this meeting is being recorded.
We would like to acknowledge that we are on the ancestral lands and traditional territories of the Puget Sound Coast Salish people.
For the record I'll call the roll.
Director Harris.
I see you.
Okay.
President Hersey.
Director Rankin.
Director Rivera-Smith.
Present.
Director Sarju.
Let me.
Present.
I'll tell you what.
Gotcha.
Director Song-Moritz.
I'll turn something on in a few minutes.
If you are not speaking, please mute your phone.
OK, I'll just go one more time through to see if I missed any directors.
President Hersey, are you on?
President Hersey is about to get on the plane.
Director Rankin.
And Director Song-Moritz.
Okay, this meeting is being held remotely consistent with the Governor's proclamation on open public meetings.
The public is being provided access today via Microsoft Teams and phone.
Today's meeting is being held to take public comment on the superintendent's search.
To facilitate this meeting, please ensure you are muted and your cameras are off when you are not speaking.
Staff will be working to administer the meeting and will be muting participants to ensure we can hear from today's speakers.
The school board has opened a search for superintendent and has gauged an executive search firm that specializes in educational leadership.
With feedback from the community in support of the search form we're currently developing the profile of the leader we need.
We appreciate hearing from you as we're developing that profile.
Please mute your phone if you are not speaking and I do see you Director Song-Moritz has joined us.
Thank you for your participation today, for making time to be part of this process.
Please limit your comments today to your perspectives on what our district needs in a superintendent.
Specifically, what are the strengths of the district that you wouldn't want to lose?
What are district needs that require sustained focus over the next few years?
Or what characteristics or qualifications would most welcome, would you most welcome in a superintendent?
I'm going to read those one more time.
And again, remind folks that if they're not speaking to please turn off your cameras and you make sure you're not you're muted so that we can focus on the person speaking.
So what we asked you to speak to, what are the strengths of the district that you wouldn't want to lose?
What are district needs that require sustained focus over the next few years?
And or what characteristics or qualifications would you most welcome any superintendent?
We will be taking public comment from those who pre-registered for today's forum.
If you signed up to provide comments and are watching through SPS-TV, please call in or join on Microsoft Teams now to ensure you are online when your name is called.
Please remain muted and turn off your cameras until your name is called to provide comments.
There are 13 people on our public comment list, which is posted to today's agenda.
You will have a two-minute speaking time.
Once your name is read, please unmute in Teams or by pressing star six on your phone.
You have the option to turn on your camera if joining with Microsoft Teams.
Staff will begin a timer and a chime will sound when your two minute speaking time is exhausted.
After your comments please mute again and turn off your camera.
Only those who are called by name should unmute or turn on their camera.
and only one person should speak at a time.
If a speaker does not unmute to provide comments by phone or Teams when their name is called, the next speaker's name will be called.
Staff will now call from the public comment list.
And if we can get you, Carolyn, you've still got one camera on if you're able to turn that camera off.
I know you've got two things going there.
Okay.
I'll turn it over to you, Ms. Wilson-Jones.
Good afternoon.
So just one more reminder for those who have joined us on on the phone.
When I call your name please press star 6 to unmute on the conference line and then you'll also need to unmute on the device you're calling from.
The first speaker on today's list is Janice White.
Janice White.
Good afternoon.
I am here today representing the Seattle Special Education PTSA.
The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified many issues with the design and delivery of special education services and instruction, but it did not create those issues.
They were already present in our schools.
It is important to keep this in mind as we consider the qualities we need in our next superintendent.
Seattle Excellence, the district's strategic plan, is missing a crucial component.
It fails to explicitly acknowledge the disproportionately high concentration of African-American male students in special education.
According to data on the district website, 23% of all African-American male students have IEPs.
In yesterday's work session, staff projected that by spring 2022, only 9.4% of third grade African American male students with IEPs will meet the strategic plans reading goal.
9.4%.
If Seattle Excellence is to meet its goal, the next superintendent needs to have a laser focus on these students.
We know that far too many are in segregated special education classrooms.
We need a visionary leader who is willing to dismantle these classrooms and the current special education service models so that our children with disabilities are educated in inclusive general education classrooms and learn alongside their non-disabled peers.
We need a visionary leader who will direct staff to recognize the intersection of race and disability, and who will embed both anti-racism and anti-ableism in the work of our schools.
