your assistance at this point, especially having recently learned this morning that our principal is leaving.

We need clarity and we need your assistance and support and just getting our school a clearly defined space where we can have our community together.

Thank you.

Peters Thank you.

Shek Next up we have Dan Eder, Emily Lieberman.

Followed by Emily we will have Song Mei Ralph and Michael Welch.

My name is Emily Lieberman I have two kids at Stevens that are on the Stevens waitlist that the district is refusing to move for next year for equity reasons.

My kids are stressed and sad and it's hard to accept being kicked out of Stevens after having three kids there for six years when the school has plenty of room for my kids by any measure.

For the second year the district is refusing to move the Stevens waitlist.

Mr. Herndon has articulated three criteria for waitlist moves, building capacity, staffing allocation and equity.

Last year despite lots of building capacity and so much excess staffing that we have classes with 16 kids this year the district refused to move our waitlist for equity reasons.

Of the 18 kids on our waitlist last year 10 were siblings, three were current students who had changed addresses, none of them were allowed in.

So apparently this new equity criteria trumps building capacity, staffing allocation, sibling preference and the SAP's promise of continuity for families.

What equity means here is apparently making students who live in certain attendance areas ineligible for choice assignments.

Madrona area families are being told we are ineligible for choice assignments regardless of available space at Stevens.

There is nothing in the SAP about geography in fact last year the board voted to remove the only mention of it by eliminating the distance tiebreaker.

Imagine how disappointing it is then to learn that the district is now using geographic criteria against kids in certain neighborhoods to exclude them from the choice process entirely.

This seems discriminatory.

If you look at the demographics relating to choice and sibling assignments it's clear that there are disparate impacts by neighborhood which with more affluent and wider schools significantly advantage on both fronts.

I can't imagine why this board is sitting by and allowing the district to tell kids in the CD that they don't have access to the choice assignment process.

And if you do decide to exclude certain families from the choice process you should tell them that in advance of open enrollment.

But after refusing to move our waitlist last year and this year our PTA just learned from a FOIA request that the district has meanwhile allowed 16 backdoor choice assignments to Stevens between last year and this year leapfrogging the siblings and waitlisted kids to allow others to fill seats at the school.

This assignment process under these circumstances is outrageous.

Our families are disappointed.

We encourage you to move the Stevens waitlist to allow our current kids to stay and our siblings to attend.

Thank you.

Hello my name is Song Mei Ralph and I was a student of the Seattle skills center medical assisting program two years ago.

I've been told that there is consideration of cutting the medical assisting program to one class a day and I would like to point out that if that had been the case when I was a student I don't believe I would have been able to attend.

I know that there are others in the class that I was in and the classes now that would not be able to as well.

And this is because we have requirements that we had to fulfill.

And our classes are scheduled by the school so it's only so flexible for what we have.

I would also like to emphasize just how important a medical assistant class is to students and to society as a whole.

The healthcare field is one that is always developing and the shortage of providers is not as far-fetched as it may seem.

The skills center medical assistant class helps to introduce students to the various healthcare careers they may want to pursue and would not have considered previously.

This program helps keep the hospitals and clinics staffed.

I personally know several students who have gone on to become medical assistants and some who are going on to become doctors.

Thank you.

Yeah, I'm Michael Welch.

I'm the father of a daughter who's entering high school in the fall.

I just wanted to give the personal side of how I've kind of grown confused and feel misled by the enrollment process.

With my daughter, we went to our neighborhood school, eager to embrace it, which is Garfield.

We went to the open house and were impressed.

And then we decided to give Franklin a shot to see if it might be a better fit.

We were blown away by Franklin.

And I had no idea that they were going to show up in such force, but it makes sense.

They put on just the most community-based, student-driven, informative show for us.

And even touring the school later, it just felt so non-clickish, open, diverse.

Cleo got all excited to go.

We did what you want us to and applied to the lottery, and we're excited to find out that we're number four, only to find out that there are all these extingencies and she's been frozen there, as I guess many people here have been frozen on waiting lists.

and is becoming increasingly hopeless.

Ironically, she is wanting to go from Garfield, an overcrowded school, to Franklin, a school that clearly wants us, and made that clear.

And we're just, you know, hoping that somehow this wait list situation, especially in cases like this, which just make no sense, will somehow kind of be looked at.

You know, we're ready to relieve Garfield of their burden by going to Franklin.

So, thank you.

