Good afternoon, school board members and ladies and gentlemen in the audience.
I am Thomas R. Eaglestaff, a Medicoge Lakota and member of the Cheyenne River Indian Tribes.
I was given my Lala's or grandfather's enrollment name of Wambli Wapaha as my Lakota name.
I am a retired federal civil servant and a U.S.
Navy veteran with a Vietnam service medal.
I am the oldest of six children born to Esau and Margaret Ann S. Eagle Staff.
I wish to take this opportunity to extend our family's sincere appreciation to the Seattle School Board and community members for extending this honor to Robert Bob Eagle Staff.
My brother Bob was a true educator.
He did not view his position as his job, but rather as his dream, his passion, and a journey.
A journey to inspire young minds and to lead other educators to educate those young minds.
Bob had completed the requirements of his doctorate degree to further validate his goal of being the best educator he could be and formally validate his leadership goals.
Robert Bob Eagle Staff is the third oldest child of six children.
My siblings are my next oldest sister, Donna, then Bob, Daryl, Bill, and our baby sister, Suzanne.
Donna and Bill and Suzanne work in the education field, and Daryl is a realty specialist for the federal government.
Our father, who is deceased, was a World War II Navy veteran and survived a German U-boat attack and sinking of his ship in the North Atlantic.
Our dad's uncle is buried in a mass grave at Wounded Knee, and dad was considered a descendant of a survivor of the Wounded Knee Massacre.
Our mother is a retired elementary teacher of 35 years and resides in the Cheyenne River Indian Agency Community at Eagle Deed, South Dakota.
Our parents emphasize the importance of education and putting forth our best effort in every endeavor.
As such we realize what a great honor you the Seattle School Board have bestowed upon Bob and our family by voting to recognize Bob's efforts with the Inherited School and Seattle School System by naming this new school in his honor.
We as Bob's family a man born in a two-room community hospital on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation could earn this prestigious honor.
He did not have to work at gaining the respect of the community he served.
It was his belief and the values of the Lakota culture that carried him through this endeavor.
His desire to extend the education opportunities of the Seattle school system with an alternative education program to enhance the graduation rate of Native American students and or other displaced students was his passion.
His dedication and the work ethics gained from his personal academic and athletic accomplishments made his efforts to establish the Indian Heritage School his journey.
As Bob was able to successfully convince a much larger Seattle school system and could lead a team of educators toward believing they could enhance the graduation rate of the Native American community.
Our friends and relatives here in South and North Dakota still wonder what he could have accomplished in a smaller reservation school system.
As for me, I cannot express how proud I am of my brother, a young man whose life began on the small Cheyenne River reservation community of Red Scaffold, South Dakota.
High School.
I can also imagine this former 48th North Dakota resident and graduate of the Standing Rock Community High School, Class of 1971, smiling ear to ear, knowing that I had to publicly state my pride and love for him.
each other again.
Speaking for my mother, Bob's siblings, relatives, friends, and his fellow Standing Rock High School graduates, all 35 of them, I extend a wopi latanka, a big heartfelt thank you.
Thank you so very much for honoring Bob and his family, relatives, and friends in this manner.
In return, we, family and friends, plan to honour the community that worked so diligently to make this honour a reality.
We will plan for a giveaway of Bob's honor prior to the opening of the school.
We would also like to present star quilts to the new school with the school's colors and or mascot theme.
A special thank you to Mr. Thomas Redmond, Ms. Judy Simon and Ms. Michelle Mansfield for making this presentation possible.
Again, Wopila, Wopila Tonka to the Seattle School Board and the local community members for making this possible.
You shall be in our prayers and I shall offer prayer ties for you all at the Sundance.
Bob was returning to South Dakota to attend all those years ago.
With our sincere appreciation.
Thank you.
Board members work hard and put in lots and lots of time so appreciate the opportunity to meet with them.
Yeah I kind of skipped over kind of my class size comments and included those in the enrollment growth.
So yes we've added 50 plus teachers for class size.
And I guess very importantly I should mention that our legislators are deserve huge thanks we'll recognize them in September.
board meeting assuming that they're not in session to recognize the 25 million dollars that they were able to get from this last legislative session for us for increasing the number of seats for students so.
Yeah that's huge.
That'll allow us to open Magnolia and EC Hughes and provide some added seats for students probably two years earlier than we would have without that funding.
So that's much appreciated.
And then summer school.
We had more summer school opportunities than I don't know about ever and that's a long time but in recent memory.
So that's another sign that the economy is coming back.
So the district had 11 sites city I think had a dozen sites.
We have some nonprofits that work with us that offered some summer school Rainier Beach in specific.
I had the opportunity to visit four schools Hawthorne, BF Day, Denny and Rainier Beach.
And so I was impressed with the intentionality of how we've identified those students and how we found a good mix of academics and fun things for students to do and the excitement energy and enthusiasm of students.
Coming right up we have jump jump start for kindergarten students in almost every one of our elementary schools.
So what a great way to get kindergarten students into school make them familiar with the environment have them meet their teacher and be ready to come to school with all of that eagerness that they bring to the start of the school year.
And then two final good news items.
Seattle Council PTSA under Cassandra Johnson's leadership came to the leadership retreat and.
talked about what they do.
PTA has raised about two plus million dollars that supports all of the things that we do in schools.
And then Cassandra is just passionate about not just talk and not just raising money and not just partnering with individual schools but what can we do together to make a difference for students.
And so they've targeted and urged us to work with them.
On providing a weekend backpack, kind of food for thought, food for free and reduced lunch students for the weekend.
Students that rely on free breakfast and lunch during the school week and then providing backpacks with some food for the weekend.
They've got a partnership with 27 food banks and they're in about 25 percent of our schools so far and she wants she's got a goal of she wants to reach 10,000 of those students.
with providing weekend food for them.
So we're eager to participate with them in that regard.
And then lastly Seattle Public Schools was featured on the local talk show New Day Northwest yesterday.
Chief Sealth high school social worker Harry Sievertson joined a pediatrician on the show to talk about ways to alleviate alleviate Homework stress.
Sounds like summer is close to being over.
Carrie said that communication was key and that our teachers and staff are open for dialogue with parents.
I guess I would add to that that sometimes we do forget that as we open the school year we're so excited about kind of the first day and all of the things that bring that that brings with it and getting to know teachers but particularly at the middle school and the high school.
Getting off to a good start for students is just so so important.
If ninth graders get off to a bad start and get behind in that first three weeks of school they could easily lose three credits and they need virtually every credit to graduate.
And so.
Lots and lots and lots of people thousands of people working hard to get ready for the start of the school year and parents out there buying school supplies and getting students ready to come.
So a lot of energy and excitement around the start of the school year.
Thank you.
All right next on the agenda we have listed a student comments however we do not have student comments this evening and we will look to pick that up as school is back in session.
That brings us to the consent agenda.
And so at this point I would ask for a motion and a second please.
