by Mark Epstein and Michael Dixon
“In the course of history, there comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness, to reach a higher moral ground. A time when we have to shed our fear and give hope to each other. That time is now.” —Wangari Maathai
Continue reading OPINION | Using SPS Budget, We Must Support Studentsby Ronnie Estoque
Last October, the Emerald reported on a celebration held at Hood Famous for the launching of Filipinx American U.S. History courses in Seattle Public Schools (SPS). But now, following its first academic year as a course, community members are concerned about the future of its development amid a $131 million budget deficit in the district. Tianna Andresen currently teaches the course and is worried about its future.
Continue reading Future of Filipinx History and Ethnic Studies in Limbo Amid SPS Budget Deficitby Misha Werschkul
Public schools are foundational to community well-being, and I’m proud to be a public school parent. Over the past few weeks, I have loved seeing my daughter — along with thousands of students at more than a dozen schools — participate in the Move-A-Thon fundraiser with the Southeast Seattle Schools Fundraising Alliance. Her fundraising pitch focused on how much she loves her teachers and how fun it was to do all the activities on the Move-A-Thon bingo board.
Continue reading OPINION | Capital Gains Tax Decision Is a Huge Win for Our Kidsby Shamaar Thomas
On March 20, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) hosted an online event presenting information about its projected budget deficit for the 2023-2024 school year. SPS described the district’s finances and established the concept of “well-resourced schools,” but postponed providing information about staff and future school building plans until its “Community Engagement for Future Changes” engagement period begins in September. For South Seattle’s Franklin High School, concerns are growing over staff and programming cuts because of this deficit. Although SPS announced that there will be no school closures for the 2023-2024 academic year, Franklin High School still has concerns about where resources are being allocated, teachers said.
Continue reading Franklin High School Starts Teach-Ins in Response to Largest SPS Budget Deficit in Years: ‘It’s Crunch Time’curated by Vee Hua 華婷婷
by Lauryn Bray
Coming Into the Light: An Examination of Restraint and Isolation Practices in Washington Schools is a recent report published by ACLU of Washington and Disability Rights Washington (DRW) detailing findings that school districts throughout Washington State frequently utilize restraint and isolation tactics as disciplinary practices. The report identifies Black students, students with disabilities, and students in foster care as demographics disproportionately affected by these practices. State law says that incidents of restraint are permitted only in the event of an emergency in which the student is at imminent risk of inflicting serious physical harm to themselves or to another student, while isolation is banned entirely. While, according to the report, incidents of restraint and isolation remain prevalent throughout the state, lawyer Andrea Kadlec says there is misunderstanding around what exactly constitutes restraint and isolation.
Continue reading Black, Disabled, and Foster Students Most Likely to Be Isolated or Restrained in Washington Schoolscurated by Vee Hua 華婷婷
by Ronnie Estoque
On Feb. 8, members of the Seattle Student Union and the Seattle Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators gathered at the John Stanford Center during a Seattle Public School Board meeting advocating Black Lives Matter at School demands that include the implementation of restorative justice and ending zero-tolerance discipline, the hiring of more Black teachers, the requirement of both Black history/ethnic studies curriculum for K–12, and funding additional counselors while permanently banning police in schools.
Continue reading Students and Teachers Demand Funding for Ethnic Studies and Counselors, and a Permanent Ban of Police in Schoolsby Krista Hanson
I learned they existed just weeks before we met. I attended a meeting to create something called an Individualized Education Plan — the IEP, they called it, rolling it out like a one-syllable word. My son’s IEP detailed the minutes per week he would have with school-based therapists. I was a child who moved through schools without ever meeting these people, so I had no idea how central to my son’s experience of school they would become.
Continue reading OPINION | Love for the People at Seattle Public Schools You’ve Probably Never Heard Ofcurated by Vee Hua 華婷婷
Content Warning: This article discusses youth suicide.
