Friday Memo to the Board Superintendent’s Office for the week of April 19-23, 2021

Return to In-Person • All PreK-12th grade students returned to school this week! This was a huge accomplishment and I am so thankful for staff’s work to make this happen for our students and families.

Remote Learning Task Force information can be found here: https://www.seattleschools.org/families_communities/committees/remote_learning

Legislative Updates April 25 is the last day of regular session, so this will be the last Friday Memo legislative update. The Legislature is expected to pass the budget this weekend and get out on time.

Stable Funding SB 5128 passed the Legislature on 4/20. The bill was amended heavily from the original form to now only provide clarity on allowable uses for transportation funding during an emergency, such as meal delivery. Funding amounts that may be provided for transportation remain to be seen in the final budget.

HB 1476 passed both chambers, but the House and Senate versions differ and the bill is still in the process of concurrence. The bill was amended heavily from the original version which provided enrollment stabilization funding. Both House and Senate versions of the bill now only pertain to district enrollment used in levy calculations. Funding amounts and final version remain to be seen in budget negotiations.

Counseling and Social Emotional Supports SB 5030 passed the Legislature on 4/14. The bill requires districts to adopt a comprehensive guidance counseling program. The bill requires the school board to adopt a policy for this program prior to the 2022-23 school year.

HB 1208 passed the Legislature on 4/13. This bill provides flexibility in use of Learning Assistance Program funds to address learning impacts of COVID-19 by providing academic and non-academic supports for students. The bill was amended in the Senate to cap the use of LAP funds to deliver services through community partnerships at 15%.

Both chambers included additional funding for counselors in their budgets, but approach and amount remains to be seen in the final budget.

Restorative Justice HB 1214 was signed by the Governor on 4/14 and goes into effect on 7/25. This bill requires additional training for safety and security staff in K-12 schools, including restorative justice principles and practices.

HB 1426 passed the Legislature on 4/5 and was delivered to the Governor for signature. This bill requires additional equity focused training for educators and administrators to renew their professional certificates.

SB 5044 passed the Legislature on 4/20. The bill requires training that addresses anti-racism, cultural competency, and diversity, equity, and inclusion for all school and district staff, as well as all school board directors. School board directors will be required to take a WSSDA governance training, of which this will be a part, once per elected term beginning in calendar year 2022.

Access to Learning HB 1365 passed the Legislature on 4/22. The bill requires Education Service Districts to provide training and consultation on technology procurement for districts and creates an OSPI grant program for devices. The bill contains a null and void clause if the Legislature does not fund the programs in the final budget.

COVID Response SB 5265 is still awaiting a vote of the full House. The bill creates a pilot program for a bridge year for students in the graduating class of 2021 and 2022 to stay enrolled in high school for an additional year. The amended bill will now require districts that apply for the authority to waive graduation requirements for the classes of 2021 and 2022 under HB 1121 to offer this bridge year program.

Public Meetings HB 1056 did not pass the Legislature. The bill would have allowed a public agency to hold meetings of its governing body remotely or with limited in-person attendance during a declared emergency, requires that the public be allowed to listen in real time and at no cost to meetings that are held remotely or with limited in-person attendance and that agendas be posted online.

HB 1329 did not pass the Legislature. The bill would have encouraged public agencies to provide remote access to meetings and recordings, and require an opportunity for remote oral comments if physical attendance is difficult for the individual.

Bills already passed and SPS action taken

HB 1121 passed the Legislature on 2/16 and was signed by the Governor on 3/2, to go into effect 3/2. This bill creates a waiver for students in graduating classes impacted by the COVID-19 crisis who were on track to graduate prior to school closures, on a case by case basis. The State Board of Education (SBE) passed emergency rules on 3/12 to implement the bill.

HB 1368 passed the legislature on 2/10 and was signed by the Governor on 2/19, to go into effect 2/26. This bill releases the ESSER II funds and will require submission of an update to our 2020-21 school year reopening plan by March 1 in order to receive the funds. The bill also requires a plan by June 1 on address the academic and student well-being impacts of COVID-19.

