Category Archives: Seattle

Thank you, Eden Mack, for your Dedicated Service to Seattle’s Public Schools & Families — SPS Dysfunction Must be Addressed

public education, Seattle, Seattle School Board, Uncategorized, ,

The Seattle School Board has lost one of its most dedicated and best directors, with the announcement of the resignation of District IV Director Eden Mack last week. (Her full statement can be found in the report by KUOW.)

Today at 3:30 pm, at their regular board meeting, the remaining members of the Seattle School Board will address this new vacancy. I sincerely hope they take the time tonight to both recognize and applaud Director Mack’s service and begin to address the serious issues that compelled her to leave 10 months shy of the end of her term.

I agree with Eden’s sentiments that the dysfunction that plagues the Seattle School District, the largest in the state, is deeply entrenched and must be addressed if this district is ever to properly serve the 50,000-plus students in its care. Until that happens, Seattle Public Schools will continue to lose dedicated directors like Eden Mack, and students and families will continue to suffer or endure rather than thrive.

I thank Eden for her intelligence, grace and integrity in a very difficult, underappreciated and under-resourced job, and wish her well in her next endeavor. I knew she would be a wonderful addition to the board when she took over my seat in 2017, and I know she will be hard to replace.

https://i0.wp.com/nwasianweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/ETHNIC-Eden-Mick_DSC9105.jpg?resize=1024%2C680

I agree with her sentiments in her resignation letter that the problems that plagued SPS are deep and urgently need to be addressed if this, the largest district in the state, is ever to fulfill its obligation to truly serve the 50,000-plus students in Seattle’s public schools.

New study shows — Seattle’s switch to later school start times for adolescents is making a positive difference

Education policy, public education, Seattle, Seattle School Board, , , , , ,

A newly published study by professors at the University of Washington shows that the Seattle School District’s recent change to a later school start time for its adolescent students has had positive impacts.

“Sleepmore in Seattle: Later school start times are associated with more sleep and better performance in high school students,” was published in Science Advances magazine Dec. 12, 2018, by authors Gideon P. Dunster, Luciano de la Iglesia, Miriam Ben-Hamo, Claire Nave, Jason G. Fleischer, Satchidananda Panda and Horacio O. de la Iglesia. According to their abstract:

Most teenagers are chronically sleep deprived. One strategy proposed to lengthen adolescent sleep is to delay secondary school start times. This would allow students to wake up later without shifting their bedtime, which is biologically determined by the circadian clock, resulting in a net increase in sleep. So far, there is no objective quantitative data showing that a single intervention such as delaying the school start time significantly increases daily sleep. The Seattle School District delayed the secondary school start time by nearly an hour. We carried out a pre-/post-research study and show that there was an increase in the daily median sleep duration of 34 min, associated with a 4.5% increase in the median grades of the students and an improvement in attendance.

The study also made national news. NPR, CBS and locally, the Seattle Times, covered the story:

Later School Start Times Really Do Work To Help Teens Get More Sleep : Shots – Health News : NPR

No, teenagers are not lazy for sleeping in — and a new Seattle school policy is helping them get the shut-eye they need | The Seattle Times

I’m proud to have been a member of the Seattle School Board that shepherded this through,  as an advocate from the start, and finally, as a member of the 6-1 majority that passed it. Bell times were an ongoing topic the entire time I was on the Board (2013-17). After many delays, this change was finally implemented in Sept. 2016.

Much credit goes to the community members — parents, teachers, medical professionals and others — who tirelessly advocated for this sensible change for a number of years. That includes parents and teachers like Dianne Casper, Cindy Jatul and others.

If more school districts focused on common-sense practices and policies like this, which address the fundamental needs of students, rather than constantly looking for and wasting resources on the latest silver-bullet solution or reform trend from outside interests that stand to make a profit from public education, students would be better served.

Seattle is a national leader on this front. Hopefully other districts will follow suit.

— Sue Peters

(Note: I meant to post this last month. Apologies for the delay. Happy New Year!)

Open Letter to The Stranger about Its Erratic Endorsements — and Why It Should Endorse Maralyn Chase for State Senate

Election 2018, government, journalism, public education, Seattle, The Resistance, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dear Stranger Election Control Board,

So let’s see if I’ve got this right:  In your cheat sheet for the August primary election, you said a candidate (Shoreline City Councilman Jesse Salomon) “****-ing sucks” (..) “We can’t even pretend he was any good.”– but you endorsed him anyway?

Over a candidate (State Senator Maralyn Chase) who has a longstanding history of strong progressive principles, votes and positions that you yourselves have historically supported?

You feebly endorsed a city councilmember (Salomon) for state senate because he said he hypothetically would have voted for a health care bill if he were in state office, and you vilified the sitting senator (Chase) who actually co-sponsored the bill in question—and incorrectly accuse her of not supporting the bill?

And you, who pride yourselves on being rude and obnoxious, cry foul when a candidate calls you “rude”?

What gives?

The August primary ended in basically a tie between Chase and Salomon, with less than 200 votes between them, Salomon finishing ahead. There’s clearly a battle afoot. And now, with your general election endorsements this week, you have continued your erratic attacks on Chase and your illogical support of her opponent, leaving many of us wondering: Whose side are you on?

State Senator Maralyn Chase, longtime champion of progressive causes and underdogs. Not afraid to stand up to the powers that be, including the Stranger Ed Board…!

