School Board Meeting 1 18 2017 Part 1

Okay.

I'd like to welcome everybody to the January 18, 2017 regular board meeting.

I'd also like to give an especially warm welcome to our student representative from West Seattle High School, Macri Dysart.

Ms. Dysart will have an opportunity to provide comments regarding her school later in the meeting.

Ms. Ritchie roll call please.

Can somebody sit in for Ms. Ritchie?

Okay.

I think she's helping us with our guests today we have a choir who are going to perform for us shortly.

So Erin Bennett is going to step in.

Thank you Erin.

Not a problem.

Okay.

Director Patu.

Here.

Director Pinkham.

Present.

Director Harris.

Present.

Director Geary.

Here.

Here.

Director Blanford.

Here.

Director Peters.

Here.

Thank you.

If everyone would please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

All right I would now like to turn it over to Superintendent Nyland for tonight's recognition.

Well we are definitely privileged to have kind of a once-in-a-lifetime recognition tonight.

So I want to thank Tom Redman for bringing to our attention one of our long long long long longtime supporters in the district, a student of Seattle schools and a longtime supporter.

And so it truly is our honor and our privilege to recognize an outstanding citizen for our community and a great supporter and a great friend.

So with that I will turn it over to Tom Redman to do the introductions.

Good evening directors, Dr. Nyland.

Tonight we are awarding for only the second time in the history of Seattle schools a citizen service award to Mr. Kenny Alhadeff He's been a dedicated lifelong supporter of Seattle schools.

He's a graduate of Brighton elementary which is now Martin Luther King elementary, Sharpless middle school, now Aki Kurose and Franklin high school where he's a founding contributor to the school's alumni association and a member of the school's Hall of Fame.

For the past 50 years he has contributed his time and funds to support district needs and initiatives.

He's been involved in most every levy and bond election campaign since 1966. He served as co-chair of the 2007 school closures task force for the board.

He was Meany middle school PTSA president, keynote speaker at many of the MLK junior holiday assemblies keynote speaker at in-service days at a number of our schools with the topic the value of being a teacher.

He's a passionate advocate of early learning and public education.

I'm going to go on a little bit because it's worth reading every single bit of this.

He has funded a number of district work projects such as the painting of Stevens Elementary exterior when we really needed the funds.

The new signage for the Brighton Elementary building after it was renamed Martin Luther King Jr.

Elementary and recently the Franklin high school theater program working with the drama department to strengthen it.

Graduate of Washington State University, member of Board of Regents for 13 years, twice serving as its chair, served tirelessly to establish the Washington State University Department of Education program.

co-chair of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday commission, founding chairperson of the alliance for education and its A plus awards for teachers program.

For 25 years he's been the board president of the Northwest school for deaf and hearing impaired children.

He and his wife Marlene founded the Alhada family charitable foundation, serves a variety of important causes in our community.

Public education is the key component of their foundation.

For 50 years Kenny O'Hadif has never said no to this district when we needed help.

Please join me in congratulating the recipient of our citizen service award Mr. Kenny O'Hadif.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That was very kind of you.

Thank you.

I'm here tonight first and foremost because of my magnificent wife Marlene who saved my life, made my life, directs my moral compass and is my soulmate.

But I'm also here mainly because of Misa Makaponi.

That was second grade.

She was from Hawaii and she taught me how to do the Hawaiian dances.

But more importantly She made me feel okay about being a little fat kid in second grade who didn't get picked for softball.

She gave me some belief and hope in myself.

I'm here tonight because of Sam Miller, seventh grade African-American science teacher who blew every stereotype left in the book away and helped a kid who liked to sing and dance learn the value of science.

I'm here because of Jerry Baylor who dragged me from the football field which I wasn't very good at at Franklin and put me on that stage in music man.

I'm here and I think you're here because of those men and women who made that immaculate choice to become a teacher.

Who had a fire inside their soul and their gut that said I'm going to make a difference.

And through the years the difficulties and the complexities of the job sometimes makes that fire dim.

But that fire, that fire can't go out if you ignite it.