Other bills of interest HB 1162 did not pass the Legislature. The bill would have reduced the number of credits required to graduate from 24 to 20 and creates an additional graduation pathway option of a performance exhibition.

SB 5249 passed the Legislature on 4/7 and was delivered to the Governor for signature. The bill modifies the charge of the Mastery Based Learning Work group established in 2019 and directs the State Board of Education (SBE) to review a state profile of a graduate developed by the work group.

HB 1139 passed the Legislature on 4/14 and was delivered to the Governor for signature. The bill requires testing of water in school buildings for lead and that districts adopt an action plan if test results reveal lead concentrations above stated thresholds.

SB 5043 did not pass the Legislature. The bill would have allowed district capital funds to be used to build housing for teachers in all districts in Washington.

Friday Memo to the Board Equity, Partnerships & Engagement (EPE) For the Week of April 19-23, 2021

Dept. of Racial Equity Advancement (DREA)

• During the week of April 19, the DREA Director met with the Partnership Committee co- chair to plan the upcoming Partnership Committee meeting. DREA is supporting the Dept. of School & Community Partnerships to build connections between community organizations and Education Association (SEA) and requested inviting a member of SCP to the upcoming meeting. The Partnership Committee co-chair agreed, and an invitation was sent to the Director of Strategic Partnerships for the upcoming Partnership Committee meeting. • The DREA team supported the Communications Department in developing a communication recognizing the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial. The communication was sent to school leaders and staff, but the DREA coaches also re-sent the communication (with Racial Equity Team-specific context) to their designated Racial Equity Teams, including the teams assigned to the Center for Racial Equity. DREA also scheduled a meeting with Central Office Black Caucus to honor space for Black central office staff to connect and process this historic trial and community experience. • On April 21, 2021, DREA held a retreat to discuss the reopening of schools, expanding racial equity team support into Central Office Divisions, building resource hubs, key partnerships, and departmental work-planning. DREA staff left this meeting with explicit deliverables to help the department prepare for the end of the school year and Summer.

Friday Memo to the Board Teaching and Learning Division Essential Information for the week of April 19-23, 2021

CURRICULUM, ASSESSMENT, & INSTRUCTION (CAI)

Update on AP Testing 2021 will offer all students access to AP testing during the College Board’s exam Administration Window 3 (June 1-4, 7-11). This decision was informed by a thorough review of the testing options and the most current health and safety guidelines in King County along with the tentative agreement for return-to-in-person instruction. This later than usual testing window will also provide all AP teachers and students the maximum amount of time to prepare for the full-length AP exams.

More importantly, to ensure the health and safety of all students and staff, all exams will be administered digitally and at home, when this option is available. For the exams that only have the option for in-person testing, Seattle Public Schools will offer these exams to students in their respective high school during Administration Window 3 (June 1-4, 7-11). The district AP Coordination team will work closely with the building AP Coordination teams to ensure that all exams are administered safely and equitably this year.

Career and Technical Education Summer Programs Skills Center: Seattle Skills Center will be offering remote and in-person career-connected classes this summer, with the usual range of course offerings. Classroom and remote courses will be offered July 6-30, and other courses, such as “Sailing the Salish Sea” aboard the schooner, Adventuress, and a course at the Center for Wooden Boats will be offered at the end of June and beginning of August. Registration for summer courses will open soon, and students and families can sign up on the Summer Interest page to receive updates. Additionally, the CTE Department and the Skills Center are collaborating to offer several internships and work-based learning opportunities for youth in July and August.

LAUNCH206: .5 CTE Credit, 90 Hours. This summer will mark our 2nd year of Launch206, our instructional internship program. During this experience, students are mentored at a worksite 4 days/week and attend class 1 day/week to support workplace professional skills development. We continue to recruit students and employers for this year with a goal of providing access to internships in all 7 of our CTE Program Areas. Industry partners who have already committed to participating this summer include: STEM: Seattle Public Schools-Facilities (Engineering), SIXR (Computer Science). Skilled Trades: Argosy, Forma Construction, Boat Setter, The Center for Wooden Boats, CETS LLC. We are still looking for industry partners in: Business and Marketing, Health and Medical, Education and Human Services, Arts, Design and Graphics, and Culinary and Hospitality.