I move approval of the consent agenda.
I second the motion.
Thank you.
So do directors have any items they would like to remove from the consent agenda.
All right.
I am not seeing anyone signal that they have anything to remove.
So all of those in favor of the consent agenda please signify by saying aye.
Those opposed.
This consent agenda has passed.
OK.
All right so that brings us to public testimony which we never start before five o'clock but the clock here in the auditorium looks like it says 5.01 or so so I believe we will jump right into it.
So give me just one moment.
There we go.
All right, so we've reached the public testimony portion.
It's after five o'clock and so.
I will start by saying that we've had a large number of requests to provide public testimony tonight.
So according to board procedure 1430 BP the testimony list was increased from 20 to 25 speakers.
The rules for public testimony are on the screen to your right our left.
And I would ask the speakers please be respectful of those rules.
I'll note that each speaker has a two minute speaking time when the two minutes have ended please conclude your remarks.
And what I will do is call names three at a time.
And so if as your name is called you could be ready to move to the dais as the speaker in front of you is completed.
That would be great.
So the first three speakers are John Bancroft Shelley Hurley and Don Alexander.
And so we'll start the meter running when you start to speak and start by stating your name please.
Okay my name is John Bancroft, good afternoon, I guess late afternoon school board members.
I was the head start director in King and Pierce County for 20 years and it's wonderful the job and program it was.
I had two duties that I dreaded.
One was I got the calls from parents on the waiting list asking when they were going to get into the program knowing that most of them never would get in the program.
And the second, even more frustrating, was the calls from parents who had been told correctly by our staff that because they earned more than $23,000 a year they were not eligible for the program and there was nothing that I could do about it.
I therefore urge you to vote in favor of the contract with the city for the Seattle public, for the Seattle preschool program.
If the schools don't accept this contract it is very likely that 60 children will not be served.
The city as far as I know does not have a list of other contractors eager or with the facilities.
to take these children so 60 children from Southeast Seattle and the Central District will not receive preschool services of high quality this year.
I would also like to add that if the amendment to the proposal passes to only serve one school this fall that is likely to scuttle the whole thing because the city is trying to have at least at least two classes per contract.
And lastly I will just say there is no matching requirement for this grant.
The school district has plenty of funds either from the city or from a private grant to cover 100% of the services.
So, I would just close by saying I urge you to vote for the resolution and I just hate to think what will tell the 60 families at Bailey, Gatzert and Van Asselt if there isn't a program.
Thank you.
Thank you.
All right, Shelley Hurley, Don Alexander, Carol Simmons.
Can you hear me?
There we go.
Hi my name is Shelly Hurley and I am actually on the bargaining team upstairs but I thought this was so important that when asked I had to come down and speak to it.
So I am here to urge you please, please, please to approve the proposal to open all three of the preschool classrooms.
They are being funded by the levy and with that funding comes 20 to 2 class ratio, professional compensation, relevant professional development around cultural competency, dual language programs, parent and community engagement support, resources for family.
To me this is a gateway.
to public education.
This is a way for families who do not have any other way to help their students get that start in school.
I work at Graham Hill and there are many many times when we have kids in kindergarten that this is the first time that they are ever in school, and to see how far behind they are, their peers that have had preschool is really appalling.
And some of the things that come out of that are they are then identified as maybe needing special education, or they are counted as behavior students, when all it really is is that this is their first time in education.
Kindergarten nowadays is not what kindergarten used to be when I was in kindergarten where you learn how to tie your shoes and skip.
You are now expected to read and write and do all sorts of high-level thinking for a fifth grader.
I mean, I'm sorry, for a five-year-old.
And to not have that preschool experience to start with, to give you that leg up, just seems really sad.
And in this case where it is basically given to us on a silver platter as a way for us to help these students forward, I just find it really disgraceful.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Our next speaker is Don Alexander, followed by Carol Simmons and Jennifer Matter.
Is Mr. Alexander here?
I don't see him in the auditorium.
So with that, we will go to Carol Simmons, who's on her way to the dais, then Jennifer Matter and Amanda Pach.
I apologize if I didn't get that right.
Do not amend Policy 2015 Selection and Adoption of Instructional Materials until these materials reflect social justice issues and the required reading of the Audacity of Hope and the Mystery of the Disappearing Resolution.
For 40 years Seattle has waited for the district to implement the recommendation made by the first disproportionality task force placing a moratorium on student suspensions in order to eliminate disproportionality.
For 40 years the recommendation has been ignored.
The data profile that illustrated this data has been discontinued and the data has remained the same.
Fortunately tenacious human rights groups continued to insist that the district address this discriminatory treatment and finally 40 years later a Seattle school board director introduced a resolution to place a moratorium on school suspensions for elementary students.
This resolution was applauded throughout Seattle and in the press.
Highly respected columnists wrote about the school-to-prison pipeline and how suspensions punish, at much higher rates, black, brown, and native children than white children for the same offenses.
Community members, state representatives, and many others called for urgency, but the resolution that was finally introduced was delayed.
Why?
Waiting for restorative justice technique training and school improvement plan implementation are only delaying tactics.
Reallocate resources and hire more teachers counselors nurses and instructional assistants to serve students and teachers in the classroom.
40 years later is a dream deferred.
Don't wait.
Pass the resolution immediately before we lose another child.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Jennifer Madder, Amanda Potch and Chris Jackins.
I'm Jennifer Madder and I'm ceding my time to Ms. Dayzann Porter.
My name is Dayzann Porter and I'm a kindergarten teacher at Martin Luther King Jr. elementary school.
First I'd like to remind the board that the second vote taken to get you elected was citywide.
You are expected to do right by all of Seattle scholars not just the chosen few that live in your neighborhood.
Now I don't care who likes or don't like Seattle's mayor.
I'm tired of adult BS getting in the way of what's right for scholars.
As a kindergarten teacher I get scholars in my classroom every year that are behind.
Yes, behind in kindergarten.
Why?
No quality pre-K.
The conversion of an existing pre-K class at Gassert, the opening of one up at the old Van Asselt and opening one up at Van Asselt at the African-American Academy is a must.
You must do it.
You have a chance to deter babies of color from the school to prison pipeline.
60 is better than none although 60 is almost criminal.
Please let your vote reflect what is best for all of Seattle's children.
Not just a chosen few.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Amanda Potch is the next speaker followed by Chris Jackins and Elisa Jacobs.
And I apologize if I got your name wrong.
Oh, everybody does.
You should.
My name is Amanda Poe like Edgar Allen.
You can't say it right because it's not spelled right.
I teach kindergarten at West Seattle Elementary.
I'm very proud to teach there.
I just wanted to tell you if you vote no on opening the three pre-K classrooms, here's what you're telling the public.
You're telling them that you don't want Seattle Public Schools to be a provider of quality pre-K.
You're telling the public you don't think quality pre-K will narrow the achievement gap.
You're also telling the public you don't want to provide equitable education to Seattle's youngest learners.