This will require authentic community engagement with families, community leaders, staff, and students.
We need a visionary leader who is willing to bring in outside experts with proven track records to overhaul special education systems.
For far too long, we have all wrung our hands and done little but talk.
Our children cannot continue to wait.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
The next speaker is Valentina Vischer.
Valentina Vischer.
Thank you.
A superintendent of a school district as large as Seattle Public Schools will be successful in such an important position if they possess flexible thinking.
Characteristics that allow an allocentric perspective and a macrocentric perspective.
An allocentric perspective is the ability to see another's point of view.
And macrocentric perspective is the ability to see the big picture.
And macrocentric perspective is not easily achieved.
It requires capacity to be part of the picture while simultaneously being able to step outside of it and see all the connecting elements.
Another desirable trait for superintendent is the ability to see how their actions impact those around them.
And lastly, the ability to have an eye on the sparrow.
such as the unique programs and small schools in the district that offer an educational experience specific to those students who are born to shine but cannot do it alone.
If we are indeed going to achieve supporting those students furthest away from educational justice so they graduate ready for college or careers, we need a leader who can support all district staff to shape the future.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
The next speaker is Manuela Sly.
Manuela Sly.
Good afternoon.
My name is Manuela Sly, proud parent of students, longtime Latino community advocate and immediate past president of Seattle Council PTSA.
Thank you for your service members of the school board and for the opportunity to speak today.
Seattle Public School is the largest school district in our state and as such it serves a very diverse student population.
Many of our students have been historically underserved and discriminated against at a very place they should feel safe and celebrated.
We need a leader that understands the inequities of the system and that unapologetically works to dismantle them.
We need a leader with not only the knowledge but also the vision of what we need to do in partnership with community educators and stakeholders to better serve our students.
We need a leader that honors our strategic plan Seattle Excellence as well as the high need of our students receiving special education services to be properly educated.
Having worked with Dr. Brent Jones closely, I am convinced that he has all the attributes needed to lead our district.
He's bright, compassionate, and has forged positive working relationships with students, families, and government agencies.
Our district would be so lucky to have Dr. Jones continue to be our superintendent so he can continue to do the work that he started as our interim superintendent last year.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
The next speaker is Laura Marie Rivera.
Laura Marie Rivera.
Did I get the unmute right?
Yes we can hear you.
Thank you.
My name is Laura Marie Rivera and I am an educator and an artist and a parent to four Seattle Public School students ranging from second grade to 11th grade.
And I want to thank you all for this opportunity to speak today.
And I would also like to acknowledge all of the voices that are not able to participate today whether it is from a lack of awareness or interest or availability.
For a myriad of reasons there are a lot of other concerned stakeholders that will not be heard from today.
I recognize that our next superintendent will need to balance many issues as they manage a district as large as ours.
and even when our enrollment declines this is a very tall order.
My wish is that all students will be given a safe and welcoming environment and they'll be given the tools and the opportunity to reach their potential.
With this we really need to recognize that each of our over 100 schools is made up of individuals.
I would like to see the teachers and administrators celebrated for the talents that they bring to our community.
And what I really want to highlight is that each of our over 50,000 students is an individual.
They all have different strengths, different challenges, different interests, and different needs.
Whether we're talking about race, gender, orientation, religion, income, zip code, disabilities, all abilities.
These are just some of the identities that make up our learning communities.
And we need to be sure to meet them where they are at, each of them.
We need to offer the courses that get them excited about coming to school and staying in school.
And we need to make sure we're giving them the individualized education that will open the doors for their future opportunities.
We can't be cutting electives or advanced learning opportunities or funding or hours for special occasion special education.
We need awareness of what it takes to reach the different learners and how we're going to be communicating those opportunities with families.
We need a superintendent that's going to keep their eye on the big picture and take the time to notice each of the individual students that are reason they're the reason that we're doing this work.
It's a tall order and I appreciate you guys listening to us today.
Thank you.
The next speaker is Sabrina Burr.
Sabrina Burr.
We could hear you, Sabrina.
Can you hear me?
Yes, we can hear you.
Great, thank you.
Good evening and thank you for giving me the chance to say a few words.
Dr. Jones, is the 6th superintendent that I've had the pleasure of working with for Seattle Public Schools.