The Stranger has been an edgy alternative voice in this (Boeing/Microsoft/Gates/ Starbucks/Vulcan/Amazon) company town for many years. I genuinely appreciate that. In the past, you have taken brave stances and covered important stories with some damn good writers (though you’ve also lost some along the way). You endorsed Kshama Sawant in 2013 (and me that same year — thank you for that). But lately, when it comes to endorsements, too often you’ve gotten it wrong. Obnoxiously, dangerously wrong.

Your treatment of Maralyn Chase is a case in point.

There was something rabidly irrational about your attack on Senator Chase in the primary election, especially considering you endorsed her in the past. Your backhanded endorsement of her opponent is equally senseless.

The truth is, Chase has been actively championing progressive causes and policies throughout her many years of public service, collaborating with colleagues as well as leading (by introducing a health care initiative  inspired by the one in California, for example), or yes, taking a principled stand against a large transportation tax that had a lot of questions surrounding it. She has consistently been a staunch supporter of progressive issues like: affordable health care, public education, workers’ rights, fair taxes, LGBTQ rights, social justice, protecting the environment, affordable housing, economic equality, job creation, fair wages. She led the effort to mandate GMO labeling and was not afraid to take on Monsanto’s millions.

These are all issues The Stranger has championed as well. Or used to. Has something changed?

Let’s start with your primary endorsement claim about Chase’s record on single-payer health care. You incorrectly accused Chase of not supporting a bill. You wrote: “Instead of joining on with Senator David Frockt’s better single-payer bill, Chase copied California’s failed version of the bill and then went straight to the Seattle Times with the news that she wanted to bring single-payer to Washington State.”

You were wrong. Not only did Chase “join on” with Frockt’s Bill, she co-sponsored it (as recorded on the WA State Legislative site) and co-sponsored the version that preceded it by then-Senator Jeanne Kohl-Wells. Chase has a long history of supporting and working for a single-payer policy. (See: SB 5701 – 2017-18 – ­­­­Creating the Washington apple care trust. Sponsors: Frockt, Keiser, Chase, Hasegawa, Darneille, Ranker, McCoy, Kuderer, Saldaña, Conway, Hunt )

In fact, just last fall, The Stranger gave Senator Chase credit for her single-payer healthcare bill: “Sen. Maralyn Chase, D-Shoreline, introduced the most ambitious bill, which is based on the California model that failed this summer.” (“We Can Have Single-Payer in Washington by 2020 If We Want It,” Rich Smith, The Stranger, Nov. 2017)

Incidentally, healthcare activists in California are working on getting “Healthy California” signed into law by the next Democratic governor (if elected), followed by Oregon as “Healthy Oregon,” and here as “Healthy Washington,” creating a tri-state system. So Senator Chase may have exactly the foresight we want in our elected officials.

Also, you accused Chase of not single-handedly forcing through bills, when your own reporter noted that even a bill with a coalition of solid support can be stymied or killed by just one vote. Wrote Smith: “None of the single-payer bills made it out of committee in the last legislative session in Olympia. (Sen. David Frockt’s bill came close, but no cigar thanks in part to Sen. Mark Mullet, the only Democrat on the Senate healthcare committee who didn’t vote YES.) This is bad news.”

Policymaking and governing are rarely a solo act. Yet The Stranger accused Chase of both not doing enough single-handedly and not doing enough in collaboration with others. Which is it?

Public Education

Chase has also been a tireless supporter of public education and has worked to protect WA schools from damaging and failed corporate ed reforms. This led some in your comments section to wonder why Saul Spady was newly listed on your primary election endorsements Editorial Board at the same time you took aim at a champion of public ed. In 2004 and since, the Spady family were big backers of a charter schools push by then-Governor Locke (despite voters having rejected charter schools statewide twice), which Chase helped to stave off. And Saul Spady recently headed the effort to repeal the City Council’s short-lived head tax on larger businesses (like Amazon). Was it merely a coincidence that The Stranger suddenly turned on one of the most progressive pro-public ed legislators in the state at the same time it invited a member of a pro-ed-privatizing family onto its Ed Board?

(Side note: I agree with Spady on Prop 1, the City’s nearly tripled $638 million education levy, and recommend that The Stranger also attempt some actual analysis of that proposal before breathlessly endorsing it.)

In 2015, Chase organized with Republican Senator Pam Roach a bipartisan hearing on Common Core State Standards and the Smarter Balanced tests associated with them, demonstrating her willingness to scrutinize one of the biggest ed reforms heavily bankrolled and promoted by local powers that be like Bill Gates (who has spent tens of millions of dollars pushing Common Core nationwide). She was willing to ask difficult questions about a costly and undemocratically imposed initiative whose benefits to students have never been proven. (Full disclosure: I was a panelist at this hearing.)

Public Disclosure & Open Government

Public disclosure is a topic where nearly all the state legislators got it wrong this year –  including Cindy Ryu, Eric Pettigrew and Frank Chopp. Yet The Stranger endorsed all three of them anyway, and only singled out Chase, who cast the same vote they did. How does The Stranger justify that inconsistency?

As a former public official who was subjected to ongoing PRA requests, and as a journalist, I completely disagreed with the lege, as I stated here:  “Gov. Inslee should veto Senate Bill 6617: State legislators should be held to same standard of transparency as all other elected officials.”

And I agree with you that their attempt to modify or clarify the law – an option offered to them by the judge and the state attorney general — did not go far enough to establish true transparency. A taskforce won’t suffice either, and Chase realizes that.

But Chase, who serves on the Sunshine Committee, does have some valid concerns about the abuse of the PRA that can reveal private information of private citizens, and the costs. I have seen the law abused, and private citizens’ emails used politically and without full context, as I outlined in my earlier post from March 2018.