If you vote yes what you are telling Seattle what you are telling your constituents is that you want to not only support but be an integral provider of quality pre-K.
That you believe teachers can meet the requirements that make this a free choice for Seattle Public Schools.
That you believe all children deserve equitable access to quality education and that this board wants to be an advocate for all students in Seattle Public Schools.
We are in the business of education.
Please don't close doors.
Open them to as many of our youngest learners as possible.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Chris Jackins followed by Lisa Jacobs and Matthew O'Connor.
My name is Chris Jackins Box 84063 Seattle 98124. On the Loyal Heights racial imbalance resolution two points.
Number one the school is slated to lose 10,000 square feet of its playground.
A proposal which many parents and neighbors oppose.
Number two this resolution is premature.
The superintendent has not yet issued a decision as to whether further environmental review is needed on this project.
Please vote no on this item.
On the Genesee Hill $400,000 change order, two points.
Number one, part of what is driving costs is the steep slopes.
The public knew that the steep slopes were a problem and tried to warn the district.
Number two, this was not an unknown problem.
Therefore, the change order should not be approved.
Please vote no on this item.
On the consent agenda, the board is continuing to vote on items contained in the consent agenda before public comment is taken.
This demonstrates a disconnect from the public.
On the closure of Middle College High School at High Point, two points.
Number one, a school closure process did not occur.
State law has established that a school closure process must be held prior to the closure of a school building.
Number two I have previously passed along to members of the public contact information for attorneys who are familiar with these issues.
I would be glad to do so again.
On the moratorium on out of school suspensions the district is still refusing to publish its annual data booklet data profile district summary.
Please correct this mistake.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Alyssa Jacobs, Matthew O'Connor, Erin Okuno.
I'm Alyssa Jacobs I support the three preschool classrooms and I cede my spot to Christopher Glenn.
Thank you.
My name is Christopher Glenn.
I'm a developmental preschool IA in Rainier Beach.
I think what this is really about for me, it's about equity.
It's about raising the playing field for all of our kids.
We have a system in this country where 90% or excuse me 60% of our poor kids don't even get an opportunity to go to preschool.
We are settling for allowing our kids to be in prison and get their high school educations there.
We need to turn this around.
We need to break this supremist system that is infiltrated and systemic in our educational system.
And you guys, we need to step it up.
We need to bring these issues to light.
We need to support our children in their educational careers and allow them to have A good start.
I like I said I work in preschool.
I see my kids.
These kids need it.
Our kids are not even prepared for kindergarten.
You guys need to step it up.
You need to make this happen.
You need to support it.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Matthew O'Connor Aaron Okuno and Ricky Malone.
Hi there, my name is Matthew O'Connor and I teach pre-kindergarten at South Shore Pre-K 8 in Rainier Beach.
I am also a member of CSEC and SEA and have been involved with the Seattle Preschool Program since the campaign phase.
At that time recruiting teachers and parents from South Shore to testify at city council and then later serving on the Mayor's Advisory Committee were knowledgeable players in the educational community of Seattle, teachers, school leaders and a member of the school board provided input into the particulars of the program.
It was this input from knowledgeable community players that directly led to some of the features of the program, including the funding benchmarks.
Benchmarks that, in my opinion, as a career early childhood educator are necessary for quality assurance and also very, very achievable.
Benchmarks that myself and my co-teachers that teach pre-K at South Shore, who sit in this audience behind me, have met in the past and will meet again this year.
A lack of equitable access to education based purely on race and class is an inherent piece of the story and history of the American public education system.
That gap has existed from the opening of the doors of the first public school and it still exists today everywhere.
In this city Seattle and in this district Seattle Public Schools.
Although it's not a problem that's unique to public education, it's an inherent part of that system.
It's an inherent truth.
And what's equally undeniable, and at times hard to admit, is that we, employees of the public education district here, are part of that problem.
It's just the nature of the beast.
We're complicit in it.
It's the fact that we're just small parts of a really large system, and the opportunity gap is a really large systemic problem.
But that complicity doesn't mean that we can't fight the problem, and it doesn't mean that we don't have a responsibility to fight the problem.
There is no silver bullet for transforming public education into an equitable system but all the evidence shows that quality early childhood education, the type of program provided for in the Seattle preschool program has the potential to be the foundation of a truly transformative experience.
And if we as the largest single public education provider in the city can agree that the opportunity gap is a systemic problem that exists here and exists inside of our schools and we can agree that providing quality early childhood education can help combat that gap, then don't we have a moral and professional imperative to be a part of the solution?
I believe that we do, and I hope that you'll vote today to make all three classrooms happen.
Thank you.
Erin Okuno, Ricky Malone, Cecilia McCormick.
Good evening my name is Erin Okuno and I am the Executive Director of the Southeast Seattle Education Coalition.
We are a coalition of over 50 community-based organizations, schools, parents and community members.
Last January over 60 community members spent a Saturday using a racial equity lens to determine our work and focus.
We looked at close to 200 survey results where high-quality early learning rose up as a priority.
Funding these three classrooms will help children of color enter school ready to learn and thrive.
We need to stop thinking as pre-K and K-12 as two separate systems and think of it as a holistic system for our children.
Earlier this summer I visited Van Asselt school.
The school is in a prime location to open a preschool classroom.
The school draws students from Beacon Hill and South Seattle neighborhoods.
The school has a free and reduced lunch rate of 83 percent.
Down the street from the school is Hope Place a transitional housing shelter.
Many of their children may benefit from quality preschool and they need it.
As a community we see the need and we see the need to close the opportunity and achievement gaps.
The Southeast community has clearly communicated communicated that high quality early learning is needed.
We urge you to vote yes to open all three classrooms.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Ricky Malone followed by Cecilia McCormick and Rick Burke.
OK, once again, we can, whenever and wherever we choose, successfully teach all children whose schooling is of interest to us.
We already know more than we need to know in order to do this.
whether we do it must finally depend on how we feel about the fact that we haven't so far.
Ron Edmonds.
Data isn't lopsided when it shows how early education pre-K impacts later years of schooling.
The earlier we catch any problems not only with the students but also with staff, the more time and energy we can spend on teaching and learning.
Race plays a big part.
It was written in the article on discipline.
It also states is strictly about race.
I say you already know race matters in Seattle Public Schools.
All you have to do is look at your own data.
Where black children are the highest in discipline, lowest in academics and even lower in your honors class and APP.
This is why black lives matter to me.
The black lives message is so important that we understand what an important part of education plays in black lives.
How important it is to start our black children in schools as early as we can.
It has been written and talked about by several scholars that the concept of relationship when it comes to black children is one of the most critical issues we must deal with and the early restart, building relationships, the earlier pre-K, deep learning can take place.
Relationships that are based on the old adage, kids do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.
I don't know why PK is an issue.
We have the resources.
We have the space.
We just need to go ahead and do what's right for our children.