Seattle Public Schools is a very diverse and complex district and we need somebody who really understands the district understands the vision and instead of trying just to have focus schools make sure that what we do happens in all 104 of our schools.
And I think that the only person for Seattle Public Schools is the interim superintendent that you have.
And I think it will behoove the board to do whatever they can to retain him because there is nobody better than for Seattle Public Schools, who understands the district, who understands the history, who has the integrity and adversity and discrimination against him, stand tall and then be willing to come back to the district and lead with integrity.
So if I were the seventh school board member, I would be trying to negotiate and figure out what we need to do to retain him because the truth is there's nobody better for Seattle Public Schools than Brent Jones.
And when I listen to the mayor of the state of the city, address and the plans for Seattle Public Schools, we would be stupid to have somebody else come in other than the superintendent who understands our weaknesses but has high, high standards for everyone and integrity for every employee, student, and family that we serve.
So I really want to say that because all of the characteristics that we're hearing and that we're talking about those and so many more are in the man that we have as our interim superintendent.
And I think it's important for all of us to stand behind what he needs for support and try to see what we can do to keep him because there's nobody better.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The next speaker is Janna DeMoss.
Janna DeMoss.
Hi, yes, thank you for the opportunity to express my thoughts on this matter.
I have I'm a parent of two children in Seattle Public Schools.
My daughter is eight.
She's in second grade and my son is six and he's in kindergarten.
They both go to our neighborhood school at Daniel Bagley.
And as is the case for everyone and many parents these last two years have been extremely difficult for our family.
My daughter had just celebrated her 100th day in school ever when the school shut down and she went home.
And so for the past two years we've struggled as many of the parents have in this district.
But I want to note that the experience this past year was very different than those past two years.
And I want to just make that clear that this year has been a much better experience for us with our kids in school learning there.
So the strengths of the district not to lose the priority on doing what's best for the children and students.
And I think I like the focus that has been the case over the last year, the continuity and the good work that is taking place.
We the district needs to focus on investing upstream where the needs are greatest safety for students in all senses of that word and recovery from the pandemic.
And I think there's been some good traction this year on that.
Characteristics welcomed in a superintendent good communication.
I've seen a lot of improvement in that this year.
Ability to form good relationships with the community.
Someone who understands the district a strong compelling consistent vision for the district and the ability to move towards that vision and a personal commitment to the students and families within the district.
I personally am very happy with the leadership and stability that's been provided over the past year and would like to see that continue with the leadership team going forward.
I want to express my strong support for Interim Superintendent Brent Jones, and I think it would be a shame to look elsewhere when we have this strong leader in place.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you.
The next speaker is Patrick Brady.
Patrick Brady.
Mr Brady.
Is it is it available now?
You're good, go ahead.
Thank you school board members for this opportunity to give my input on today's topic.
Your upcoming search for a permanent superintendent.
A little about myself.
I'm a 22 year resident of North Ballard and the parent of twins who attended North Beach Whitman and later graduated from the center school.
The other thing you should know is that during these 22 years I have voted in every school board election and endorsed and voted yes on every education related ballot measure put forward to the electorate.
Like everyone attending this meeting, I believe strong schools paves the way for our children to be successful and our community to thrive.
Personally, I made lifelong friends with some of my fellow PTA parents, and during my son's middle and high school years, we became very proficient at the parent's best friend, something you call the source.
I speak to endorse Dr. Brent Jones as the very best choice to be our permanent superintendent.
A large part of the reason my family and our neighbors are school supporters is that this district has been able to focus on the immediate needs and challenges of the last two years, but without losing the focus on your long term health and trajectory.
Our support for Seattle Public Schools has proven to be well placed during the period of COVID with the quiet leadership demonstrated by Dr. Jones.
The investments you have already made in this leader, starting with his days as a student at Franklin, are significant.
He has previously held key positions within SPS for over a 10-year period.
For you, at the conclusion of your search to reaffirm your confidence in Dr. Jones will demonstrate that you value a leader with, quote, lived experience in our district.
I don't need to tell you that there will be dividends from this continuity of leadership.
And you as board members can focus more fully on the important work you have of guiding our schools and serving our youth.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The next speaker is Christina O'Clair.
Christina O'Clair.
Good afternoon.
Thank you so much for welcoming me into the space.
Thank you for taking the time.
And I really appreciate the commitment that you all are putting into being really thoughtful about the selection of a leader a leader so important as the superintendent of Seattle Public Schools.