Also, collecting, reviewing and redacting emails carefully takes time and money. At the Seattle School District we had two staffers working full time doing nothing but that.  Confidential info still slipped through. State legislators need to find resources for this significant task, and they need to protect the privacy of their constituents. Both must be done.

ST3

On transportation, Chase’s reservations about the scope and costs of Sound Transit 3 were justified and prescient. They reflected the concerns of many of us who support public transport but found this bill flawed.  As the true costs rolled in after the election, it’s become clear that the backers were not completely honest about the price tag and the revenue source.  Initially sold to the legislature as a $15 billion investment, the scope and price expanded to $54 billion. Voters were not told that their car tabs costs would shoot through the roof. This prompted an investigation. Chase questioned the heavy emphasis on light rail over buses. It was responsible and courageous of Chase to ask the difficult questions despite the pressure of the major corporations and labor forces that funded the initiative.

In fact, there was a time when such a curious corporate/labor alliance would have prompted scrutiny by The Stranger. Likewise Sound Transit’s shenanigans of improperly releasing contact information of nearly 200,000 ORCA card holders to the pro-ST3 campaign (see:  Sound Transit improperly sent 173,000 ORCA card users’ info to political campaign)  and assigning the opposing statement in the Voter’s Guide to lightening rod Tim Eyman. It sure looked like the fix was in.

The Bigger Picture

What I learned from serving in public office for four years (on the school board) and what we see in vivid display on the national stage, is when all is said and done, in order to elect a good legislator, your best bet is to elect a person of good character with a sound moral compass; someone who will side with the powerless and disadvantaged, and stand up to power and corruption; who will take on injustice.  That is Chase’s history.

Now more than ever it is clear that character and values matter. We need people with sound ethics and good judgment in office at all levels of government.

Sometimes some of the work you do in office is fight off bad policy and bad ideas. Sometimes your work is not that visible. Other times a best effort can be thwarted by a highly funded campaign, such as when Senator Chase led the initiative to require labeling of genetically modified foods (GMOs). It was attacked by corporations like the agrochemical conglomerate Monsanto, which spent millions to defeat it — and has now contributed to Jesse Salomon’s campaign.)

Elsewhere in your primary (and general election) endorsements you gave Representative Suzanne DelBene credit for a “symbolic” but failed effort (“While DelBene’s bill was more symbolic than serious (and died in committee), the SECB appreciates deft political symbolism every once in a while.”), yet you don’t grant Chase the same grace. Why not?

Chase is willing to take brave positions that challenge the greater powers that be and isn’t afraid to be a lone voice sometimes. That’s why she has earned the respect and endorsement of fellow progressives like Larry Gossett, Pramila Jayapal, Bob Ferguson, Bob Hasegawa, David Frockt, Gerry Pollet, the King County Democrats, the Washington State Labor Council and the State teacher’s union (WEA).  She has also earned a place in FUSE’s Progressive Voters Guide.

Meanwhile her opponent is running a negative campaign, attacking Chase with multiple mailers, push polls and misleading information (and so far spending over $40,000 of his own money—making himself his own top contributor). Salomon has also been endorsed and funded* by anti-union, education privatizers Stand for Children. (More info here.) This is reminiscent of the heavily financed negative campaign against my candidacy in 2013. There was a time when The Stranger would not side with such tactics or candidates.

(*Late summer, a $1,000 contribution to Salomon’s campaign from Stand for Children appeared  then disappeared a few weeks later from his PDC campaign finance records. The political organization has also made donations of $1,000 or $2,000 to the various other WA State candidates it has endorsed.)

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UPDATE: The Stand for Children PAC has now spent nearly $70,000 to get Jesse Salomon elected and defeat Maralyn Chase.

The corporate ed reform lobbying group has spent:

$37,725.85 in “electioneering communication,” reported on 10/25/18. (See PDC records here.)

$32,250 in polling in the 32nd and 34th legislative districts, reported on 10/15/18. (See PDC records here.) Note, these “services” are listed as “in kind” donations to the WA Realtors PAC. In other words, Stand is apparently laundering its contributions to candidates like Salomon (in the 32nd LD) and Shannon Braddock (in the 34th LD) through the Washington Realtors Association Political Action Committee.

Salomon meanwhile has wiped his PDC record of the $1,000 direct contribution he received from Stand, and has not included their endorsement on his web site, even though he must have actively applied for it in order to receive it.

See Edmonds Education Association Facebook page for more details. –smp. 10/28/18

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Stranger editors: You like to be irreverent. You are provocateurs. I get it. I was working for Salon back when Dan did his Gary Bauer campaign doorknob licking stunt. It was an interesting time. Salon stood by him. (“Stalking Gary Bauer” Salon, 1/25/2000  and “Dan Savage Takes a Licking,” Chicago Reader, 2/10/2000). You call yourself “Seattle’s only newspaper.” Yet you’re starting to be as fact-challenged and irrational as the other paper in town can be.

Unfortunately, your endorsement of Salomon over Chase is just one of the latest Stranger misfires.

You had nothing good to say about Chopp or Pettigrew yet you still endorsed them both. Neither has the progressive credentials of Chase.  In fact, as recently as this week in your perennial endorsement of State Rep. Pettigrew you say:

“Eric Pettigrew is a trash legislator who told the SECB in 2014, when he was in his 12th year in office, ‘I don’t know if I have passed any bills this term.’ It’s not clear he has done anything since then, now that he is in his 16th year. He has voted against raising the minimum wage, tried to loosen regulations for predatory payday lenders, voted to shield the state legislature from disclosing public records, and promoted charter schools.”