Pretend that they're yours for a minute instead of other people's children.
I just have something to say to you superintendent.
Ricky Malone is my name.
I'm not a liar and you need to get your whistleblowing policy intact.
Our next speaker is Cecilia McCormick followed by Rick Burke and Melissa Westbrook.
Hi I don't have any prepared remarks but I have been tracking this issue closely and as you know I always view issues like this from the special education lens.
Now for decades The developmental preschools for our disabled preschoolers have been isolated or minimal typical peers in the classroom.
As you know I have a civil rights complaint in place for what you are now calling original van Asselt.
But now that you are going to be providing general education or regular preschool there is absolutely no excuse that you will have to not offer the very same benefit in your developmental preschools.
So that would be a six and a half hour day and I would argue that they would be able to go to the neighborhood school and the district would be obligated to serve them.
I would do anything and everything in my power to not allow the district to tell parents who want their preschooler disabled preschooler to go to their neighborhood school that has a Seattle preschool program classroom that they will have to give up their rights.
They'll have to write in the IEP oh my child will only get itinerant services here.
You know this is like ICS.
There's no plan in place for how disabled students will be served in these classrooms.
I've heard no talk of it.
I've heard that they want to tap their funding but now this district eliminated or greatly reduced the itinerant model just a year or two ago.
So it's a whipsaw.
We're back to perhaps reviving that.
But there's a Department of Justice recently found the state of Georgia at fault for isolating their disabled students.
Well You can't do that here.
I won't let it happen.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Our next speaker is Rick Burke followed by Melissa Westbrook and then Jonathan Knapp.
Thank you.
My name is Rick Burke.
There is broad agreement that an appropriate pre-K program Improve social and academic performance preparation for incoming kindergartners of all income levels.
Seattle Public Schools is uniquely positioned as a key contributor in the Seattle preschool program.
Our educators facilities and infrastructure are aligned to provide high quality programs across the grade spectrum including pre-K.
City and district staff have been working on knitting together this grand plan.
But we're not quite ready to go for it.
I'll share two major concerns about moving forward and approving this BAR.
One is providing district space for free and the other is capacity planning for stable programs.
Under the SPS community alignment initiative we provide facility space for wraparound childcare and K-8 programs.
And we provide this space for free.
This means that any SPP classes established within our buildings including the three proposed in this BAR and the additional up to 11 programs through independent providers who are already using SPS buildings will not reimburse SPS for facility costs.
Offering free space to community based organizations to support educational programs is a huge win.
Launching a long-term pre-K initiative without facility reimbursement and starting with a dozen classrooms is irresponsible.
Regarding stability, we need an updated facilities master plan to include pre-K considerations.
Otherwise, we risk displacing these pre-K programs we're trying to grow.
This is a huge disservice to the intent of the pre-K initiative.
Families need stability, not year-to-year program uncertainty.
Your decision today reflects year one of a four-year demonstration project so we have three more years to get it right.
In this context I support the proposed amendment from Director Peters which reflects a more deliberate and incremental approach, provides new seats and minimizes the potential for disruption.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Melissa Westbrook followed by Jonathan Knapp and Lauren Hipp.
Good evening.
I urge you to vote no on the acceptance of the preschool dollars from the city.
I appreciate the passion in this issue but you have a duty to make sure the district is making decisions based on clear documentation and your K-12 duty.
Number one, this action item is not complete.
Exhibit C is missing and goes to the heart of performance targets.
Those on the board who have been worried about the 25% hold back from the city take note.
The superintendent at the executive committee meeting called these targets procedural.
That's nonsense.
Number two, district legal counsel told a parent in an email that the city of Seattle is working to implement a school preschool program on an extremely short timeline.
Why is the city's timeline your issue?
Aren't issues like special ed, SBAC scores, lunch and recess time and capacity management issues for overcrowded schools what you're supposed to be concentrating on?
Number three, Councilmember Burgess told Highland Park parents on Monday night there will be 14 preschool classrooms.
Not hopefully, not maybe, but will.
He did not acknowledge the board's needed vote.
Director McLaren was sitting right next to him and stayed silent on the issue.
How could Burgess know with confidence there will be 14 classrooms?
This points to an idea that affixes in.
This is not transparency.
Number five, there are huge student data privacy issues not addressed here.
It is wrong on the part of the district and the city to not fully address these.
Number six, there is nothing in the agreement for how long the agreement lasts.
You need to hit the pause button on this effort because even if you don't agree to take the money tonight, there's going to be 14 city preschool classrooms using their program.
I have it on good authority that the district's negotiations with the teachers unions are not going well in terms of special ed costs that the district wants to lower rather than providing legally mandated services.
Are Seattle schools SPED students less important than city preschool students?
Do not be a rubber stamp school board.
Say no until all documentation is provided to you and the public and all legal questions answered.
Do not let heartfelt pleas cloud your good judgment on doing this and getting this right.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Next is Jonathan Knapp followed by Lauren Hipp and Sandra Rollins.
There we go.
Superintendent Nyland board president Carr board directors.
I'm here to speak on the preschool proposal.
This proposal is not controversial.
This proposal creates new seats.
20 new seats in the first year and provides funding for two other classrooms.
This proposal is not controversial.
It's about student achievement.
We've heard eloquent testimony about how crucial early childhood education is to getting kids prepared to be successful in their academic careers.
This proposal is not controversial.
Three spaces are proposed for three classrooms that are available today.
We should be using them to help children be successful in school.
This proposal is not controversial.
No state K-12 money will be spent on this proposal.
This proposal is not controversial.
It's an equity issue.
We've we've talked about that.
Other people have talked about that.
It's crucial to start these classrooms in the south end where we have crying need for from families who want to get their kids enrolled in early childhood education.
This proposal is not controversial.
This positions the Seattle Public Schools as a leader in the early childhood education sector as the guarantor of high quality early childhood education.
If the Seattle Public Schools does not exercise its option to run these classrooms there are other providers who will step forward.
That is why Tim Burgess told Melissa Westbrook that there will in fact be 14 classrooms this year.
No fixes in.
This proposal is not controversial.
And you know on the issue of rent it is your policy that you have determined that says that you do not charge rent to educational programs in Seattle Public Schools.
So if you want to revise that that is up to you.
This proposal is not controversial.
Please approve it and please reject the amendment.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Lauren Hips, Sandra Rawlins, Kristen Lee.
Thank you for having me here today.
My name is Lauren Hipp and this is my son Dax and we are with Moms Rising.
We are a grassroots organization of more than a million members with over 40,000 members in Washington State.
I am also a resident of Seattle and know firsthand how tough it is to find affordable high quality early learning here.
In fact many Seattle families have had to forego preschool due to the high cost of care.
or the lack of availability.
And this could have devastating consequences because we know that preschool has been shown to close the opportunity gap among low-income and children of color.
Learning economists agree that investments in high-quality early learning programs save future dollars by 8 to 1, and studies show that children who have high-quality early learning experiences are more likely to succeed in school, graduate from high school, gain stable employment, and are less likely to be arrested.