My name is Christina Eau Claire and I'm fortunate to have two children at Seattle Public Schools.
I'm fortunate also to be a committed public servant.
I work for King County Metro.
I oversee the mobility division.
I first want to talk about Seattle Public Schools and how important it is to our community.
Next talk about Dr. Jones's commitment and how and third to talk about how continuity of leadership in public sector is so important.
Number one I strongly believe in Seattle Public Schools as I believe that it is the pivotal point in changing our society and where we're going with the future of who we are and future of our children and what we're going to do and believe in as a community.
We need to invest in public schools and we need to invest in stable leadership that is committed to the values of equity and safety within our populations.
I've known Dr. Jones for many years.
I had the opportunity of working alongside him at King County Metro as a fellow colleague He personally challenged me as an individual to become a better leader.
He was honest and he didn't always agree with me, but he led with his values and he cared for me as a leader.
He nurtured the people around him and he really believed in public value of really improving the quality of life in King County.
I know that he started at Franklin High School.
I know that he's been committed off and on to Seattle Public Schools.
He invested his life into education as he has a Ph.D. and he also made sure that his daughter.
It is important to know that it is his mission to make sure that we improve the education for all of our students.
and that he really dives to deliver his leadership where needs are greatest and really understanding how we can elevate those who are underserved.
He does that through his commitment to the leaders around him, to the teachers, to the administration, and most importantly, to the students.
I strongly believe that we should continue to keep Dr. Jones in his leadership position.
and that we should keep the values that he is demonstrating so that we can have continuity as we move forward in this pivotal time period as we're coming out of COVID and as we're reckoning with some of the real discrimination that is facing our community.
Dr. Jones is the leader to do that and he has surrounded himself by fellow leaders in order to continue with those values.
Thank you so much for your time today.
Thank you.
The next speaker is Heidi James.
Heidi James.
Hi thank you for letting me speak today.
I'm a parent to two students in Seattle Public Schools both in middle school a sixth grade son and an eighth grade daughter.
As we are working towards identifying candidates for the superintendent position I want to share my thoughts.
I think it is important that we have continuity in the leadership that we have someone that has a clear and transparent communication style, and someone that's willing to engage directly in the community.
I believe that all of these qualities are present in the strong leadership of Dr. Jones.
As of others have said, he is not only a former student of SBS, but also served in previous leadership positions.
This is a perspective that I think will be difficult to find in another candidate.
I believe that he understands the district and that he provides excellent and clear communication out to families, which has been vitally important during the pandemic.
I have appreciated that he and his leadership team spend regular time in the schools, which helps them to see both the successes as well as the needs that have to be addressed.
I believe that he has managed well the health and safety of our students while also keeping kids directly in our schools to learn in person, which I think has been very important for academic improvement as well as the improvement of many of our children's mental health.
I believe that our children need his continued leadership to maintain this consistency as the pandemic continues on and his work and his leadership teams work on building and improving our schools.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The next speaker is Kristen Gordon-McLean.
Kristen Gordon-McLean.
Hi.
Good afternoon.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today.
I am the parent of a second grader at Pathfinder K through 8 in West Seattle and I recently enrolled our younger son to be a rising kindergartner there.
I want to echo what many other parents have already said about Dr. Jones's leadership in this academic school year.
It absolutely resonates with our family.
Our family is still recovering from the academic and social emotional effects of the year of remote learning.
It was very hard on our family.
I attended many school board meetings the year remote instruction was happening because I was deeply concerned about the leadership of the superintendent and the school board and how you were managing instruction during COVID.
Last spring we even enrolled our son in a local Catholic school as a contingency plan.
Although we are committed to our son's school we could not continue remote instruction any longer.
Since this school year has started I have not attended one meeting.
The reason is things are fine and they are back on track.
The school has been open all year.
My son is well.
He's back in the classroom.
He's learning how to be in the class again.
He's following the rules.
He's interacting with his classmates.
He plays soccer at recess every day and he loves his on-site after-school program.
Despite being exposed to COVID at his after-school care he has not contracted COVID this year.
My husband and I greatly appreciate the efforts to keep the doors open to keep students in classrooms and our SPS community safe through vaccination clinic and testing services.
Parents and teachers are tired.
Bringing in a new leader would add more uncertainty and disruption.