Why doesn’t The Stranger simply issue no endorsement in races like those? The “lesser of two evils” argument is what leads to decades of mediocre and compromised candidates staying in power.

And now you trash one of the most consistent progressive voices in the state legislature, and support someone backed by privatizers whom you don’t really respect.

The most serious upshot of your flippant endorsements for candidates you don’t really believe in, or who are less qualified, is that truly lesser candidates are making it into the general election, while better ones you could have supported are being left behind.

As a fellow journalist it pains me to see a once decent publication render itself unreliable, sometimes unreadable (the expletives are getting a bit tired, by the way) especially in a one-paper town. I know I’m not the only one to wonder if The Stranger has lost its way.

Chase is the clear choice for reelection in District 32 because she is a tenacious person of conscience who will continue to fight for social justice, the underdog, and isn’t afraid to stand up to bigger forces—or The Stranger Ed Control Board, for that matter. She has been a strong and consistent progressive voice and a people’s representative, not a pawn of developers, corporations or privatizers.

She deserves better from The Stranger. And your readers need better information from you.

Sincerely,

Sue Peters

Former Director, Seattle School Board (2013-17)

Co-founder, Parents Across America

Seattle resident and voter

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Post updated to reflect correction to typo in Sound Transit 3 expanded costs to read $54 billion (not million).

Also updated to include contribution by agrochemical conglomerate Monsanto to Jesse Salomon’s campaign.

Updated again on 10/28/18 to include the sharp increase in financial contributions made by Stand for Children in support of Salomon and against Chase.

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Gov. Inslee should veto Senate Bill 6617: State legislators should be held to same standard of transparency as all other elected officials

government, journalism, Seattle, Seattle School Board, , , , , , , , ,

As a former elected official, I know what it’s like to have most everything I write, email, or post on my calendar potentially obtained, read and published by the media or anyone who asks. As a Seattle School Board Director for the last four years, that was my reality

Sure, it can be a nuisance and it can impede your sense of free expression and confidentiality.

But as a journalist and public citizen, I also know the importance of the public being able to know what their elected officials and government bodies are doing in their name, with their tax dollars. Such public disclosure requirements are an essential component of a healthy democracy.

During my term, I was constantly subjected to public disclosure requests, from journalists, others, but most often from anonymous requesters. I simply established the philosophy that everything I wrote or said could end up on the front page of a newspaper and I was okay with that. It can be a good exercise – it teaches you to stand by your words.

Which brings me to Senate Bill 6617, sponsored by Senators Sharon Nelson (D) and Mark Schoesler (R) which Governor Inslee must act on by midnight today. I agree with the media organizations that have claimed that the state’s 1972 Public Records Act law covers all elected officials statewide. A Thurston County Superior Court judge also recently agreed. But last week, the state legislature changed the law to exempt themselves from the transparency rules that all other state officials must abide by.

I’m baffled and frankly rather enervated that our legislators, Democrats and Republicans alike, should expect a cloud of secrecy around their work that no other elected officials are afforded–nor should have. Why should our state legislators who make decisions that are arguably far more impactful statewide than those of our school board directors, city council and county council members, not be held to the same standard that the rest of us are? We all make policy.

The manner in which they passed this change to the law – Senate and House meetings in quick succession with no public hearings – casts their actions in the dark shadows of suspicion.

I am open to hearing compelling explanations for why their change to the law is better. But I am skeptical. Because if there is a legitimate reason, why were the legislators afraid to have a public hearing and normal process to make their case?

Where I do agree with them is in the concern about revealing sensitive information about constituents. It’s true the law already allows government bodies to redact  any information that is not relevant to the request that may violate confidentiality of a non-elected official. But there have been abuses of the law.

Last year, for example, it was very troubling to see a journalist publish email sent from private parents to the Seattle School District, and misrepresent the content. This is wrong. In a KUOW radio story called “To understand white liberal racism, read these private emails,” the reporter Isolde Raftery boasted, “These parents would not talk to us, so we did a public records request for their emails.” She acknowledged that these were “private” and not from elected officials, yet published them anyway.

Private families are not public figures. They believe they are writing to their representatives confidentially. Especially when it comes to their children, parents write with emotion and sensitivity. These emails were misrepresented and exploited by a board director and a reporter. Those PRA requests should not have been granted. This was an abuse of the law. So I support protecting those documents if that is the intent of the state legislators.

But I don’t support a special exemption for state legislators themselves.

My qualm with the Public Records Act is that it increasingly has been used as a tool for nuisance. Instead of being a legitimate tool for news media or watchdog groups looking for background info on a specific issue and keeping the public informed, anonymous entities can launch fishing expeditions asking for broad general sweeps of documents with no real topic, just to harass an elected official or a government organization. These expeditions take up time and resources. The age of digital communication has allowed for the proliferation and easy access of communications that the legislators who drafted the law in 1972 could not have imagined.

Back then, documents were paper, and far less in quantity. Nowadays, public officials, like most people, generate hundreds of emails a week or even daily. The volume can be enormous, but the transmission relatively easy.  Sifting through and analyzing hundreds of emails is time-consuming and costly. Honoring the law has become onerous and unreasonable in the digital age, but not for the reasons SB 6617 addresses.

I support a review of the law to establish parameters of reasonable merit. This will allow government bodies to focus their public resources on responding to legitimate requests.

It will be a test of Governor Inslee’s leadership and character today if he takes a stand and rightly vetoes this bill, or passively lets this slide into law as he did with last year’s charter school bill. But a shadow remains over the legislature’s actions that brought us to this point.

