Podcast – Ben Shuldiner, Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools

by Arik Korman

In our Putting Students First podcast, we interview students, policymakers, partners, and thought leaders to spotlight education policies, research, and practices so that together we can create learning environments where every Washington student feels safe, supported, and a positive sense of belonging, so that they can achieve academically and access the life they choose.

In this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Arik Korman interviews Ben Shuldiner, Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools. Ben discusses what drives him, how he measures success for his priorities, what his strategy is for closing longstanding opportunity gaps, how he is implementing student and family engagement, what worked and what didn’t work in his personal education journey, and how he would change Washington state’s education system if he were in charge and there were no budgetary constraints.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, or Spreaker

 

Listen:

Read More

Podcast – Isolation and Restraint in Washington state Schools

by Arik Korman

In our Putting Students First podcast, we interview policymakers, partners, and thought leaders to spotlight education policies, research, and practices so that together we can create a brighter future for every Washington student.

Isolation and restraint in schools hurts our most vulnerable students. In this episode, League of Education Voters Acting CEO Arik Korman discusses alternatives to isolation and restraint of students, policies that can be implemented at the school district level to support school leaders and staff, and direct impacts of isolation and restraint on students.

We were honored to interview:

  • Justin Hendrickson, Principal at South Shore PreK-8 in Seattle Public Schools
  • Liza Rankin, Vice President of the Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors
  • Dorian Taylor, a survivor of isolation and restraint practices who now works to advance disability justice at the county level
  • Chris Baglien, a survivor of isolation and restraint practices who now is a father and a student in a postsecondary automotive program in Skagit County

 

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Spreaker

Listen:

Read More

Podcast – Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Brent Jones

by Arik Korman

In our Putting Students First podcast, we interview policymakers, partners, and thought leaders to spotlight education policies, research, and practices so that together we can create a brighter future for every Washington student.

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman interviews Dr. Brent Jones, Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools, about his priorities for Seattle Public Schools and how he measures success, how the district is supporting student mental health, his personal education journey, and what he would change if he were in charge of Washington state’s education system and there were no budgetary constraints.

 

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Spreaker

Listen:

Read More

Washington Game Changers Podcast – Joe Hunter, Jr. and Tony Allison, founders of RARE (Roosevelt Alumni for Racial Equity)

by Arik Korman
Joe Hunter, Jr. (L) and Tony Allison

Washington Game Changers with Lauri Hennessey features leaders who give back to our community, drive innovative solutions, and inspire others in making our state more equitable and just. This podcast is a one-on-one conversation with these powerful leaders in a time when we need to hear about more good in the world.

In this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Lauri Hennessey talks with Joe Hunter, Jr. and Tony Allison. They were classmates at Roosevelt High School fifty years ago. But looking back all of these years later, they and many of their peers realized we have not progressed in truly creating schools that are equitable. They created RARE (Roosevelt Alumni for Racial Equity) to give parents and community members everywhere – not just at Roosevelt – a chance to face these difficult issues together, creating a documentary and participating in discussions such as this one.

 

Listen:

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Spreaker.

Watch:

Read More

Podcast – David Lewis on Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)

by Arik Korman

In our podcast, we interview policymakers, partners, and thought leaders to spotlight education policies, research, and practices so that together we can create a brighter future for every Washington student.

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman asks David Lewis, Director of Behavioral Health Services for Seattle Public Schools, to describe what a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is, how students, parents, and educators can get MTSS in every local education agency (school district, charter public school, and tribal compact school) across Washington state, and what he would do to transform our education system if there were no budgetary constraints.

 

Listen:

Read More

Podcast – Seattle Superintendent Denise Juneau

by Arik Korman

Seattle Superintendent Denise Juneau - League of Education VotersIn our podcast, we interview policymakers, partners, and thought leaders to spotlight education policies, research, and practices so that together we can create a brighter future for every Washington student.

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman sat down with Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Denise Juneau to discuss her listening tour around the district, her Student Advisory Board, her strategy for closing achievement gaps, and her personal education journey.

 

Listen:

Read More

Why Early Learning Matters

by Arik Korman
Pre-K teacher Julia Brady uses handmade rekenrek’s with her students during a math lesson at South Shore Pre-K. (Mike Siegel/The Seattle Times)

By Kristin DeWitte
Principal of South Shore Pre K-8
Guest Blogger

On my first day of first grade, I stood up and said that I wanted to become a teacher. I never wavered from that goal. As I got older, I had the opportunity to work in a school for children with disabilities about the time that PL 94-142 (the first special education law) went into place. I went to Central Washington University and earned my degree in Special Education with an elementary minor. Later in my career I went on to complete two Master’s degrees, the first in Curriculum and Instruction, and the second in Educational Leadership.

I worked most of my career In the Marysville School District, about half the time in special education and the remainder of the time in general education. I have taught kindergarten, first grade, second grade, fifth grade, sixth grade, resource room, elementary, middle school, and high school EBD (Emotional and Behavioral Disorder) classrooms. I have also worked on the core education faculty at Antioch-Seattle, the adjunct faculty at Western Washington University at Bellingham, Everett, North and South Seattle satellite campuses. I was the original developer of both distance and online learning components of continuing education for Seattle Pacific University. And I have consulted on a variety of topics in an eight-state region of the Northwest and Southwest US.