I'd like to say that this evening's testimony especially the testimony from the young people is just truly extraordinary and how proud we should be that they are so very articulate.

Now we go to board comments after which we will take a break.

Which director would like to go first?

Director Patu.

First of all I would like to say thank you to our student rep from Cleveland high school.

It's always a pleasure to have young people come up here and be part of our school board because it gives them an opportunity to be able to see what really happens up here on this day.

It's not always It's an easy thing to do but it's great to have students up here.

Also I want to say congratulations to our partners Seattle housing and national school nurse day.

Having great partners really help us to do our job even better.

Visiting school as a board director, visiting school is an opportunity for me to actually be able to go out and really see what's happening in our schools.

Many times you know our staff would actually tell us briefly of what's going on in various schools but as a board director it's really important to go out there and really visualize what the kids are doing and actually what the school is actually up to and it's been a great opportunity and also an experience to go out to the various schools and see success is actually happening within the classrooms and how kids are really occupying and learning.

I know many years ago when I was actually a part of the school district it was you know it wasn't irate to walk into a room and you see a bunch of kids not really paying a lot of attention but you know I actually can say today when I go to a lot of my schools to visit It just amazed me to see how kids are really learning and getting themselves really seriously finding ways to be able to be more creative in what they are learning.

And tonight I actually I'm quite very appalled by the fact that we are cutting career centers and for our students.

To me career center is very important.

I think it's great that we allow you know we actually allow our kids to go to college but not every student wants to go to college.

Providing skill centers within our school help our kids not only to find better skills that they really want to work at but also have an opportunity to be able to get a job after they leave.

We have many kids that graduate out of high school with diplomas and are still looking for jobs today.

But to me it makes sense for us to continue to support our skill center and provide every opportunity that we can to be able to allow our students to have choices in terms of what options they want to take.

Matter of fact one of the things that we have been working on for the last couple of weeks is meeting with some of our district career center people because I'm really interested in putting in more apprenticeship programs within the Seattle Public Schools.

Someone talked about electrician, plumbing, we need that.

Our kids need to have more options in terms of job opportunities and for me skill center is the way for us to do that.

I don't know how we are going to be able to get funding but I think that you know it's one of the very important things to me that we have to find ways to fund our skill center because it's very important.

You know hearing students talk about how it changed their lives.

how it gave them a different direction in terms of versus going to class and actually not having a skill to be able to be part of.

I think it's important that we listen to our students and hear what they have to say about what the skill center is all about.

So I want to say that I do support skill center and it's something that I'm really working on to hopefully to bring funding back into our skill center because it's needed for our students.

For our Franklin's kids I have to hand it to you guys you really did a great job tonight.

You guys must have really been prepared.

because you know we can hear your hearts.

You know I hear you loud and clear and it's something that we've been working on for a while.

I know you know it comes up all the time but I hear you.

You know we have schools that don't have that many kids when they're doing tremendous job.

Every time I go to Franklin I get appalled.

I mean not appalled I get excited because of the scores that you guys continue on to build up and just excitement of every child that every student that I see at that school.

So every day I learn something new from going to Franklin because it's a great school.

You know as long as I remember you know Franklin has always been one of those hip schools.

So keep up the good work.

And you know what it takes a student like yourself to actually fight for what you want.

I always tell kids if you want something bad enough you prepare yourself and you come and tell us about what is it that you want.

Because you know schools is about students.

It's about you.

As long as you realize and feel that you know that we're actually providing you opportunities then I say go for it.

You know the sky is the limit.

So thank you for coming tonight and sharing your your minds and what do you think and actually your you know all the things that you share with us tonight we appreciate it.

And I hear you loud and clear so congratulations for doing a great job.

Continue to fight.

Dearborn Park I know that this is something that's been going on in terms of waitlist and like I said it's something that we're actually working on and hopefully that we can get it figured out so that way Dearborn Park can get the students that they need.

Because it is also a wonderful school and there is a lot of great work that goes on at Dearborn Park.

Licton Springs, this is a school that we have been supporting for years.

I remember when they were trying to close that school down many years ago and we said no you cannot close Licton Springs down because it is a school that is actually made up of various kids that really need that services.

We can't provide services for some of these kids in any other schools.

But Lytton spring has that ability to do that.

I wasn't aware that you only had eight rooms.

As far as I was concerned I thought you had more rooms than that but that's something that I need to actually look into maybe.

I wasn't you know I thought that we had more rooms than eight rooms so it's something that we need to look in and find out to see what is it that we need to do to make that happen so that way that both schools that are in that building be able to work you know something out so you both can be happy and serve your kids the way they should.