Sue Peters is a journalist and communication strategist who served on the Seattle School Board from 2013-17, most recently as board president.  

 

My Farewell Statement from the Dais

Election 2017, public education, Seattle, Seattle School Board, Sue Peters, , ,

November 15, 2017 was my final legislative meeting as a School Board Director and Board President. It was bittersweet because I know  board directors have an opportunity to accomplish significant and important good work for the district and there is much more work to be done. But I also know that Seattle School Board Directors are not given the tools, compensation or respect they need to fully do their job as well as they could. So serving on the board, especially for those with younger families, can be a hardship we simply cannot afford.

I was still honored to have the opportunity to serve the students and community of Seattle these past four years. Here is the statement I made at the final meeting:

Farewell Statement at my final board meeting

Thank you to staff for the beautiful flowers, and to Clover and Cashel for your kind words.

So I want to thank the people of Seattle and the Seattle schools community for the honor of serving you these past four years. I am proud and humbled to have been able to serve you and the district as your president, as your vice president, as the chair of the Audit and Finance Committee, and the Executive Committee, and to have  served on the Curriculum and Instruction Committee for two years, including during the elementary school math adoption. I have also been able to serve on the Scholarship Committee, and serving as a liaison to and from the community.

I joined the board with the objective of connecting district policy to the communities, to our families, establishing greater respect for the many voices of our communities, for establishing  greater fiscal responsibility, to invest in curricular materials, beginning with math, because we were behind in our curricular materials,  embracing the diversity of our district and valuing and helping all our students fulfill their potential.

I believe I have been true to those objectives.

I aimed to share with you all my skills and experience as a journalist, a parent, a researcher, a public education advocate, a former fact-checker for Consumer Reports, an advocate for public education, my background in communications and, to some degree, a background in education, and a longstanding commitment to social justice in all its forms.

When I think back to four years ago when I ran for office, towards the end of the campaign, when people would ask questions like “Why are you running?”  — you get tired toward the end, but you also have some clarity — I didn’t want to repeat the same talking points. So when I was then asked why was I running, I simply said: “I hope to do some good.”

It’s my sincere hope that I have been able to do that: Some good.

Another more sardonic friend, who’s actually with us this evening, suggested a campaign slogan of: Vote for Sue Peters – She’ll make things less worse! I hope at minimum, I’ve at least done that….!

It’s a sport in this town to beat up on the School Board, regardless of facts, information, regardless of who’s on the Board, it seems.  It’s a shame and it doesn’t serve anyone well. I honestly believe this current board is one of the best, most dedicated and skilled we have seen in many years. It’s also one of the most racially diverse.

And progress has been made in these four years. Of course, though, it’s never enough.

I would also like to tell the people of Seattle that there are good, dedicated people working in the John Stanford Center. Please support the district when it’s doing good work, and let us know when it isn’t – constructively would be helpful.

I also want to take a moment to thank the staff members who helped me do my job. Yes, I ask a lot of questions; I am trained to do that. I need to have facts on which to base these very important decisions because the buck does stop with us. Whatever happens, the people hold the School Board accountable for any decisions that are made.  It’s a huge responsibility which I take very seriously.

I also want to thank all the families who have come to me over the years, to my community meetings, who have emailed me; families, students, community members — your input has been invaluable and it has helped me do my job.

I’ve been advised that I should list accomplishments, some of things that have happened in the last past four years, so I will do that. But I do acknowledge that it’s never a solo act. It’s necessarily a team sport here. We work together as colleagues on the board, we work with staff, we work with the superintendent, we work with the community.

These are actions I have been fortunate to be a part of these past four years. I am proud to have authored or cosponsored policy and amendments that established or addressed many important issues large and small, from balancing a budget during a time of fiscal crisis to selecting more environmentally safe, nontoxic surface material for our tracks and fields.

I am proud to have a hand in:

  • Granting students and parents rights regarding assessments, including the right to opt out.
  • Passing resolution calling for a replacement to the Smarter Balanced assessments with assessments that are less discriminatory, more fair, and less draining of the resources of our schools and students precious time
  • Passing a moratorium on k-5 nonviolent suspensions
  • Passing a resolution that affirmed our districts commitment to our district’s rich diversity and our immigrant students.
  • Passing a resolution reestablishing our board’s commitment to truly public – not charter—schools.
  • Passing a resolution recognizing the indigenous people of the land we are on, the Duwamish Tribe.
  • Passing a resolution establishing Indigenous People’s Day – which earned us a mention and faux mockery on Stephen Colbert’s satirical show, The Colbert Report….!

I have consistently advocated for mitigation funds for the start of the school year – I’ve referred to it as the “Student Stability Fund.”

I have supported an efficiency review (audit) of the central administration so we can be fiscally responsible and can make sure that we are directing as many resources as possible to all our schools.

I have supported funding for International Baccalaureate at all of our three of our high schools that offer it.

I have supported advanced learning – acknowledging the need, investing in opportunities, increasing diversity, and simply defending these children from the unseemly and irrational prejudice that is fomented by too many in this district.

I have supported our teachers. And sometimes that means — I’ll tell this to our new directors who are joining us– sometimes  you are going to find yourself all alone with a vote. You might be the only one in a 6-1 vote. Everyone one of us up here has been that position. Don’t be afraid to do that. I was the only one to vote against an injunction against our teachers during the teachers’ strike. To our new directors, don’t be afraid to do that.

I am proud of being a member of the Board majority that advocated for adding a special ed mandate to city’s pre-k program and maintaining EEU program at the University of Washington.

