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Last night, we were joined by Ashley Davies, Executive Director of Operations, as we discussed the plan to switch to three-tier draft times for the 2022-2023 school year.
We understand that there is a lot of concern and it will impact our community.
We will share the PowerPoint as soon as we receive it.
Dear PTA Leaders,
Please share the following message with your school community:
The Seattle Council PTSA is hosting a series of community engagements with Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Brent Jones. Please join us to share your voice with our district leader about safe and welcoming environments. To register, please use the following links. ASL and closed captioning will be available at eash listening session.
Interpretation in each of the top 5 languages (Spanish, Somali, Vietnamese, Cantonese, and Amharic) is available as well.
All listening sessions are 5:30PM to 7:30PM on the dates listed.
April 19: Native families https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMpd-qgrzMrEtB9eyuW5z09U-yz02q-GfPy
April 21: Multilingual families https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEod-uopz4rHNOw4A4NT37eXz8isXu8v6kh
April 25: Black families: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYpc-yopz0oG9xIbq62En8Fm5iMF_KBJKEO (Interpretation in Oromo and Tigrinya available in addition to the languages listed above)
May 2: Students with IEPs/504s https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMsf-ygqDojG9BBIRmAAQafIss9xkzV6KLc
May 5: Students https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0ocOugqT4vEtDaKS3xGJwtdZrKjYpQFw8c
May 9: Special Education families https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYodOquqTsiE9y1KJnM5pJrMa39aTSb7ra2
May 16: General public https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMsfuGhpjovH9cM5rCAYrbaALSxwjX1YL7Q
In Community,
Melanie Jorgenson
SCPTSA Secretary
SCPTSA Membership Chair
melanie.jorgenson@scptsa.org
www.scptsa.org
SCPTSA hosts a forum to talk about Family Engagment & DEI Chair Sebrena Burr and Legislative Advocacy with Sam Fogg. Here is the Meeting Link for YouTube.
Transcript is Here
PowerPoint Available here
Hello PTSA Leaders,
SCPTSA is working to get us working together as a collective Council more intentionally. Advocacy, Family & Community Engagement & DEI is the DNA and the strengths of our organization for 125 years. Please join us for a presentation and a time to work together to align more intentionally in our buildings, for the families and students we serve and to work more intentionally together. And how to we best support educator who support them both?
The past two years have been challenging for us all. This is an opportunity for us to align to the National PTA best practices and to build capacity as a Council of PTSA to better support each other and our buildings.
Please join us for our FACE; DEI and our collective Advocacy meeting. (see below)
You are invited to a Zoom meeting.
When: Mar 29, 2022 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)Register in advance for this meeting:https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEvfuqorjoiGtPK40iq8dwyYQWeKb4uSFQ2
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Additional, on Thursday, March 31st is our final listening session in our partnership with National PTSA Office of Family Engagement to update the National Family Engagement Standards. This session is open to all families. Graphics for this event are in the attachments.
Here is the registration information:
All Families - Thursday, March 31st, 6:30 - 7:45 (PST): https://pta.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIsduiqqz0pH91t9ZSsrhDoURL-PacUUZklWelcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Future of Family-School Partnerships focus Group . After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Future of Family-School Partnerships focus Group . After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.pta.zoom.us
Topic: General Membership Meeting
Start Time: Mar 17, 2022 06:50 PM
Meeting Recording:
https://zoom.us/rec/share/ad5Fnl_J8SkVzSxFjEPgb926gZ5SFGRzAOLlGi1VPeDoh-fpBClnEeFhA_uJnICa.mL75AF8ixADlCyc_
Access Passcode: Z3qt8&VA
Seattle Council PTSA hosts a discussion with the Office of Finance and Budget Asst. Superintendant JoLynn Berge. We are hosting this space for you to ask your questions and learn more about how money works in our public schools.
Here is a recording of the “Money Talk” for those of you who didn’t have the ability to access it.
Audio File for People who would like and Audio Version.
Click here for PDF transcript.
Note: this session is for Disabled Parents and Disabled Caregivers, whether or not their student qualifies for IEP/504. This is not for non-disabled parents/non-disabled caregivers of students who qualify for IEP/504.
How do you and your family want to engage with your school? What makes for strong relationships between you and your teachers? Our PTA will use this feedback to make family-school partnerships more inclusive and impactful in your community. National PTA will also use your feedback to inform a set of National Standards for family-school partnerships nationwide.
Disabled Parents/Caregivers - Saturday, March 19, 11:00 - 12:15 (PST): https://pta.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEqcOqpqTsqGNA6CPiolixst1QA1wiGVt-w
Originally shared with SPS School Board and Community on 1/26/2022.
On Tuesday, January 18th, Seattle Council PTSA received the resignation of the executive committee, Interim President Romanita Hairston, Vice President Kiani Pineiro-Hall, Secretary Heather Hart, and Treasurer Brian Terry. O'Hara Jimenez also resigned as District 7 Co-Chair. We would like to thank our departing board members for the time, energy, and heart they put into their work with SCPTSA, and while we were not expecting the resignations, we understand the need to part ways. In the interest of transparency, we have posted the statements from the departing members here.