Yet many of our Seattle children may never have this opportunity to participate in potentially life-changing opportunities like this program unless you act now.
Today you have the power to expand access to preschool by voting in support of the Seattle Preschool Program.
At Moms Rising we urge you to do so for families across the city including our member Cindy who moved to Seattle recently and was distressed to find that she has on a wait list for over a year to find high quality care despite being on six different wait lists.
But you have the opportunity to help moms like Cindy and moms like me.
The new classrooms as dictated in the original bill need more slots for more children to have early learning.
experiences that set them up for success in school and life.
Investing in preschools yields high returns for K-12 in education and the economy and it honors Seattle voters commitment to supporting our littlest learners.
I'm honored here to be here today to deliver signatures from over 300 Seattle Moms Rising members urging you to vote in support of Seattle public Seattle preschool program.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Sandra Rollins followed by Kristen Lee and Anna Marie Chanis.
I probably didn't get that one right.
Well greetings and I'm going to start by quoting Dr. Nyland saying that Seattle Public Schools is committed to closing the equity achievement gap of our African-American males and students of colors of color.
Van Asselt Elementary is one of the most diverse communities of the SPS system.
Our students want excellence in education but are subjected to this equity achievement gap.
Van Asselt Elementary is 100 percent in support of the Seattle preschool initiative.
We have the specifically designed preschool approved space and parents that want the seamless transition from preschool to K-12.
So why is there a concern of not having a preschool on site at Van Asselt Elementary.
Well it can't be because of funding because it's fully provided through the city preschool initiative approved by the people of Seattle and we can meet the 25% funding requirements of the preschool initiative because we presently conform to the compliance and have the systems in place for continuance.
We have worked with preschools and their CSIP plans which include transition, we use teaching strategies, goal assessments.
We have neighborhood care on site that provides medical and social services.
We have worked with getting school ready for over five years and still continue to and support play and learn play and learn groups along with ready set go events.
Van Asselt has an established program and a building site ready to work.
As long as human resources checks their credentials that takes care of the conditional 25% of that budget.
So here we are Van Asselt Elementary at AAA ready willing to serve and commit to you and our students and community to have a quality preschool program.
Give substance.
Also manage your vote to Seattle Public Schools mission our students and the voice of our voters.
Narrow the opportunity and achievement gap.
Thank you.
Please approve all three sites.
Thank you.
All right our next speaker is Kristen Lee followed by Anna Marie Chanis and Stacey Chan.
Hello my name is Kristen Lay and I am a kindergarten teacher at Van Asselt Elementary School.
I'm here today to ask you to please pass the measure that supports opening the three preschool classrooms funded by the SPP levy.
I'm sure you've been told about the many reasons why Van Asselt, Bailey Gatzert and the original Van Asselt needs to have an onsite preschool.
But for now I'm just going to tell you a little story about one of my former kindergartners.
I can't tell you his real name, but for now, let's call him Mickey.
Mickey is a student that I'm never, ever going to forget.
Like several students at Van Asselt, Mickey was a homeless child and lived at the Hope Place Shelter with his mom and his brother.
When I tested his skill set and knowledge in the fall, he didn't know how to write his name, he knew none of the letters in his alphabet, he only knew how to count to two, didn't know how to use scissors, glue, and didn't even know how to use a piece of paper the right way to write.
In other words, he never went to preschool and so he was not at all ready for kindergarten.
Like many of my other students who had not gone to preschool, I worried about Mickey because he was so behind in comparison to 20% of his classmates who did have the preschool experience.
Regardless, Mickey was always excited to be at school.
He was motivated, he was hardworking, and he had plenty of grit for such a little kindergartner who had gone through many, many harsh struggles.
My colleagues and I recognize this and we fostered Mickey's strengths and collaborated with each other throughout the year to support him.
With lots of hard work from Mickey, myself, as well as the Van Asselt staff, he had made significant growth but then he is still behind because he didn't have the preschool experience.
So I want you to think about how much more growth he would have made if he had, if his mom was able to enroll him in a free and high-quality preschool program.
Especially at Van Asselt.
With his motivation and his grit, his growth would have been astronomical.
So please, please consider it because we need to serve all of our children.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Anna Marie Chanas followed by Stacey Chan and Olga Wilson.
Good afternoon school board directors, fellow colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.
My name is Anna Marie Friedlander-Chenis, kindergarten teacher at the Van Asselt AAA.
This week has been the week of kindergarten jumpstart in my school.
As I got the pleasure to meet these incoming students I was so impressed by their school readiness skills.
Some could read, many could write their name and had a strong math foundation.
The common factor that they shared is they all attended a high-quality preschool.
Studies have shown that preschool readiness in pre-literacy, math and cognitive skills are predictors of later school success.
Since 2009 there has been a seamless connection between the preschool program attached to our building, COSY's and kindergarten.
This connection has provided access for our students and families with no preschool experience providing them kindergarten readiness skills and confidence to enter elementary school.
This has fostered family engagement and a strong sense of community.
This then helps us attain high levels of academic achievement and close the achievement gap especially for almost 50% of our ELLs, African male students and homeless students that we serve.
Let's continue to give these students a fighting chance to be successful in their school life and their future.
We have a preschool building ready to be utilized.
Kossy's has vacated that.
So I urge everyone here today to please support the measure to have the preschool program at Van Asselt at triple A.
Bailey Getzert and the old Van Asselt.
Thank you all for your time and have a good day.
Thank you.
Stacy Chan followed by Olga Wilson and Melinda Flores.
Regarding the Seattle preschool service agreement I highly encourage you the Seattle school board to accept the funds from the city of Seattle and to commit to early learning education as a foundation for future academic success.
I believe our vision of serving children is one and the same to help students of all backgrounds and cultures succeed in Seattle and to graduate 100 percent of its students ready for college career and life.
I am currently a school-age teacher at Causey's Learning Center.
Causey's Learning Center serves preschoolers, kindergartners and grades 1 to 5. We formerly held a site on Van Asselt Elementary School's campus on Beacon Hill which is now closed.
This site is now being considered as a place to host a preschool.
This site has two main classrooms, a kitchen, a storage area and a play area that directly connects to Van Asselt's playground.
This area had held over 20 preschoolers.
When Qazi's Van Asselt site closed I noticed when I was working at the other two Qazi's sites that many of the preschoolers didn't transfer to the main or Dearborn Park International site.
The preschoolers who were formerly at the Van Asselt site are now not being served.
This particular area of Beacon Hill has many families with young children who are now in need of preschool services.
COSES Learning Center was announced as one of four preschools opening in the fall as a provider location.
I would love to see new preschools open especially in this need, in this high area of need.
As a school-age teacher seeing pre-kindergarteners transfer to kindergarten I see students learn to work with other students, explore their curiosities and also learn school classroom culture.
