Tag Archives: Seattle Public Schools

Features

Ballard Students of Color Say $10K Ad in the Seattle Times Makes Them Feel Less Safe

1 Comment

by Ari Robin McKenna

Students of Color who attend Ballard High School (BHS) say they felt less safe at school after an ad hoc group called “Friends of Keven Wynkoop” ran a full-page ad in the Sunday Seattle Times in February calling on the district to reinstate the former BHS principal. Wynkoop had been put on paid administrative leave after the district found he had retaliated against a student.

The ad, which cost $9,850, suggests that their concerns about Wynkoop’s treatment of Students of Color have been dismissed, six Students of Color told the Emerald.

Continue reading Ballard Students of Color Say $10K Ad in the Seattle Times Makes Them Feel Less Safe →
News

Starting Monday, March 14, Masks Will Be Optional in Seattle Public Schools

by Ben Adlin

Nearly two years after the pandemic began, Seattle Public Schools has announced that masks will become optional across the district beginning Monday, March 14. The change comes after Washington’s statewide indoor masking mandate ended at midnight Friday.

In preparation for the statewide change, the State Department of Health updated its COVID-19 guidance for schools last week, advising that masks should be among a set of “optional prevention measures.” Seattle and King County health officials have issued similar guidance, saying they follow the lead of the State Health Department.

Continue reading Starting Monday, March 14, Masks Will Be Optional in Seattle Public Schools →
Community

How SPS’ Equity Tiers Are Used to Address Educational Debt

2 Comments

by Ari Robin McKenna

There has been a series of historically cascading phrases to describe racial inequity in public school systems nationwide. “Achievement gap” was preferred for a while — but that phrase was inseparable from standardized tests proven both to consistently favor white students and to delineate “achievement” that actually just mirrored the family income levels of test takers. Then, “opportunity gap” began to replace it, but reeked of well-meaning na​​ïveté. The phrase leaves room for the “gap” to have been arbitrarily created, and for a deficit perspective to persist about Communities of Color, when structural racism impacting educational opportunity is well-documented nationwide. Lately, the phrase “education debt” has gained traction, and puts the onus squarely on school districts to actively address past disparity.

Continue reading How SPS’ Equity Tiers Are Used to Address Educational Debt →
Community

The Morning Update Show — 2/15

The Morning Update Show — hosted by Trae Holiday and The Big O (Omari Salisbury) — is the only weekday news and information livestream that delivers culturally relevant content to the Pacific Northwest’s urban audience. Omari and Trae analyze the day’s local and national headlines as well as melanin magic in our community. Watch live every weekday at 11 a.m. on any of the following channels, hosted by Converge Media: YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, Periscope, and whereweconverge.com.

We also post the Morning Update Show here on the Emerald each day after it airs, so you can catch up any time of day while you peruse our latest posts.

Morning Update Show — Tuesday, Feb. 15

LIVE — School Board President Hersey | Update on Seattle Public Schools | LIVE — Queen Bri of Rainier Avenue Radio | Black History Month Events

Continue reading The Morning Update Show — 2/15 →
News

Help! What’s on the Ballot for Next Week’s Election?

by Ben Adlin

If you were caught off guard when you received your ballot last month, you’re not alone — by today’s standards, the buzz around the State’s special election next Tuesday, Feb. 8, has been mellow. But if you care at all about schools (or taxes), it’s time to tear open that envelope and get going on your civic duty.

Continue reading Help! What’s on the Ballot for Next Week’s Election? →
Voices

OPINION: Vote ‘YES’ for Seattle Schools by February 8

by Vallerie Fisher

Seattle voters have another decision to make this year — and this one should be a no-brainer! Seattle Public Schools (SPS) has two critical levies on the ballot and as a South Seattle educator, I urge you to vote “YES” by Feb. 8.

These levies are voted on for renewal every three years — most recently in 2019. Seattle voters have supported these levies year after year because our students rely on this funding for everything from textbooks to after-school programs. These levies are an investment in our children’s future and well-being.