On Thursday, January 20th, SCPTSA informed our membership, via email and Facebook, of the resignations and the cancellation of the General Membership Meeting that evening. The election process was outlined, and on January 24th the SCPTSA Board held a Special Meeting to nominate an interim Executive Committee to serve in a temporary capacity. (as listed now on this website)
The SCPTSA Executive Committee Nomination Form. has been released via Microsoft Form, and is open for nominations until the General Membership Meeting on Thursday, February 17th, at 6:30pm via Zoom. At that time, the election will be held for the positions of Seattle Council President, Secretary, Treasurer and Vice President. SCPTSA will be providing additional election information to PTA and PTSA Presidents and Vice Presidents in the coming days. All position descriptions can be found here.
Nomination shall be made from the floor with the consent of the nominee(s). A quorum being present, a majority of all votes cast is necessary to elect.
Change is not easy, but the work of SCPTSA on behalf of students has not stopped. We thank you for your dedication and support as we move through this process and look to the future.
In Community,
Seattle Council PTSA Board
DATE: March 4, 2022
RE: Superintendent Dr. Brent Jones
Dear President Hersey, and School Board Directors,
On behalf of the board of Seattle Council PTSA, we are writing to support the hiring of Dr. Brent Jones as the permanent Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools. While we feel the hiring process has fallen short with regards to full transparency and family engagement, we nevertheless believe that Dr. Jones is the right choice to provide strong, stable leadership for SPS going forward.
During the pandemic Dr. Jones has been effective and connected as a leader. We have witnessed how he has been able to cultivate a good working relationship with both the School Board and the City of Seattle, including securing the endorsement of Mayor Bruce Harrell. He has also worked to connect with community, partnering with SCPTSA to reach out to the students and families of SPS. In doing this work, he has repaired damaged relationships and forged important new ones.
SCPTSA has a long history of working with Dr. Jones, which gives us some insight into his skills and priorities. In 2016, when he served our district as Chief Equity, Partnerships, and Engagement Officer, he collaborated with us in building our work around School Family Partnership. Additionally, he was an important force behind the creation of School Board Policy 0030. When Dr. Jones returned to Seattle Public Schools as Interim Superintendent, our working relationship with him resumed almost immediately after his hiring. He made community engagement a priority, including meeting with SCPTSA, joining SCPTSA’s D7 meetings, and attending a meeting with Roosevelt Alumni for Racial Equity (RARE).
In the listening session on February 17, one of the testifiers stated that “the investments you have already made in this leader, starting with his days as a student at Franklin, are significant. He has previously held key positions within SPS for over a 10-year period. For you, at the conclusion of your search to reaffirm your confidence in Dr. Jones will demonstrate that you value a leader with lived experience in our district.” We too see the value in having a leader who understands our school district from multiple perspectives—as a black male student, as a SPS staff member, and as our Interim Superintendent.
Our work with Interim Superintendent Jones has been strong over the past year, but we see the potential to do so much more. Right now, we are excited to be working with Dr. Jones, SPS leadership, and National PTA to update the National Family Engagement Standards, and we want Dr. Jones by our side as we bring that effort forward. We can do so much more when we can work effectively together, for the good of every student. We know, as do you, that there is much that needs to be done, and we are energized by the idea of continuing what we have begun with Dr. Jones.
Building relationships and trust take time and investment. This is an opportunity to have SCPTSA, the SPS School Board, City of Seattle leaders, and the Superintendent all positioned to work together for the good of all of our students, and we believe the best way to seize this opportunity is to hire Dr. Brent Jones as Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools.
In Community,
Seattle Council PTSA Board
Date: March 2, 2022
RE: Masking for Student, Staff, and Teacher Safety and Health
To: Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors With Governor Inslee’s lifting of masking mandates for the state, including public education, we are writing in support of Seattle Public Schools keeping our students, staff, teachers, and community healthy and safe by continuing the masking mandate in our District.
The focus of our schools must be on the education of our students. In order to show up fully and be prepared to receive an education, students must be safe and healthy. From the ongoing research throughout the COVID pandemic masks and vaccinations reduce transmission rates, allowing students to remain in their classrooms.
Vaccinations, however, are not universally accessible. Kids 5 years and under are not yet eligible to receive a vaccine, people with certain health risks may not be able to get a vaccine due to complications with their health needs, and older folks remain at a higher risk of major complications of COVID. Many of our families have students with siblings and/or other family members under 5 and families of color are more likely to live in multigenerational households.
The data also shows that vaccinations are not equitably accessible nor distributed. Distribution and accessibility of vaccinations continue to follow the systemic patterns of racism in the United States, making it such that people living in poverty, communities of color, and students furthest from educational justice have lower vaccination rates. To stay true and committed to Seattle Public Schools' strategic plan and commitment to these very communities, we must prioritize the health and safety of these students and communities.
Masking is an effective and accessible mitigation strategy to ensure students can learn, thrive and remain safe and healthy at our schools.
As an organization whose mission is to advocate for all children, Seattle Council PTSA asks our School Board to continue the masking mandate in our schools.
Thank you for your commitment to our students.
In partnership,
Seattle Council PTSA
