The last day of school was little more than a week ago, but that didn’t stop dozens of civic leaders, educators, community members, and parents from gathering at Byrd Barr Place to discuss the ins and outs of public education. As the sun set on the loveliest evening of the year, some of the region’s biggest players in education met face-to-face with their constituents at the first-ever Seattle Education Forum Block Party.
The Seattle Education Forum includes more than a dozen different organizations, including the Alliance for Education, Black Education Strategy Roundtable, League of Education Voters, and Southeast Seattle Education Coalition. The Block Party is new, but the collaboration is not: last October, the Seattle Education Forum hosted an event for the community to meet candidates for the Mayor, School Board, and City Council.
The Block Party drew a remarkable—and diverse—array of civic leaders, including School Board directors; Seattle City Councilmembers; Deputy Mayor for the City of Seattle Brian Surratt; and the Director of the Department of Education and Early Learning, Dr. Dwayne Chappelle. Also joining? Superintendent Ben Shuldiner, who seems to be everywhere these days.
After introductions by Roxanne Christian, President of the Alliance for Education, and Derek D. Harris, Director of the Black Education Strategy Roundtable, Schuldiner gave a few words. As he has all year, Schuldiner emphasized the dire financial situation of Seattle Public Schools. “At our current rate, we’ll be insolvent in a year.”
(Photo by Elizabeth Hunter)
Get out your passports
Fortunately, the main event was brimming with positivity—and popsicles. The Block Party broke out into groups: the Mayor’s Office, School Board, City Council, DEEL, and King County and State Legislature. Organizers handed out “passports” and invited attendees to get a stamp at every station visited.
From station to station, parents and community members spoke directly with leaders about the future of Seattle Public Schools. In the School Board group, represented by Liza Rankin (District 1), Kathleen Smith (District 2), and Joe Mizrahi (District 4), one cheeky community member asked why someone would endeavor to sit on the board.
“Self-loathing,” joked Liza Rankin (School Board Directors are paid less than $4,900 per year). But really, she said, it’s because “the School Board is the closest body to the community.”
Wandering from station to station, Ian Coon, Communications Director for the Alliance for Education, witnessed the best of civic engagement: “Leaders don’t always have a clear picture of how their puzzle piece of the education system in Seattle fits with the other pieces. At times, attendees and public officials were both learning who funds what, where priorities overlap, and which approaches are making a difference for students.”
Show me your report card
Throughout the evening, parents and community members inquired about topics like school safety, school repairs, and technology. One woman introduced herself as a mom from “the badly-in-need-of-repairs Washington Middle School,” for example.
“There were many ‘a-ha’ moments from leaders about how they can work together more effectively across their jurisdictions, said Coon. “For us as organizers, it really reinforced why creating spaces like this matters.”
There was one issue everyone agreed on: when asked about the recent change in Seattle Public Schools’ smartphone policy, the answer was unanimously positive.
“Anything we can do to encourage more face-to-face interaction is a good thing,” said City Councilmember Eddie Lin, whose son is a student at Franklin High School (currently spending the semester in Japan).
And over at the Mayor’s Office station, Danica Noble, candidate for State Representative District 32, got nods of approval with “it’s past time to revisit the conversation on 1:1 devices.”
Summer assignments
The last page of the Block Party Passport features a game of Bingo encouraging attendees to take action: give public testimony, for example, or volunteer at your kid’s public school. If the energy that evening is any indication, there are going to be a lot of Bingos over the next year.