I strongly advise the school board to stay the course with our current leader and think that we should keep Dr. Jones in his role.
I cannot see what would be gained by bringing in someone new when our current leader is doing such a strong job.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The next speaker is Alicia Ginsburg.
Alicia Ginsburg.
Hi.
Can you hear me.
Yes we can hear you.
Thank you.
Good afternoon.
My name is Alicia Ginsburg.
Thank you for creating this forum and for all the work you do on the school board.
I'm a parent of a kindergartner and a second grader at my neighborhood school and I previously worked closely with the district leadership of Chicago Public Schools I currently work as a racial equity leadership advisor.
I am grateful to have had an excellent experience within Seattle Public Schools so far and especially during Dr. Jones's time as interim leader.
And I'd like to speak to the categories in the context of his leadership.
For strengths not to lose.
The clear, coherent, concise, and proactive communication regarding the COVID response and other learning priorities that he has managed to communicate during this time as well.
The focus on the students furthest from educational justice, and in particular, Black male students.
And the continued emphasis on social emotional learning and the ruler curriculum, even during the challenging time of returning to full-time school in person.
For the distinct areas of focus or to continue focus, continuing that emphasis on equity and especially those Black male students and continuing that focus on social emotional learning as students, educators and staff recover from the trauma of the COVID experience as we settle back in hopefully soon.
For characteristics of a leader, Collaboration, prioritization, and the ability to hold the tension that can sometimes exist across those, which Dr. Jones has already demonstrated.
Being able to bring in experience from other sectors on that foundation of educational experience, and then having lived experience to apply to this conversation on equity.
Dr. Jones brings all of you in this role.
Seattle Public Schools would be lucky and well served to have him for the long term.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you.
The next speaker is Nehemiah Trice.
Nehemiah Trice.
If you are on the phone, please press star six now to unmute.
Not seeing the speaker's name or call-in information.
I'm going to move to the next speaker and then we can circle back and try again.
Alicia Teal.
Alicia Teal.
Hello, thank you.
Sorry, let me make sure I've got my camera on.
And operating lobbies recently passed by the voters.
As the board and the search firm proceed with the search process for a permanent superintendent I'm here to share the chamber's strong encouragement that the board explore an approach that prioritizes both continuity and leadership and meaningful community engagement.
We believe that stable leadership and continuity at the top will transform Seattle Public Schools and is a key ingredient in a school system that does better by its students.
Over the past two years, the district has continuously navigated volatility from the pandemic and the accompanying operating uncertainties, as well as the leadership transition, and onboarding and transitioning in a new superintendent can in and of itself be a very disruptive process.
That risk is further magnified when the organization is already under enormous stress caused by high turnover, staff vacancies, and COVID-related health impacts.
Over the course of the last year we've been impressed by Dr. Brent Jones steady leadership to navigate the school district through this pandemic.
We see his commitment and focus to achieve equitable outcomes.
We appreciate his outreach and engagement with the broader community and he has assembled a strong and highly accomplished leadership team.
Dr. Jones has capably led the charge and we have no reason to believe he could not continue to do so on a permanent basis.
Leading our state's largest district is no easy task, and so if retaining Dr. Jones is among the options the board would like to explore, and we would encourage you to do so, we strongly urge a process that respects the work he has done to date in addition to and in tandem with robust, open, and meaningful engagement with the community.
And this is not to exclude other applicants or to ask for a process that is anything less than transparent.
Rather, it is to emphasize that we believe this district has a capable leader in the field.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Circling back to Nehemiah Trice.
Nehemiah Trice.
If you are on the phone, please press star six to unmute.
Vice President Hampson, I believe that concludes today's testimony list.
Okay, and you didn't see a phone number for Nehemiah trace.
I didn't.
I did not.
It's not one of the, um, phone numbers that we have here in the meeting so far.
Okay.
Okay.
Um, if we do hear back from them, maybe we can have them submit their comments and writing.
To the board directly.
Yes, and I'll follow up with them to share the details for joining in our next comment session as well.
Okay well that was certainly interesting and I really appreciate folks taking the time and as there's no further business on the agenda this meeting now stands adjourned at 7 34 p.m.
The opportunities to continue to receive input on superintendent search will will continue so we will see you at the next one.
Thank you all so much.
Have a good evening.
Thanks all.