So it's in the works.

And I really wanted to say thank you to everyone who came tonight to really to let us know exactly what's in your mind.

If I miss something you know hear you loud and clear and we're here to help support.

We're here for kids.

If we're not here for our students then I don't know why I'm here.

But we're here to hear you loud and clear and hopefully that whatever we do will be something that will be able to serve you and make sure they have the best education that Seattle Public School can provide.

Thank you.

Next director that wishes to make comments.

Director Pinkham.

Hi, good evening.

Just want to definitely start out with thanking all the students that we presented that were nominated by the principals and congratulate them that you are doing outstanding jobs and it was great to see a very diverse student population up there that Our principals are saying these are students that are representative of our schools, the ones that are doing good work that we see can be our future leaders and so congratulations to all those schools and thank you to Nora Purcell for coming in here to meet with them and congratulate them.

I know I haven't seen it mentioned or heard it mentioned tonight but I wanted to definitely give a shout out to the Ballard robotics team that apparently won the world championships in robotics so way to go Ballard.

We do have this and I can see this a tie into the career center because the skills that they use electricians building the robots that they had to do takes those career skill centers skill sets.

to do that.

And we are a school that when we say college and career ready, the skill center doesn't necessarily lead to trade schools, that can also lead to colleges as one of our presenters said, our students are going on to community colleges completing AA degrees that are going through the skill center and if it's keeping our students in school we need to support those efforts.

you know the students that came over and talked about if it wasn't for the med school, if it wasn't for the auto shop school, if it wasn't for these other career center schools they probably wouldn't have finished high school.

So thank you to all the educators that are here for the skill center and good job and It is going to probably be that budget issue where do we get the funds to make sure that we continue to support the skill center.

And I'll do what I can to look into that to see what we can provide for you.

Thank you to the Seattle Housing Authority what they provided for us again they are a great partner.

Congratulations to our school nurses for the school nursing week.

Thank you to South Shore for their Aladdin presentation.

It kind of gave me flashbacks when I remember still growing up and watching Aladdin and actually was singing along a bit but not out loud.

You don't want to hear me sing.

Thank you to Denny international school and principal Clark and his presentation about what they're doing for their schools and again we want to make sure we have more of our schools that are being the leaders up here and present and share so our other schools can learn and see that we can make progress here.

I wrote down a quote here that says we don't make mistakes we make learnings.

So yes when we bump into something we learn something from it.

And as our schools are out there if they okay we are not doing something right well let's learn something from that.

Let's not continue to try to do the same thing and try to get that outcome that we want We need to do different things and bringing in the schools that are making that progress and sharing what they are doing I think definitely needs to continue.

Licton Springs.

I want to see that you have the space.

We said 250 students.

250 students in eight classrooms is not what we need.

Losing the principal now puts us in a tighter situation where you are transitioning to a new school for you.

We need to work what we can to get that school online in the space that they need.

Not combining access rooms, resource rooms where students with special needs or special attention aren't being distracted by other things as they are going on in these rooms.

You know they are a population that you know is at risk.

Let's provide the resources and space for Licton Springs so it can be successful so that students will want to go there.

You know if we continue down this pathway where we shrink them a number of classrooms which parent would want to send their kids to that situation?

So let's not be where we're doing our own or I don't want to say doing our own but let's not fulfill a prophecy that well this school isn't going to survive by shrinking them saying okay see we told you so.

I want to see that place grow.

I want to see Licton Springs grow.

K-8 and my dream is that you know somehow we get through K-12 we have a native focus high school as well.

Waitlist, how the process goes we need to address that and I want to echo again a speaker last board meeting that said you know if we let our students have their first choice we will get a better predictability of what the enrollment will be come autumn so we won't have to make more adjustments then.

So if we can, if we can give our students that first choice and see how it goes.

So we got these waitlists and if we have the space and if the parents are willing if they are not within the transportation zones provide their own transportation whatever policy we have let's let them get into the schools that they want.

If it's their first choice I would say I give it to them.

But let's work with our operations here too and I know that it's not that simple sometimes.

But let's be as transparent as we can.

For the advanced learning people that were here.

Yes I agree that we need to do better in identifying the students that are seen as highly capable that will get into these programs.

And oftentimes what's a barrier is the assessments.

You know we need to look at different assessments and I know that's a conversation that our offices are having so I just want to let people be aware that we are looking at how can we make sure we are diversifying our advanced learning population.