I see the direct benefits that students from different backgrounds have when they are in a classroom environment.
Most of all I see how students thrive as they learn ways that they can't simply learn at home.
Please accept the funds.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Olga Wilson followed by Melinda Flores and Valerie Cooper.
Good afternoon everyone.
My name is Olga Wilson.
I'm a parent and volunteering in the belly gutter.
And I was in the pre-scholar last year.
I volunteered with the 20 pre-scholars.
And I'm very proud of all the pre-scholars because they are all smart and very curious.
And they learn a lot and very excited to be soon to be kindergarten and also I am very observed for all the kids that they have jumpstart over there and then they love the jumpstart to see all the teacher that from the Chattelieu and also we need preschoolers to continue that because mostly of the residents that relocation is back to that area in our neighborhood.
I live also in the Yesler and mostly of the parents there some of the family come back again in that area.
And we really need the preschooler there because most of the family that before they come to the other places to places and Billy Gutzer is the right area that we need that we need that school that have a preschool.
And thank you very much.
Thank you.
Melinda Flores followed by Valerie Cooper and Oscar Overland.
Hi my name is Melinda Flores.
I apologize I did not come with a scripted testimony today or attestation but I am a family connectors graduate.
I am also a strengthening families facilitator and more so and above all I am a proud Bailey Gatzert preschooler parent.
I truly I am all about providing positive feedback and support of this program because firsthand I've seen my son grow into a global citizen and that begins with a good foundation and that was provided through the preschool opportunity such as Bailey Gatzert.
We have existing buildings, existing spaces to utilize so I don't understand why it's an issue to continue this program for the upcoming years and for the future.
because it would be wasted space.
We have a great support team there that helps the social skills and the basics of a sound education.
And you know people can say well that can start at home but reinforcing it even at such an early age it really helps shape our future generation.
And I feel proud.
My family is also a military family so we move around a lot.
We chose Seattle as our home base after retiring and we couldn't choose a better place than Bailey Gatzert and God is my witness we are truly blessed that that preschool came into play because as you know there is a lot of social barriers.
Social barriers for the parents, social barriers for the students and the preschool gave us an opportunity to minimize some of those social barriers.
So I hope you as policymakers as voters as the board make that positive decision and support all of these three classrooms.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Valerie Cooper followed by Oscar Overland and Nina Sunston.
I am Valerie Cooper the mom of a first grader at Lawton Elementary and I also represent over 100 Lawton parents who signed a petition letter addressed to the school board which each of you now have a copy of.
We ask for your assistance for the overcrowded first grade at Lawton Elementary for this school year and beyond.
Many of the classes at Lawton which is also an access school exceeded the teacher contract maximums for Seattle Public Schools.
But a particular challenge last year was Lawton's three kindergarten classes which totaled 27 to 28 students each.
This cohort represented the largest classes in the school.
A fact missed at the school board only looks at the average Lawton class size.
As parents we hope for an opportunity to provide our children an education that meets each child's needs.
Differentiated teaching is very difficult with current class sizes.
The highest achievers aren't challenged, the lowest achievers don't get the help they need and the kids in the middle get lost in the shuffle.
Last year's kindergarten enrollment substantially exceeded projected numbers and we have every reason to expect that this bulge will continue into this year.
We believe these students deserve the opportunity to have more individualized attention, more support and a safe school experience.
We also support our terrific teachers and believe they should not have to teach in overcrowded classrooms.
The Magnolia neighborhood continues to be a high growth area.
We must be prepared to address the current and future growth of this neighborhood for both elementary and middle school success.
Accordingly we want Lawton to be prepared with the resources to address the needs for the school as a whole and particularly this cohort before school begins in the fall.
At a minimum we urge the district to increase funding for Lawton and all other district schools with similar situations for the 2015-2016 school year to make it possible to hire additional teachers, aides, support services and significantly reduce all class sizes particularly our overwhelmed incoming first grade class.
It's critical that Lawton and other schools would not have to divert funds from vital resources and existing programs in order to address class size.
The ultimate question is how large will we let our elementary classes get?
Are 28, 30, 33 students too many?
Thank you.
Thank you.
All right next is Oscar Overland followed by Nina Sunsten and then we will go back and have Dawn Alexander who arrived and is here now and that would bring us to 25 if all those people are here.
Thank you.
I'm Oscar Overland.
I can stand here and talk your ear off about how Ida B. Wells gave me a college-level education, gave my fellow students a college-level education, liberated our minds, and took us off a path towards prison.
But I really don't think that that story has a place here.
I'm not convinced that that can be heard here or it has an effect.
One thing I did learn at Ida B. Wells is that dialogue is more effective than lecturing.
So I just don't want to make this one-sided.
I have one question.
and that is when are you going to be transparent about the decision to remove Mr. Igor from the I.B.
Wells Middle College.
I want to know the date and my class wants to know the date.
Class of 2007 and the past 18 classes who have graduated there have a right to know when.
So the format here is public testimony.
That's all right I'm going to use my remaining minute just to think about that.
We can use the remaining 30 seconds to reflect on the work that Mr. Igor had on our community, had on my class, class of 2015, the biggest class that graduated, and how that work will be dearly missed.
And it's really disgraceful that that's going to be gone.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Nina Sunsten followed by Don Alexander.
Ms. Sunsten here.
All right.
So next we will have Don Alexander and as he's making his way to the podium I will look at the first speaker on the wait list and assuming that Ms. Sunsten doesn't arrive before Mr. Alexander's finished we will go to Martin Friedman.
We're born in Don Alexander here.
Several years ago, I was a member of a wedding party.
Best man.
And it was giving at this large, ornate, edificious church.
And Southern California, when it rains, it's a rare, it's a rare thing.
And I'm out in the rain.
knocking on the church door.
I hadn't been to church in so confounded long.
I didn't know you could just walk in.
I forgot you could.
And I was knocking.
And one of all people that answered the door was the priest himself.
And he said, why were you knocking?
I didn't know not to.
I didn't know not to knock.
These kids in this school district, Seattle School District, don't, a hell of a lot of them, don't have a clue what the hell they're in a classroom for.
And when you ask them why they're here, they say, because my mama sent me, or I was made to come.
But I was made to come.
I guess that would be what would follow.
And I'm amazed that in an educational setting, an organization influenced or at least hopefully totally influenced by education or the need for it.
And the same thing these youngsters, these kids go to school, get up in the morning or whatever they do to get to the school, and they can't get in.
The reason they can't get in is because some dumb ass official told them they were suspended.
Now, I'm amazed at this simply because if that is what the child is there for, because when I was a kid, suspension meant that I had a vacation.
So I didn't mind being suspended.
In fact, I did things to get suspended.
And I know that still happens.
Please conclude your remarks.
OK, but when you folks don't address these issues, my children, your children, are smarter than you are or smarter than you think they are.
They know how to egg you on to get a suspension.
Don't don't allow them to outsmart you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
All right.