Read More

Seattle Public Schools Budget Shortfall FAQs

by Arik Korman

By Jake Vela, LEV Senior Policy Analyst

  • Rear view of class raising hands - League of Education VotersHow big is the budget shortfall for the 2017-18 school year?
    • Seattle Public Schools (SPS) has recently announced that they have an expected budget shortfall of $74 million for the 2017-18 school year. The $74 million shortfall would be about 10% of the $790 million budget recommendation adopted by Seattle Public Schools in 2016-17.
  • Why is Seattle Public Schools expecting a $74 million budget deficit in 2017-18?
    • The expiring of a temporary increase in how much the state allows Seattle to raise through local levies (levy lid) accounts for $30 million of the shortfall. The other $44 million is because the staffing levels agreed to by the district and the unions in the most recent contracts exceeded the funding levels they knew would be available in the 2017-18 school year.
  • Why is the state levy lid being reduced starting January 2018?
    • In 2010 the legislature temporarily increased the amount of money school districts could raise through local levies (levy lid). This increase was intended to be a band aid to allow districts, who were able to pass additional levies, to make-up for the reduction in state funding for education due to the economic recession. This temporary increase is set to expire at the end of calendar year 2017 as specified in the original legislation in 2010.
  • Is SPS expecting a budget deficit in 2016-17?
    • Yes, the 2016-17 budget adopted by SPS expected to spend $35 million more than they anticipated to get from the federal, state, and local sources. SPS was able to do this because they spent $35 million in reserves they had remaining from previous years.
  • Is this approach to budgeting by SPS sustainable?
    • The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction recommends that districts end each school year with reserves equaling at least 5% of their annual budget to be able to address unexpected changes in costs or funding support from local, state, or federal funding sources. To meet the 5% goal SPS would need to maintain a reserve of $39.5 million to remain in good financial health. According to the 2016-17 adopted budget Seattle is expected to end the School year with an ending fund balance of $39.9 million which would be just enough to meet the 5% reserve fund goal.
  • How has the level of state funding changed since the beginning of the recession in 2008?
    • Adjusted for inflation the state is contributing 14% more per-student for K-12 education in fiscal year 2017 than they did in fiscal year 2009.
  • When did Seattle Public School agree to the salary and staffing levels that created this budget deficit?
    • Seattle Public Schools agreed to their most recent collective bargaining agreement in September 2015 after the state had passed their most recent budget in July 2015. The district agreed to this budget following the strike at the start of the 2015-16 school year. The recent and future salary increases and staffing levels agreed to by SPS and the unions in their 2015 Collective Bargaining Agreements set district staffing levels and salary increases through the 2017-18 school year
  • How much of a school district’s budget is dedicated to staffing costs?
    • Over 80% of the average school district’s budget is from staffing costs.
  • What is a reduction in force (RIF) notice?
    • It is the notice a district sends out to existing staff that may need to be laid off if the district will not have sufficient funds in the following school year. Receiving a RIF notice does not mean an employee will be losing their job, but it does mean they will be in a pool of employees that may be laid off.
  • What determines who will receive a RIF notice?
    • The district will send out RIF notices to teachers, support staff, and other staff positions based on the district’s plan to cope with the budget shortfall.
  • What determines which employees do or do not receive a RIF notice?
    • Who does and does not receive a RIF notice is tied to the level of experience an employee has, so teachers with less experience will be more likely to receive a RIF notice than more experienced employees. New and beginning teachers are more often found in schools with higher levels of low-income students. Teachers, staff, and students in these schools will experience more uncertainty in their school building than other schools.
  • Will the budget deficit be solved before the district would need to send out RIF notices?
    • The legislature is expected to invest more money in basic education in the 2017 legislative session, but a final budget isn’t expected to be completed before the district completes their budget preparations for the 2017-18 school year.
  • How much does $74 million mean on a per-student basis?
    • $74 million translates to a budget shortfall of $1,407 per SPS student. The state would need to increase education funding by approximately $1.5 billion for the 2017-18 school year, one-year before the court mandated deadline of 2018-19, for Washington to experience a funding increase of $1,400 per-student statewide.
  • Are other districts experiencing similar budget shortfalls?
    • In the future other districts may communicate to their communities that they are expecting a budget shortfall because of the levy cliff or other budgeting challenges, but as of December 15, 2016 we are not aware of other districts publically stating they expect to have a budget shortfall in the 2017-18 school year.

Kaysiana and Midheta share their stories

by League of Education Voters

The College Bound Scholarship Program was established by our Legislature eight years ago. College Bound provides scholarships to low-income and foster care students who enroll in middle school, keep their grades up, and stay out of trouble.

More than 212,000 students have signed up, and the program has had a huge impact. Enrollment has shown to positively impact high school academic performance, graduation rates, as well as college going rates and persistence. Of students enrolling in higher education, College Bound students are almost 50 percent more likely to attend a four-year college than low-income students statewide.

We strongly support College Bound and were proud to serve on the state’s College Bound Task Force last year. During the past few years, we have worked with many partners, including the College Success Foundation, Washington State Student Achievement Council, and the Road Map Project, to amplify College Bound’s impact and success and advocate for ongoing state support.

This program changes lives.

We were fortunate to hear the stories of two College Bound students this morning at our annual breakfast. We heard from Kaysiana Hazelwood, a senior at West Seattle High School, and from Midheta Djuderija, a student at the University of Washington.

Below are their incredible stories, told in their own words. Read More