I was part of the board that passed the belltime initiative that better aligns student school schedules with their biological needs, making Seattle a national leader in this area, as other districts follow suit.

In my four years on the Board we have increasingly developed a Board majority that values curriculum and understands that a key component of equity and is offering every student a fair chance at success.

To that end, we have adopted K-5 math materials, we are piloting middle school math, adopted social studies middle schools materials, supporting  “Since Time Immemorial” and now a commitment to Ethnic Studies. I am proud of this work. It is fundamental work.

I am also proud to have been part of a board and district that for four years has:

  • Had clean audits.
  • Has balanced the budget through good times and lean.
  • That has transitioned to superintendent leadership peacefully and will continue to do so.
  • That has recognized that the district can no longer close or sell schools and buildings, but has instead committed to opening and building new schools almost every year I have been on the board.

I am part of a board that has voiced a commitment to every student of every race and every gender. But we must make good on that promise.

I am proud to be a member of a school board that knows we owe it to our students and families to get things right, crucial components like:

  • The student assignment plan.
  • School improvement plans.
  • Funding as many educators and counselors as possible for our schools.
  • Recognizing that we have many students of various needs and there are gaps in outcomes that we can and must impact.

There is still much work to be done, no question about it. We need to create a district with more vision, more imagination, greater stability for our students and predictability for our families, more options not less, in our schools—more joy, less stress.

I would like to extend my best wishes to my continuing colleagues Leslie Harris, Betty Patu, Rick Burke, Scott Pinkham and Jill Geary. They are conscientious, intelligent and understood their role and duty they have to the public that elected them. Each brings valuable skills and insights.

I congratulate my longtime colleague and friend Betty Patu on her decisive re-election to the school board for a third term and an opportunity to complete her valuable decades of work on behalf of the students of Seattle Public Schools.

And I welcome newly elected members Eden Mack and Zachary Pullin DeWolf. Thank you for stepping up. The district is fortunate to have you. This is a rewarding job and, of course, challenging.  Your decisions will matter to so many, and will have a lasting impact. I know neither of you take the job lightly.

But I can also assure, you will be in good company. And there will be moments of laughter and joy. –I found it amusing on the campaign trail this time around, on behalf of other candidates,  there was a candidate who erroneously claimed this current board doesn’t even speak to each other. I had to laugh when I think of how many times at meetings I’ve wished the Board talked less to each other– myself included.

My tip to the new directors is: Do your homework. There is a lot of reading and thinking to do. Vote your conscience. And don’t be afraid to be the sole vote if that is where your conscience and intelligence lead you.

The day must come when we treat the job of Seattle School Board Director with the respect and resources it deserves and requires, so that it does not have to be hardship and sacrifice to serve. After all, we directors are called upon to oversee the largest school district in state and a $1 billion budget.

And no, the mayor and city should not be called upon to take over. It’s crucially important that the people of the city have elected representatives on the school board who are answerable to them, directly. Research has shown that this is still the most accountable model of school district governance.

In terms of compensation, the board’s maximum stipend of $50 a day – only on days when we have meetings — has remained unchanged since the 1980s. Adjusting for inflation alone, it should at least be $100/day. That still doesn’t take us very far. Board directors are only compensated for meetings. We are not paid anything for hours spent researching and reading.

Directors do not have their own direct staff or office space, other than two shared staff members and shared space.

_________________________________________________________________________

The day must come when we treat the job of Seattle School Board Director with the respect and resources it deserves and requires, so that it does not have to be hardship and sacrifice to serve. After all, we directors are called upon to oversee the largest school district in state and a $1 billion budget.

_________________________________________________________________________

I find it interesting that no one has made a point of the fact that we are now going to have four mayors in four months. Meanwhile the Seattle school district is entering into its fourth year with the same superintendent. So again there is a lot of information out there it would behoove us to correct.

I wish Supt Nyland well as he completes his work with the district.

_______________________________________________________________________
I find it interesting that no one has made a point of the fact that we are now going to have 4 mayors in four months. Meanwhile the Seattle School District is entering into its fourth year with the same superintendent.
________________________________________________________________________

Above all, I want to thank my family – my children and my husband – who gave up more than I realized they would, to lend me to you. Thank you for your patience and love. You know more about the complexities of a school district than any teenager should ever have to know.

Thank you all very much.

# # # # #

Top 10 Reasons to Vote for Betty Patu for Seattle School Board!

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Top 10 Reasons to Vote for Betty Patu for Seattle School Board!