And that students will want to go to these different high schools.

Franklin High School You sound like you haven't been there but it sounds very amazing like why wouldn't you want to send a student there if they are improving so dramatically from the ninth grade to the senior year.

And you are about more community here.

We are going to welcome people.

It isn't about oh you are highly capable, you are doing an IB program, you are in that program.

You are a community it sounds like and I congratulate you on that and that students are seeing that.

That you have a waitlist of what is it here?

48 students want to go there.

And it's probably because those that visited there and you made them feel welcome.

So good job.

In closing I also want to thank our speaker from Cleveland high school that was here.

I don't want to mess up on her last name as well.

Appreciate all students sharing their voices.

And finally I will have a community meeting this Saturday from 10 to 1130 at the Lake City branch library.

Qeˀciyéẁyéẁ Thank you.

Director Geary please.

Geary Thank you everybody for coming and talking to us as always love to hear the student voices and appreciate your willingness to come.

You know I'm sure Director Harris will tell us exactly how much is owed somewhere around $64 million I believe now and as I hear these complaints I mean.

Harris 64.3 It would be so nice to be able to provide the extra people, the extra FTEs to make all of this work smoothly for everybody and to make sure that every school has the people that it needs to provide education to all the students that are there.

That's what we all want.

We are working very hard as we go through the budget process to set aside dollars for mitigation.

But that mitigation is going to come later.

And that leaves everybody very anxious because you don't know how we are going to be able to dole it out because it's not as flush as it was.

last year and we don't have that flexibility.

We don't have flexibility to just fill in with another FTE even though perhaps the weighted staffing standard that were given from Olympia wouldn't have allowed us that person based upon the numbers in the school.

and shifting students from one school to another not only has FTE consequences to the school they go to but may have FTE consequences to the school they come from.

Including that if a population goes down it may actually impact that school's ability to have a nurse.

or a library.

And those aren't we can't backfill those easily right now.

And so while it is very painful to everybody I wish we could have a nurse.

Look at our nurses.

They're fabulous.

I'd love to have a nurse in every school.

That seems so important, so necessary.

But we can't.

We have a limited pot of money and we have these schools and we have to parse people out almost like puzzle pieces and it's terrible.

But that's what our district is faced with.

I start with that because my heart goes out to everybody coming and I wish I could say of course I support you all.

I would love to give you all what you need and what our students need.

Absolutely.

And we are struggling with this trying to make it fair and equitable.

So that seems so depressing and it is.

So but with that said I'm proud to be sitting up here and proud to be listening to you and absorbing and thinking every day and talking to our staff every day that I can about ways we can make this work for all of you because we hear you and we want what is best for our students.

Thank you to our Cleveland student who came, lovely, well-spoken, proud of her school, that's awesome.

The South Shore Aladdin cast, I mean come on, everybody was here, did Jafir totally surprise you with those splits?

He stood there quiet to the side the whole time and at the end, boom, tap dancing, jumping through and landing in splits in the middle of the room.

It was just incredible.

Loved it.

The Seattle housing authority, we know you're an important partner.

I know in my district which is Northeast Seattle, it's you wouldn't suspect it, it's not normally considered a place with low-income population but more and more we have housing projects or housing places and it's important that we have them as partners to help us keep our kids in those areas stable, coming to school, the families appreciating the importance of the education and being partners with us.

Denny international middle school thank you so much for your work in creating a model for our district.

Something that we can go back to and point other schools to in terms of how to do the work right.

Again it's collaboration, it's careful processing of the information, looking at your children, your students as individuals.

In every school we are working to make that a reality and in some of our schools they are doing it right and we are seeing great progress.

Licton Springs you're right eight rooms isn't enough.

We will continue to look for more space.

Perhaps that's moving some waitlists around to create some space for you.

I remind us all that this was a promise that a former board made to this school and if we want our current promises to be respected and upheld to our to our city, then we also need to do right by them.

That is how you create trust and this is a population that definitely needs us to show that we are going to live up to our promise to them.

And if that means some discomfort and pain upon other populations, well, there's been plenty of time to plan for this, the school was designed with this in mind, they need to be accommodated.

Franklin, I would like to spend more time at your school, I visited recently, you had a beautiful presentation today, you rock, I love the inclusiveness, I love when students come together and say that they create a welcoming environment that supports everybody.