TMobile Two Year Full Stack Developer Internships: .5 CTE credit. This summer, SPS CTE with T- Mobile, Seattle Colleges, and WABS (Washington Alliance for Better Schools), will provide Seattle high school students in their junior year a 2-year paid internship and fast-track certification for Full Stack Web Developer through Seattle Colleges, earning 56 college credits through Running Start during their senior and 13th years. Applications are still open.

Career Pathway Internships: Students will participate in worksite learning career-aligned internships this summer, which are individual experiences where students work 180 hours and earn .5 CTE credit. School Career Connected Learning Coordinators are recruiting students now. CTE programs such as XIP and our Business, Finance and Hospitality Academies provide access to internships.

INTEGRATED CURRICULUM

During the week of April 19, the Black Education Manager, Anita Koyier-Mwamba, officially started working in her role and onboarding commenced. Mrs. Koyier-Mwamba attended Mr. Alekzandr Wray’s, the Black Studies Educator, Black Studies Course. The lesson included the American History Traveling Museum led by Community Scholar Delbert Richardson.

The Department of Integrated Curriculum also helped review a letter and resources recognizing the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial and ways to hold space for students’ responses and needs following the verdict. A communication was sent to all school leaders and staff within hours of the verdict.

For additional information, please contact Dr. Keisha Scarlett at [email protected]. Friday Memo to the Board Operations for April 19-23, 2021

Transportation

• The Transportation Department continues to face challenges as it arranges service for students who are legally required to receive transportation. • The department has assigned all drivers that are available through their regular transportation service providers and is looking to augment capacity with other strategies. o Providing families of students whom the district is unable to transport with “in- lieu-of” payments by which a family is reimbursed for transporting their student to and from school based on mileage o Re-establishing services with taxicab providers o Establishing services with mainstream transportation network companies such as Lyft and Uber o Negotiating with chartering services to secure large and small buses, although this approach will be constrained by state laws governing the types of vehicles that can be used to pick up and drop off students on public roadways Friday Memo to the Board Department of Technology Services (DoTS) for the week of April 19-23, 2021

Updates on Student & Staff Attestation process

Grades 6-12 students/families began digital attestation on Monday, April 19th. As part of the Daily Health Screening, parents/guardians have an additional question which can grant their student permission to complete the screening themself. Secondary School families/students are receiving the daily health attestation text by about 8:30 am with the request to complete the screening by 10:00 am.

Staff and Elementary families will continue to receive a text between 5:00 and 6:30 am. E-mails will still arrive by about 5:00 am with a message to complete the screening by 7:00 am. Given the Wednesdays are a remote learning day for all students, Daily Health Screenings will not be sent to families/students.

Qualtrics Daily Health Screening Dashboard live-training was provided for staff April 16- 23. Staff can contact [email protected] for technical assistance. Friday Memo to the Board Student Support Services for the week of April 19 - 23, 2021

Chief Concie Pedroza: Dr. Concie Pedroza has been out to visit schools prior to and after schools beginning in-person over the past few weeks to answer questions and support school leaders. Every school has had different concerns and I will continue to visit schools to check in throughout this spring. I was outside on Monday at Roosevelt High School, reminding students to stay 6 feet apart, teach them about attestation and support one of our largest schools on their first day and we got in each cohort A student by 12:03pm. � This has been challenging work, it feels as if the Division of Student Support Services and our district have started schools at least five times this year; but it is with gratitude for the other departments and teams as we lifted up such important work.

We are planning for our Community Meetings regarding Isolation & Restraint, they will be: • Thursday, May 6 4:00pm – 5:30pm • Thursday, May 13 5:30pm – 7:00pm

We continue to work on the draft policy and procedure and will continue to update the School Board with our progress.