  1. BETTY PATU is the only candidate with over 30 years of extensive experience with Seattle Public Schools. She has firsthand knowledge of the district’s communities, challenges, successes and goals.
  2. BETTY knows the job. With 8 years of experience overseeing the district’s $1 billion budget through good times and lean, she brings valuable knowledge and continuity to the Board.
  3. BETTY is focused on equity and results. She voted for the District’s groundbreaking Racial Equity Policy, supported a moratorium on K-5 nonviolent suspensions, helped  to align school start times to better meet student needs, and has brought programs like International Baccalaureate to Rainier Beach High School and Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) to Cleveland High School.
  4. BETTY has deep roots in the communities she represents. A native of American Samoa, she has lived and served in Southeast Seattle for decades.
  5. BETTY has skin in the game. All five of her kids graduated from Seattle Public Schools and she now has grandchildren following in their footsteps.
  6. BETTY has a proven commitment to student success. As a founder of intervention programs that helped hundreds of at-risk students, her work was featured in the New York Times, and earned the United Nations’ Humanitarian Award, Patty Senator Murray’s “Golden Tennis Award,” and many other honors for her valuable community service.
  7. BETTY is a proven civic leader. She has served as Seattle School Board President, Vice President, Chair of the Executive and Operations Committees, and the District’s City Liaison.
  8. BETTY is highly qualified. She has a Master’s degree in education administration, a degree in nursing, and experience working as a teacher.
  9. BETTY is endorsed by a broad coalition that includes: The Stranger, the Seattle Weekly, The Medium, Democratic and labor organizations, including the 32nd, 34th, 37th, 43rd  and 46th District Democrats, the King County and the Metropolitan Democrats, Local 609; State Senators Maralyn Chase and Bob Hasegawa, State Representative and House Education Committee Chair Sharon Tomiko Santos, King County Councilmember Larry Gossett, Head of  the City’s Dept. of Early Learning, Dwane Chappelle, five of her six colleagues on the School Board, education leaders including Estela Ortega (El Centro de la Raza), Rita Green (NAACP), Sebrena Burr (Seattle Council PTSA), parents, teachers  and students district-wide.
  10. BETTY is  committed to public education. Unlike her opponent, she does  not support diverting resources to charter schools.
  11. *BONUS REASON!* BETTY is the only candidate in the race not funded by corporate sponsors of charter schools and Teach for America, Inc. (Leaders in Education).

VOTE FOR BETTY!    

What colleagues, parents, former students & media say about Betty Patu

“As an African American Male who attended Rainier Beach High School in the 90’s, Betty Patu has always helped not only my African American peers but all kids who needed help with resources and opportunities. She didn’t see color, she saw students as a mother tending to her children. She dedicated her life to ensuring we graduated from high school on time and I am proud to let everyone know what she did for me. I am forever grateful and love this woman! She will represent your voice on the Board in a spirit of excellence!” – Jamal Crawford, NBA Sixth Man of the Year (3x) Minnesota Timberwolves

“Betty Patu is a goddamned legend. As a South Seattle high-school teacher and tireless advocate for minority students, Patu waltzed into local gang meetings to get her students to go back to class and once even barked down a student who held another peer at gunpoint. NBD! Her work directly lowered high-school dropout rates in the community. Despite spending nearly a decade on the school board—seen by many education advocates as the soul-sucking home of single-issue candidates—Patu hasn’t wavered in her commitment to equity.” – The Stranger

 “Betty Patu has been one of the most determined and effective leaders in Seattle when it comes to working for every child in our schools and dismantling the structural, pervasive racism in this district.” – Sebrena Burr, parent, activist and President, Seattle Council PTSA

 “We are fortunate as a district to have someone of Betty’s integrity and experience as a public servant. What is especially remarkable about Betty is that her experience is real. She has helped get kids off the streets, encouraged them to stay in school. I am convinced she has saved lives. Even now, former students come to her and tell her their lives took a different path because of her. She is a woman of courage and conviction, an honest voice that speaks from the heart but with a solid sense of common sense. She has the strength of character to be humble, but is also fierce in her dedication to meet the needs of all the children of Seattle’s public schools.”  – Sue Peters, parent, activist and President, Seattle School Board

 Betty Patu for Seattle School Board, District 7
http://bettypatu.com/

Download! – Print­! – Pass it on! = > Top 10 Reasons to Vote for Betty Patu for Seattle School PDF

Vote Andre Helmstetter – Eden Mack – Betty Patu for Seattle School Board!

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Seattle School Board District 7 Director & “Legend” Betty Patu

Seattle School Board District 5 Candidate & authentic community advocate Andre HelmstetterSeattle School Board District 4 Candidate & ed funding champion Eden Mack

Remember to vote! Ballots are due (or postmarked) by the end of August 1st.

An atypically large number of candidates are running for School Board this year, some very good people among them. But only a few have the combination of experience, insight, professional skills, and connection to Seattle Public Schools that will equip them to serve our growing district and its many diverse communities well.

The best choices for our School District this election are:

Betty Patu for District 7

Andre Helmstetter for District 5

Eden Mack for District 4.

I can highly recommend all three candidates and urge you to join me in voting for them.

— Sue Peters

Passing the Baton

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Dear Constituents, Families and Friends,

After serving four years on the Seattle School Board, I will not be seeking reelection. Other obligations and responsibilities beckon at this point in my life, in the realms of both family and career.

I have been honored and gratified to serve with this current Board of Directors, one of the most engaged, responsive, diligent and diverse groups of individuals to represent the Seattle schools community, as vice president and president, and to have had the opportunity and privilege to serve the district’s 54,000 students and families.

There is still much work to be done to ensure that every student has the necessary support and opportunity to fulfill their potential;  that teachers have the resources they need; that we establish a vision for the district that aligns with the values of the many diverse SPS communities; and to ensure that accountability does not stop at the doors of the John Stanford Center.

Our growing district has both challenges and opportunities ahead. I look forward to continuing to focus on a number of important initiatives for the remainder of the year.

And I believe good candidates will step up to carry on the important work of championing and strengthening public education in Seattle.

As a pillar of democracy, public education is increasingly vital in times such as these when knowledge, facts and critical thinking are under siege, and the forces of privatization aim to remove the public from this trust.

Sincerely,

Sue Peters


Seattle School Board Adopts Resolution Supporting Safe Zones for Students

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On February 15, the Seattle School Board unanimously passed a resolution affirming the Board’s commitment to protecting the safety of all of the District’s 53,000 students, irrespective of race, religion, gender identity or immigration status.

The Seattle School District refuses to be party to the destructive and inhumane politics of fear fomented by Donald Trump, whose orders call for extreme actions against immigrants, and violate the founding principles and spirit of this nation.