Is Mr. Martin Friedman here in the room.
Looks like no.
So we will go to the next person on the waitlist Nicole Gunther.
We have a taker.
There we go.
This is speaker number 25.
Thank you.
I want to share with you my observations as a community partner at the UW serving Ida B. Wells School for Social Justice for the last five years.
I've been involved since 2010. Science math teacher Mr. Rogelio Rigor has been a mentor to me in my growth as a compassionate and equity minded educator so I was really alarmed to hear of his removal from the school and the implications for the Ida B. Wells community.
Students often enter Ida B. Wells disengaged, frustrated, not having been served by our system effectively.
And the Ida B. Wells culture of high expectations and holistic support is carefully crafted by Mr. Regor and Ms. Thompson, the two teachers of the school.
They give students the opportunity and space to re-envision themselves as scholars.
Mr. Agour weaves social justice and anti-oppression curriculum frameworks into his curriculum in a way that really awakens students.
That's the verb that they use in their graduation every year when they speak about their transformation in this community.
And removing Mr. Agour from the Wells School disrupts this transformative culture that he's crafted with intentionality for 18 years.
It also disrupts the dozens of longstanding relationships that are intergenerational and trusting that Mr. Agour has with professors, advisors, administrators at the UW, myself included, and in the Seattle community and within the 18 years of alumni that he knows and networks with.
And so I urge you to listen to the passionate and angry voices that you are hearing from current students and alumni who are protesting this action.
They're striving to protect their community in their school.
The school that has been life changing and often life saving for many of these students.
And you'll remember that they testified in June and July to this effect.
And so in this family of Ida B. Wells, Mr. Agor really fills this essential role of a parent and his removal is devastating to this community.
So thank you for listening and for your thoughtful reconsideration.
Thank you.
So that concludes our public testimony for this evening and we will now move on to board comments.
So I will look to my left and right to see if I have anyone that would like to lead off.
Director Blanford.
I was pleased to see the video from the Eagle Staff family in particular and was struck by how Robert Eagle Staff, how he was able to capture the American dream, how he participated in the American dream and something that his brother said at the end of the presentation, he was thanking us but I think we need to thank him for his leadership.
And I'm so pleased to have the opportunity to name the school after Robert Eagle Staff.
I also wanted to thank several of the staff at Rainier scholars who were presenting and Diallo particularly the student who was able to share with us his aspirations, his long journey in education and his aspirations to go on to, he told me that Stanford was his first choice and so I'm rooting Hardly for him to get there.
I also wanted to thank after hearing the superintendent I wanted to thank the teachers and principals and particularly the students and parents of our schools who participated in attending classes last year and doing well in school and taking their tests and in doing far better than some of the naysayers out there who were projecting that they wouldn't do well on the tests.
The common core standards are much more rigorous and are designed to prepare them to be successful in the 21st century environment and so whereas we still have a lot of work to get that proficiency rate up it was heartening to hear that our students and our parents and our teachers and administrators did far better than expected.
I have a community meeting that is, I don't have one in September because the location was not, I was not able to secure it, but I have one early in October on October 3rd at 2.30 until 4 and that will be at the Douglas Truth library.
And then finally I want to before too many of the folks who are in attendance today leave I want to just note the fact that this is probably the most diverse audience that I've seen since I've been a school board director.
here at the outset and I want to thank all of you who came to testify today.
One of my frustrations as a school board director and as a scholar of race and social justice and equity is that all too frequently we don't have the people who are most affected by the policies that we implement actually here to provide feedback and input to us so that we make wise decisions and so it is very heartening to be in a room that is very full of lots of faces and particularly those parents whose children stand to benefit from the from our vote later today around the SPP program.
I'm proud to be a school board director of a community that is diverse as it is and to see that type of representation here in this room today.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Others.
Anyone would like to go next.
Director McLaren.
So I appreciate Director Blanford's comments.
He pointed out some important people and ideas that we need to honor.
And I also do want to add a word about Robert Eagle Staff and to say what a privilege I find it to be and I'm sure we all do to have the opportunity to celebrate him and his legacy by naming the school after him.
I look forward to supporting and promoting his legacy and the values that he embodied.
And one more bit about the Rainier scholars, it is very heartening to know about their success and I also want to thank our leaders, Shawna Heath and Stephen Martin.
for their leadership in making sure that we made good, that we're starting to make good our intention to really extend advanced learning opportunities in the most aggressive way to students who have been underrepresented in the past.
So thank you for that.
I have a community meeting on Saturday, this coming Saturday from 10 to 12 at the Southwest branch library.
And I also before in case a lot of you are going to leave I want to, I'm going to save most of my comments about the Seattle preschool program which I strongly support for the discussion about the agreement.
But I do want to just mention for the record a couple of things.
That Seattle Public Schools and the city of Seattle have an extensive history of working together to support our students.
Our family and education levy partnership began in the 1990s.
And that relationship has evolved to become very fruitful for Seattle students and their families.
And we've also cooperated together for 17 years in the community alignment initiative to provide space and quality monitoring for school-age childcare and pre-k, pre-kindergartens.
Another thing that I want to mention about the Seattle preschool program that doesn't get talked about very much but because I'm a former preschool teacher also a former math teacher I'm really aware of this and that is that pre-kindergarten through 5th grade alignment is a part of integrating pre-K with our elementary schools.
And this is not just a one-way influence of trying to get our preschools to match up better with our K-5 education.
Rather a really important advantage of the Seattle preschool program is that it hopefully will pave the way for child-centered practices to be embraced in K-5 education.
Many of our K-5 principals and educators are already aware that we need to shift our practices for the benefit of our students.
Parents and community members need to know this as well.
In education research it's been repeatedly demonstrated that all the tenets of preschool education focus on relationships, attention to children's social and emotional development, opportunities for positive social interaction, play and creative expression.
These are vital to students all the way through to 5th grade and in fact of course through to 12th grade.
So the presence of the Seattle preschool program in our communities is going to facilitate Seattle Public Schools ability to embed these essential practices into our curricula and that's going to be a positive for all of our students.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Director Peters.
Well hello everybody and welcome back to the school year I suppose.
First of all I would like to thank the family of Robert Eagle Staff for the presentation they brought to us to give us some context about the family history and I'm happy to be able to honor his legacy by naming the school after him and I'm glad we were able to do that.
I also want to wish the best of luck to Dialo Wilson, he was a student here, a Garfield senior who is also a Rainier scholar.
I wanted to wish him all the best in his senior year and with his college goals.
And you know it's a wonderful program.
It's great to hear that we're having success in helping to identify students who have been underrepresented in our advanced learning programs and the Rainier scholars is helping us to do that.
So that's wonderful news.
Another point that Diallo brought up was the value of counselors in his success as a student.
That is something that Rainier Scholars brings and it is something that I think we as a district should also be focusing on.
I know in the past because of budget cuts we've had to cut back on our counselors.