That's why you're here.

You're here to stimulate those men and women to lift the souls and hearts and beings of those kids.

Now it's complicated and there's rules and there's regulations and there's difficulties but at the end of the day it's about that connection, the belief those kids have, the lives that will be changed forever for generations and your empowerment of them, your acknowledgement of them, your unabashed demanding sense that they will succeed and that the fire in them that brought them to that choice will burn bright and strong is why I'm here today.

To receive this honor is a big deal to me.

Because this school district is a big deal to me.

Because these teachers are a big deal to me.

Because those kids, this nation, the hopes of our future are a big deal.

And what happens here and happens here and happens here matters a lot.

It isn't mundane.

It isn't regiment.

It is the explosive opportunity that kindles the human spirit.

And so I am honored.

Thank you.

I'd like to invite the board down to greet and congratulate.

Thank you so much for that inspiring speech.

So tonight we have Ms. Melton and the Pathfinder K8 choir here to perform for us.

And at this time I would like to invite my colleagues to take a seat in the audience for the performance.

Thank you.

Hello my name is Ashley and we are the we are Pathfinder K8 choir.

Hi my name is Coco.

I'm in seventh grade and the first song we'll be singing for you is Contate Conticum by Douglas E. Wagner.

Kantate Kantiku.

Kantate Kantiku.

Kantate Kantate.

Kantate Kantiku.

Kantate Kantate.

Kantate Kantiku.

Kantate Kantate.

Kantate Kantate.

Chantez, chantez, chantez, chantez-vous.

Chantez, chantez, chantez, chantez-vous.

Sing together in the jubilant shout.

Fill the world with music.

Let your songs ring out.

Let your songs ring out.

Contacte, contigu.

Contacte, contigu.

Contacte, contacte.

Contacte, contigu.

Contacte, contacte.

Contacte, contigu.

Contacte, contacte.

Contacte, contacte.

Contacte, contigu.

Hello my name is Galaxy and the next piece will be we will be singing for you is Hinei Ma Tov a Hebrew folk song.

In the night of the night Shepherds are in the night

Vande Mataram Shabbat Shalom Vande Mataram Shabbat Shalom Vande Mataram Shabbat Shalom

lai lai lai lai lai lai lai lai lai lai lai lai lai lai lai lai

Hi, my name is Taryn and the last song that we'll be singing for you today is Autumn Gives Her Hand to Winter by Keith Loftus.

Leaves of gold, red and brown, Glories burst from white and brown,

♪ Oh, watching loving hearts turn to stone ♪ ♪ Vacant skies, restless residents ♪ ♪ Silent nights, here with you residents ♪ ♪ Favours from the sun ♪ ♪ When the monsoon is gone ♪ ♪ Sing it once more ♪ ♪ Whispers of a call to fly have come ♪ ♪ Clouds of mourning, clouds of tears ♪ ♪ Clouds of anger, clouds of fears ♪ ♪ Sun and moon stare wistfully in the air ♪ ♪ Remembering the passing years ♪ ♪ The passing, passing years ♪ ♪ Autumn flies away ♪ ♪ Autumn flies away ♪ ♪ Autumn flies away ♪ ♪ Autumn flies away ♪ ♪ Autumn flies away ♪ ♪ Autumn flies away ♪ Autumn gives her love to winter Autumn gives her love to winter

Thank you all very much that was truly beautiful.

So I'm going to pass the microphone around and ask all of you to just say your first name and what grade you're in.

I'm Ashley and I'm in sixth grade.

I'm Taryn and I'm in seventh grade.

I'm Maylee and I'm in seventh grade.

I'm Galaxy and I'm in sixth grade.

I'm Ada and I'm in sixth grade.

I'm Cyan and I'm in seventh grade.

I'm Nina and I'm in sixth grade.

I'm Miranda and I'm in 7th grade.

I'm Coco and I'm in 7th grade.

I'm Milo and I'm in 6th grade.

Thank you so much for sharing your voices with us tonight and thank you also to your music teacher and your accompanist.