The resolution parallels recent declarations of cities across the nation, including Seattle, Los Angeles,  San Francisco, New York and Washington D.C., reaffirming their status as sanctuary cities.

February also marked  the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 6099, President Franklin Roosevelt’s shameful 1942 decree that resulted in the rounding up and internment of over 110,000 Japanese-American citizens.

Here is my statement from the Feb 1, 2017 Board meeting where the resolution was first discussed, followed by the resolution itself, which passed unanimously at the Feb. 15 Board meeting:
A lot of directors and Superintendent Nyland have been very  eloquent in their reference to the mood of this nation right now in light of the changing of the guard at the national level, and some executive orders that have come down that have really tested the mettle, morals and principles of this nation.
 
 
We are a nation of of immigrants. A lot of us have such ties  and have history and some of those ties are quite new. My own family on both sides come from immigrant families; I also have connections to Jewish family.
 
 
So what is happening within the nation right now is something that definitely resonates.
 
And we are aware that this is having an impact within our own District. Our own District is a in a way a microcosm of the nation. We have 149 countries of origin represented in Seattle Public schools and 143 language and dialects are spoken by our students.
 
 
We as a District are committed to the education and safety of all of our students. We are going to discuss a resolution that will address this.
 
 
This has been done throughout the national already. School Boards in Los Angeles, Oakland Cal, Denver, Minneapolis, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and El Paso, Portland, Oregon as well have all passed resolutions saying to the effect that have established safe zones within their schools, they will not allow immigration officials to come and take the children away, and we are planning to create a resolution that says something similar.
 
 
I want to remind all of our children and all our families that they have 5th and 14th Amendment rights that protect them, and we will honor those rights.
 
 
This also brings to light the fact that education is so important, that history is so important. And it seems that people forget history. And it’s really frightening to see humanity make the same sort of mistakes that it’s made in the past.
 
 
And so I’m going to conclude with a poem that I would assume everybody has heard before, but at this point I no longer assume that people have heard things before or remember.
 
 
It is by a Protestant pastor  who lived during World War II, his name was Martin Niemoller, who opposed Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime during World War II. It goes like this:
 
 

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

We are here, and we will speak out for all the students of Seattle Public Schools.
 
Seattle School District #1 Board Resolution Resolution No. 201 6/17-12Resolution Affirming the Provision of Safe, Welcoming, & Inclusive Schools for All Students Without Regard to Race, Religion, National Origin, or Immigration Status
A RESOLUTION of the Board of Directors of Seattle School District No. 1, King County, Seattle, Washington affirming the provision of safe, welcoming, and inclusive schools for all students without regard to race, religion, national origin, or immigration status.
WHEREAS, the School Board recognizes that our nation’s and District’s diversity is our greatest strength and we celebrate 147 countries of birth and 143 languages and dialects spoken among our 53,000 students; and
WHEREAS, the history of our community includes government actions that were enacted due to discriminatory beliefs that caused great harm to the citizens of this nation and violated basic principles of democracy; and
WHEREAS, this history includes shameful actions related to the U.S. settlement of our region that harmed our native tribes and the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II; and
WHEREAS, reports of student harassment and of higher levels of student anxiety have increased due to the current national political climate; and
WHEREAS, as the history of our state, country, and world teaches us that we cannot allow those in authority to use fear to beget hate and deny the rights and dignities of our citizens, this Board fervently believes we must not succumb to or enable such inclinations;
and
WHEREAS, the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Plyler v. Doe ensures all children are legally entitled to equal access to a free public education regardless of immigration status;  and
WHEREAS, it is the policy of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that, absent a lawful exception, enforcement actions will not occur at nor are focused on schools, which are considered sensitive locations; and
WHEREAS, the presence of ICE or other immigration enforcement officials in schools would cause extreme disruption to the learning and teaching environment for students, staff, and families; and
WHEREAS, it is the policy of and strongly held belief of Seattle Public Schools that all schools must be safe and free from the targeting, discrimination, harassment, or bullying of students based on race, nation of origin, religion, immigration status, or any other factor;
NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved by the Board of Directors of Seattle Public Schools as follows:
1) In accordance with District policy and procedure as well as Superintendent Nyland’s February 2017 letter to families, Seattle School District staff will not ask for, nor record, student or family immigration status; and
2) The District calls on ICE and related federal agencies to continue the policy of not conducting enforcement actions in sensitive locations such as schools; and
3) If an ICE agent or similar official requests information about a student or access to a school building or district property, staff will not have authority to approve the request and will refer the agent/official to the Office of the General Counsel for a formal review of their credentials and written legal authority for such request; and
4) Any such agent/official shall not be allowed access to any records, school, or other District facility except to the extent specifically required by law and only upon the written consent from the General Counsel or Superintendent; and
5) Staff will be trained, and resources made available, to support students and families with concerns regarding immigration status; and
6) The District encourages families to have up-to-date emergency contact information on file with the District, in the event a student’s primary caregiver is detained due to immigration status; and
7) Under this resolution, Seattle Public Schools reaffirms our commitment to a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment for every student without regard to their race, religion, national origin, or immigration status.
ADOPTED this 15th day of February, 2017.
Sue Peters, President
Leslie Harris, Vice-President
Stephan Blanford, Member
Richard Burke, Member
Jill Geary, Member
Betty Patu, Member
Scott Pinkham, Member-at-large
ATTEST:
Dr. Larry Nyland, Superintendent
Secretary, Board of Directors
Seattle School District No. 1
King County, WA
safe-zone-res-1safe-zone-res-2