I feel like that's what we have at Rainier Beach, that's what we have at school like Nathan Hale, where that seems to be an ideal that you put in front of everything.

And so I think those are the kinds of schools we want more of our students going to.

Ones that are doing education right in a heterogeneous environment.

Nobody, I say over and over again I do not want our kids labeled, I do not want them segregated, I think every student benefits from an opportunity to learn next to lots of different kinds of students.

So my hats off to you and I would encourage everybody to look into your school and to demand to get in because that is the kind of equity that we are looking to create and advance in our school.

The advanced learning folks, identification is one issue.

And you touched upon it but I will continue to hit upon it.

The culture within the program itself may not be welcoming to the types of people that you are trying to attract.

They may not want something that has the lowest free and reduced lunch population, the lowest racial equity, I mean racial diversity and clearly is not a place where people with developmental disabilities have any home.

So we might want to take a look at where we are delivering our advanced learning in order to create environments that kids want to be in because they are heterogeneous environments where they get an opportunity to learn about all different kinds of people and culture.

These again are our smartest kids, they have the capacity to benefit greatly from a very diverse population.

Had the chance to go to the narrow more art, thank you.

I had a chance to go to the Naramore art awards again what a beautiful poignant at times humorous art show it was beautiful thank you to Director Blanford for his comments.

Next year it's done now but next year when it comes up please take a chance to go it's just stunning stunningly beautiful and so much color and diversity within the art itself.

I had the benefit or the honor to attend the play park garden luncheon and for anybody who knows about play park garden luncheon they are a group that has created a park that welcomes kids of all different kinds of abilities and it is designed specially for those students.

And I got to hear from some of our students who presented there and that is a place that they go where they are welcome and the equipment is designed so that they can do it.

One little boy said you know the slip lines that we put into our regular parks are so attractive but his body can't withstand to use it.

And so this is a place where he can go where those kinds of things are changed for him.

And I would like to see, and I invited them to come and work with the people that create our ed specs to see if we can build in some of those things very easily into the own playgrounds that we are building for our kids to make sure that they are welcoming of all of our students.

I think those are the ways that we really show that we are creating an inclusive environment in Seattle Public Schools.

To the Seattle education PTSA I went to their meeting last night and I really think it's time that we are serious about revising the student assignment plan to allow for the individualization and delivery of education to our students.

With IEP's I think that how so often these families feel that by the time they've gone through our enrollment process they have been put through a tumbler and so many limitations.

They feel limitations, limitations, limitations and that the integrity of the individualized education that the law promises them is somehow thwarted through the process when there are so many waitlists and doors that they have to get through in order to have their child play.

Certainly by putting their assignments perhaps in advance I can't promise there will probably still be wait lists, there will be limits but it won't be as confusing and I think it will allow us as a district to truly think about individualizing for them which is what we need to do.

Finally, oh here at the headstart I went as the headstart rep, we are combining headstart with the city preschools.

And I'm a little concerned that the culture of these two programs can be different.

And that headstart is a program that has always honored and encouraged and actively had parent participation.

they run the program in large part.

They are partners in this program.

And while I really appreciate the city preschools and what they are attempting to do by making it so universal, when we combine these programs I am worried about the loss of the parent voice within the head start.

And so I hope that rather than the city preschool culture taking precedence that they look for ways to expand on the headstart culture of parents.

Because this is our opportunity to bring bring these families in.

The purpose is to get our kids ready for school.

That we believe that that will advance them.

That will provide more opportunity, that will close achievement gaps.

But this is also our first touch with those families, many of them.

And it is our opportunity to make them feel immediately like partners.

And they will be partners then for us for the next 13 14 years if we do this right.

So let's celebrate that head start partnership with parents.

Make sure that is part of the culture as it is blended into the city preschools and that it is expanded that way.

And then I had the benefit of going to the League of Women Voters dinner.

Director Geary the video is about to end.

I will give you time after the break if you like.

It is board director time and so we need people to run.

Anybody has questions please come talk to me or talk to any of us.

It is wonderful to sit up here as hard as it is at times.

It is the most important work we can do.

So thank you.

I have a coffee tomorrow morning and a meeting May 30th at the Northeast branch library from 6 to 7 30. Done.

Okay this meeting is adjourned because for the moment.

Excuse me.

It's not adjourned.

We are taking a break.

Thank you very much.

We're taking a break until 725. So the TV studio technicians have an opportunity to change the tapes and we'll hear some more comments from director Patu from director Blanford and my own.

Thank you.

At that time.

so