All sorts of research shows and common sense shows that that is a valuable part of our school communities and that is something that we should be investing in.
So that was another good reminder of the value of counselors.
Regarding the preschool we will discuss that in more length later.
I do want to say that no matter what there's going to be between 7 and 10 city preschool programs in Seattle schools in this coming year.
So the only thing that's being questioned is how many and how it's going to be paid for and the payment is really a big issue and I will go into that a little bit later.
Not at question at all is the value of doing this.
None of us are opposed to that.
It's how we do it and how we do it in a way that doesn't put at risk district resources and doesn't create any kind of clash in terms of our capacity needs.
But we'll talk more about that later on.
Let's see the resolution concerning school suspensions I am looking forward to being able to support that.
We are going to be discussing it and then it will come back to us for a vote next month.
Very important work.
And I thank Director Martin Morris for bringing that to us.
And I'm excited about what the implications of that are for all sorts of issues have to do with disproportionality and just our attitudes towards children especially our younger children and how we understand their behavior and how we try to support them more in general.
I want to give a shout out for a program that the district offers during the summer that perhaps not everyone knows about and that's a summer music program.
It offers classes to students in band and orchestra.
I think there's about three or four weeks worth.
with some of our finest music teachers and it culminates in a concert.
Hundreds of students participate in it.
My own child participated this year and it's a wonderfully valuable activity that the district offers during the summer.
So while some people are taking a break there's still a lot of great things going on in the district.
Finally, I have a community meeting this Saturday from 11 a.m.
to 1 at the Queen Anne library and as always anyone is welcome to come and stop by and I always love hearing from students as well.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Director Patu.
I want to say thank you to the Bob Ixta family for the really heartfelt video of thanks.
Well it's actually well deserved.
And I also want to say congratulations to the Rainier Scholars for continuing to provide our students of color opportunity to go on to college.
We have no community meeting for August since I have meetings all year round I decided to not have a meeting for this month of August.
Meeting will continue in September.
Usually I have a community meeting at the last Saturday of the month and have a cafe Vita at Seward Park and anyone who likes to come.
You're all welcome.
I also want to say thank you to all those who spoke on behalf of preschool because I too know how important it is for our children to get that head started education.
I know that because I had five kids and I realized that if they did not go to preschool none of them would have been able to graduate from college.
I absolutely support Martin Morris's resolution.
It's something that we've talked about for years and I have to give him.
A lot of respect for actually for coming up with the resolution and looking forward to a vote for it.
Also I would like to give a shout out to Ed Hoskins for a new title as the National Federation of State High School Association and a shout out to Eric McCurdy for actually being the VP for the also for the executive board for WEA Washington Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
Positions well deserved and hopefully that we can have a better year.
I know we're going into a new school year and looking forward to a great year this year and hoping that we can all be able to work together for the betterment of all our kids.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Any others.
Director Peasley.
If the Eagle Staff family is still watching, first of all I just want to thank you so much for the video.
It really made it possible for us to connect with you and I was struck by the comment that Bob's brother made wondering what kind of an impact he would have had on the school district there.
on your reservation.
We, many of us wonder what kind of an impact he would have had on Seattle Public Schools if he had been with us longer.
And it is of course just a great tragedy that he had such a short time with us but he gave us a vision of possibilities that we still have not lived up to.
And so as we talk about equity and closing achievement gaps.
We need to look at what Robert Eagle Staff did and how he did it and what we can possibly do to fulfill his dream and his aspiration for native students and other students who went to that school.
So I just want A state that I think that we need to go beyond naming a school after him.
We need to really examine what he did and see what we need to do to make that a living reality, not a past reality.
I'd also like to say that we will be having our first school board retreat on Saturday September 14th I believe.
And at that time we will be discussing the resolution that Director Martin Morris wrote.
And we will be discussing it within the context of all of the efforts that we are making to To bridge achievement gaps, opportunity gaps and to eliminate disproportionality.
The reason it was delayed is because it requires a great deal of work.
And so we need to examine it within the broader context of the work that we are already doing and the work that the board agrees upon as our priorities for the coming year.
So there is no lack of support for the resolution.
We just need to look at how to make it happen.
12th of September is our board retreat.
As far as the vote on Seattle preschool it's item number five on our action items.
I hope you will stick around.
I do appreciate the testimony it was very robust.
I really appreciate the points of views that you brought in your testimony on that issue I'm sure the discussion will be worth the wait if you can stick around.
So thank you.
Thank you.
So I'll make some comments and then we will take a short break because we are just right now we're about two hours in.
I wanted to start first by saying thank you to all of you that came down here to speak in person.
As was noted it's a delight to see such a diverse group here in front of us and speaking on such important topics.
So thank you.
And I also wanted to I can't say it any better than Director Blanford did but his remarks about the acknowledgement and the thanks to our our educators our students for the results that we saw on the SBAC tests.
I think that is a testament to how hard everyone is working and I think they were all to be congratulated.
I know that as we start digging into the details there's going to be a lot of things that will provide us evidence that we need to go work but this is that moment where we really need to stop and say thank you to everyone for everything they've accomplished.
I also wanted to thank the staff here in this building and in our schools the administrators.
They're working really hard to get ready for the start of school.
And so just acknowledging all of the work that is going on over the summer months.
Well I'm a little bit ignoring my phone and and having an opportunity to get a little bit of a break.
They're still hard at work.
So thank you to all of you.
I also wanted to again I'm not going to repeat the comments made about the video but extend my thanks to the Eagle Staff family for the video.
I found it to be very touching and it was I appreciated the opportunity to hear it and I will let them know if they're still watching and all of you that I've lived near that building for over 30 years.
I'm maybe three quarters of a mile away.
drive by there all the time so I'm supervising construction and activities very closely as Dr. Herndon well knows because he gets all the 7 a.m.
phone calls on my way to work when I see something and I want to know what's going on so looking forward to the opportunity to welcome that school online under his name when that time comes.
And just lastly I have a community meeting the day of the retreat but it will be before the retreat.
I start early at 830 I'll go till 10. I may have to cut it a little bit short in order to make it down here but I'm in a new location at the Hearthstone.
Parking can be a little tricky.
Plan ahead.
I'm very grateful to them for hosting me and look forward to any of you that would like to join me on the 12th.
And with that why don't we take a 10 minute break.
Is it really quick?
Okay.
I'll let Director Peters go.
It's got to be really quick though.
I just wanted to say that I wanted to acknowledge the speaker from the Lawton Elementary School regarding capacity issues over in Lawton.
And I have brought that to the attention of Superintendent Nyland and Dr. Herndon.
It is very much an issue that I'm aware of and we are trying to address.
We will be bringing Magnolia Elementary online.
Of course that won't be for a couple more years.
And so thank you for testifying about that important issue today.
Thank you.
Thank you.
So the clock here in the auditorium says 617 I know it's not the same thing on all of our computers but we'll go by the clock on the wall and we'll rejoin in 10 minutes so it's 627.