Continue reading OPINION: Vote ‘YES’ for Seattle Schools by February 8 →
Community

PHOTO ESSAY: Student Voices, Demands From Last Friday’s COVID-19 Walkout

by Ari Robin McKenna, photos by Chloe Collyer

Recently, in Mx. Sam Cristol’s ethnic studies class at Cleveland STEM High School, students were discussing the effects of COVID-19 in Seattle. “We started with the idea of all of us being frustrated with the way that these issues are being handled — and not handled, for that matter,” said student organizer Nya Spivey, “and then we were like, well … what as students can we do?” Spivey and classmates Mia Dabney and Ava May decided they could do something, and so they did.

Continue reading PHOTO ESSAY: Student Voices, Demands From Last Friday’s COVID-19 Walkout →
News

Western WA’s COVID Cases Level Off, Hospitals Brace for Surge, More Masks and Tests Available

by Sally James

Washington’s medical officials are bracing for the next few weeks in the latest surge of the COVID-19 pandemic. But they also offered a glimmer of good news at their Wednesday, Jan. 19, media event. 

“The next several weeks will be very difficult,” said Umair Shah, M.D., M.P.H., secretary of health of the Washington State Department of Public Health (DOH). Even though case counts have leveled off in most of Western Washington, they are still rising in Eastern Washington. Hospitals are struggling with too many patients and barely enough room or staff to care for them properly. Gov. Jay Inslee has sent National Guard personnel to help several state hospitals. 

Continue reading Western WA’s COVID Cases Level Off, Hospitals Brace for Surge, More Masks and Tests Available →
News

Why School Was Cancelled at Kimball Elementary for the Past Three Days

by Ari Robin McKenna

When Seattle Public Schools’ (SPS) mass COVID-19 screening flagged seven of their coworkers last Monday, Kimball Elementary School staff knew they were in for a week. A tight-knit group who has a strong relationship with their Parents, Teachers, and Students Association (PTSA), Kimball’s staff braced themselves.

As the week progressed, Kimball — in Southeast Seattle and serving 75% students of color — was without one Instructional Assistant (IA) after another, as well as multiple teachers and an administrator. By the end of the week, Kimball was short six IAs. School staffs across Seattle have been worn down by factors including a national substitute teacher shortage, the challenges teaching students returning to in-person school after a such long break, and unrealistic pressure to “catch up.” Yet while the entire system is in crisis, throughout last week, Kimball staff approached its actual breaking point.

Kimball Music Teacher and Seattle Education Association (SEA) Union Rep KT Raschko, described staffs’ still-determined ethos in the hallways of the Van Asselt building, where Kimball is housed while its new building is constructed:

Continue reading Why School Was Cancelled at Kimball Elementary for the Past Three Days →
Voices

OPINION: Fighting a Hostile Learning Environment Within Seattle Public Schools

by Emi Ponce de Souza with An-Lon Chen

Just over a year ago, my son Eric Anthony Souza-Ponce, then a high school senior, filed a formal complaint against Ballard High School. Over the course of a semester, English teacher Wendy Olsen had perpetrated negative racial stereotypes and Principal Keven Wynkoop had shielded her from responsibility. We hope that detailing our family’s experience will help make the complaint process easier for fellow Seattle Public Schools (SPS) students and their families to navigate.

Our case took ten months from beginning to end. Several weeks after The Seattle Times ran an article about the district’s findings, at least two other families filed complaints. Shortly after those complaints were filed, the district placed Principal Wynkoop on administrative leave without specifying its reasons.

This was an important step, but only a partial one. Wendy Olsen continues to teach at Ballard High. Acting Principal Dr. Joseph Williams III, a Black man, faces an uphill battle in trying to change an entrenched culture. Perhaps most glaringly, none of the district’s determinations addressed the issue of race. Trying to prove a school-wide history of racial microaggressions was like nailing Jell-O to the wall.

Continue reading OPINION: Fighting a Hostile Learning Environment Within Seattle Public Schools →