Admissions: As of April 21, Admissions has received 218 in-person appeals from K-5 families to request a change to their learning model with the majority of them wanting their student to return in-person. The new procedure has been a work in progress collaborating with the enrollment planning team and school principals with expectations in coordinating seat capacity for timely determinations. Effective April 19, Admissions will now designate all newly enrolled students for this school year as remote learners, their default learning model, prior to assignment with notification to both families and schools of the students remote learning assignment and further information on the in-person appeals process if applicable for a smooth transition to their new school.

Special Education: The Special Education Department has worked hard to support the successful return of students to In-Person instruction. We provided rolling support to schools to meet the specific needs as each new phase of students returned to the building, and as all phases of students have returned, we are providing continued support to schools and families. Support provided includes ~ • Collaboration with Enrollment and Human Resources to support appropriate staffing. • Continued collaboration with Transportation to support students having access to their chosen instructional model • Senior Special Education Leadership Team provided professional development in technical and procedural aspects of implementing special education services, in collaboration with CAI and Continuous School Improvement to building leaders and teachers. • Senior Special Education Leadership Team held multiple Q&A sessions, and on-call support to building leaders and teams in scheduling, implementation, and staffing challenges. • Special Education Supervisors and Program Specialists held Open Office Hours to provide in the moment drop-in support for building leaders and school teams.

Friday Memo to the Board Office of Public Affairs Essential Information for the week of 04/15/21 - 04/23/2021

Goal 1: Media Relations • Seattle Times - Judge dismisses recall petition against SPS board https://www.seattletimes.com/education- lab/judge-dismisses-recall-petition-against-seattle-school-board/ • KING 5 – More Seattle students return to school with some continuing to opt for remote learning https://www.king5.com/video/news/education/more-seattle-students-return-to-school-with-some-continuing-to- opt-for-remote-learning/281-09e25f01-aa51-4dc5-8604-8859d5289d8d • Seattle Times – Around Seattle, the oldest students return to school buildings for the first time in more than a year https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/around-seattle-the-oldest-students-return-to-school-buildings- for-the-first-time-in-more-than-a-year/ • KUOW – So awkward: middle and high schoolers return to school, and it feels weird https://www.kuow.org/stories/for-some-middle-and-high-school-students-the-first-day-back-to-in-person-classes- brings-mixed-emotions • KOMO tv – Judge dismisses recall petition against SPS board https://komonews.com/news/local/judge- dismisses-petition-to-recall-seattle-school-board

Goal 2&3: District Messaging – Outbound Communications, Customer Service • Last Thursday, during spring break, we sent out our bi-weekly newsletter to school leaders, staff, families, and partners to help prepare families and staff for the return to buildings and remote learning. The newsletter was translated and sent out in our top six languages, including English, to families. Around 100,000 people receive the newsletter. Over 40% of families read the April 15 newsletter. • SPSTV Created Returning to In-Person School, 6th-12th Grade Day in the Life https://vimeo.com/536058740 • Worked with Metro to share information directly with 6 to 12th grade families and students about Orca cards, bus routes, and tips on preparing for traveling to and from school. • On Friday, April 9 sent a confirmation email and robocall to all 6 to 12th grade families that included the 6-12 Instructional video (insert link). • Prepared in collaboration with School Board Directors and staff a district statement on encampments (insert link) • Supported Meany Middle School in communicating the district response to individuals camping near or on school grounds. Focus of the communication included support for a compassionate solution and our responsibility to maintain the well-being of our students, staff, and families. • Sent direct robocall to all 6-12th grade in-person students with tips on using public transportation beginning April 19. Posted information to the transportation website and pushed out on social media. • Distributed School Beat to over 100,000 subscribers and in six languages on Thursday, April 15. • Prepared a reminder phone call and email for all families on Sunday, April 18 about attestation, masks, health protocols, devices, and other tips to prepare for in-person school the following day. Put out a complementary news release. • Feature Story: Licton Springs K-8 Opens https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/levies_updates/licton_springs_k-8_opens • Feature Story: Chauvin Trial Verdict https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/chauvin_trial_verdict • Feature Story: School Choice Waitlist Update https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/registration_for_2021- 22/school_choice_waitlist_update • Feature Story: Preschool Outdoor Science https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/preschool_outdoor_science • Feature Story: Smarter Balanced Assessment Spring 2021 https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/smarter_balanced_assessment_spring_2021 • Feature Story: Wing Luke Tour https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/levies_updates/wing_luke_tour • Feature Story: Return to In-Person Updates https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/in-person_learning • Feature Story: Metro Tips for Students https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/metro_tips_for_students • The web team: o CMS and redesign project preparation continues, public district and school websites content preparation for migration o Refining new website design and CMS configuration o Reached out to schools to confirm their primary and secondary colors for the new templates o Is researching options for website form solutions o Collaborated with curriculum team to recruit educators for user experience research and discovery for website redesign project. o Published Chauvin Trial Verdict statement and student and family resources https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/chauvin_trial_verdict

Friday Memo to the Board Schools & Continuous Improvement for the week of April 19-23, 2021

Summer Staircase Update:

We are continuing to prepare for our summer offerings for 2021. As we are moving through our timelines to ensure that we are adequately prepared and stakeholders are aware of the educational services we are providing this summer, we continue to make adjustments based on capacity of staff, facilities, health and safety guidelines, course selections and community based partners. We will provide updates via the Friday Memo until the end of the school year. • We are continuing to develop CBO partnerships for summer and have clear guidance for building use this summer. • Job postings for teaching and support of summer programs have been open for six weeks and we are continuing to recruit. • Student recruiting guidance will go out to building leaders in the next week and we will start to identify potential sites for in-person learning as well as for our virtual programs. • We will follow our strategic plan for prioritizing students for in-person and virtual offerings. To date, we will have the following options available: • An interactive calendar for K-8 students to work independently on literacy, math, and SEL activities. • A K-8 virtual program that will focus on the goals in our Strategic Plan. • A possibility of K-8 in-person options (depending on COVID guidance in mid/late May). • High School Credit Recovery. • Career and Technical Education courses. We are currently working on staffing, curriculum development, and building use (if possible). Our next phase will be registering students through our partnership with building leaders.

Friday Memo to the Board Office of African American Male Achievement for the week of April 19-23, 2021

As an office we entered this week on fire after experiencing the Kingmakers of Oakland Virtual Spring Symposium. Throughout this engaging Professional Development event we were affirmed for the works we have done to date; and encouraged to continue to elevate and center the voices and experiences of young queens and kings in our districts and community. Two clear challenges we exited the symposium with included, a.) intentional review and dismantling of policy steeped in racism; b.) Its not about you or me its about our children (i.e. centering, and elevating student voice and experience). These charges led our office to physically connect with 6 of our priority focus schools this week. This engagement linked us to administrators, educators, school counselors, health professionals, community business organizations, and most importantly young queens and kings. Through this engagement we have been able to share out upcoming scholarship opportunities in addition to student leadership council opportunities; simultaneously we have been able to capture data surrounding student family decision making processes pertaining to the return of school in person. For example, a South Shore student shared, “I have an IEP so that online learning alone did not work for me, and because I often got support from Rainier Vista community center, and I never got sick, I was not afraid to return to school, wear your mask and you see I got the gloves on too…” This powerful student testimony captures the fact that the cure is in the culture, or moreover out of the mouth of babes we establish strength! As an example, please review student voice below.

This week the Student Leadership Council spent time sharing and ta through our feelings, most specifically around the Chauvin verdict, and around what influenced their decision to return to school or remain at home. SLC council member August Diggs offered, “our governor and district keep putting the burden on us the kids, every time we switch the learning model…” Another student a junior at Garfield HS expressed, “HOPEFULLY, the justice system will lead more towards change rather than fearing what the unpredictable outcome will be. An outcome I want to see is not only taking seriously lethal weapons from the police but also major verbal training for the police to deescalate the situation. Lastly, putting my money towards community sheltering and education…”