Education

I am writing to follow up on the letter I promised during the Town Hall meeting on May 7. I hope to provide the information you requested per my original statement. The primary purpose of this letter is to provide information regarding the current treatment of students. While I thank you for leading an institution that has helped me hone sensitivity to suffering, exploitation of power and a deep commitment to building a more “just and humane world,” I am very disturbed by the university’s stance regarding the killing of innocent people.

LYNNWOOD—Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) met with Edmonds School District Superintendent Dr. Rebecca Miner, and other ESD staff, on Monday, May 20, for a tour of Lynnwood’s Meadowdale High School where he discussed a recent earmark request of $2.2 million to replace florescent bulbs with LED lighting at three schools.

Middle school math won’t be the same going forward. There are going to be two separate classes divided by grade, Math 7 and Math 6. “[The change was made] to better meet the needs of our students to allow us to really focus on some core skills in sixth grade while still providing challenge for the sixth and seventh graders,” math department chair Christina Zembruski said.

Some experts, including Harvard law professor Elizabeth Bartholet, find the increase a cause to call for greater regulation. University of Washington education policy professor David Knight agrees, citing a lack of accountability and measures of student progress. Knight also worries about an absence of certain disciplines such as social studies that public schools are required to teach.

To President Eduardo Peñalver, Seattle University Students, Faculty, and Staff:. We write and share this writing about President Peñalver’s May 7th town hall—a town hall ostensibly presented as an opportunity for the highest level of SU’s leadership to not only share its “vision” of the university with the SU community but to listen and answer questions from students, faculty, and staff. Yet when students demonstrated deep care and courage and took the risk of sharing their thoughts, as well as their pain and anxiety, challenging their university with urgent demands in the face of tragic events, President Peñalver silenced them; he dismissed their ideas, their convictions, and their moral clarity, asserting only his own perceptions of what is true, what is “factual.” Our highest leadership repeatedly interrupted, chastised, and belittled students for using what he considered the wrong words, the wrong terms, claiming that they were neglecting technical details and thus effectively declaring they did not—could not—understand what they were talking about. Proclaiming SU’s unblemished record of honoring free speech, President Peñalver used his position of power to illustrate disdain for student speech. We write publicly now to report a campus climate violation on the part of President Peñalver as the tone with which he spoke to students at the town hall “contribut[ed] to creating an unsafe, negative, or unwelcoming campus climate.”

As I approach graduation, moments of my first year at Prep flash before my eyes. I remember walking onto campus at COVID-restricted 25% capacity for the first time with an eagerness to grow up and move on to the excitement of high school. Yet faced with the reality of leaving soon, I find myself wishing to hold onto every moment just a little bit longer.

Congratulations to several students who independently competed in the Washington State Science and Engineering Fair (WSSEF) after finishing in first place in their respective divisions at the state competition. Three students from Northshore School District then qualified and competed at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in mid-May. The...

As the end of the 2022-2023 academic year approached, two organizations seeking to serve students of marginalized identities—The Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA), and Student Success and Outreach (SSO)—began the process of merging into one organization. The new organization was announced in September as “Meaningful Opportunities for Student Access, Inclusion, and Community,” or MOSAIC.

Going all the way back to 2020, I struggle to believe that it was four years ago that I was experiencing a global pandemic to begin my high school experience. I am awestruck by the transformation I have undergone in mind, body, and spirit, and the transformation of the world around me.

“I’ve lived in Seattle my whole life and I’ve never felt more afraid to express my identify as a Jewish student,” one female student said.

On April 5, the seventh graders went on a field trip about the book “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” by Jamie Ford, which they analyzed in class. On this trip, students learned more about the book they read about in class. “I was the main...

We are excited to welcome your kindergartner to B.F. Day, The Family School! Here is how we are kicking off the 24-25 school year. Jump Start to kindergarten is August 21-23 9:00 a.m.12:00 p.m. Registration forms will be sent to families via mail with a detailed welcome letter. Families that...

Opinion column by KVI morning show producer, Phil Vandervort:. More and more images of the vandalism and individual behavior at the University of Washington occupied protest are pouring in with the benefit of social media. KVI morning show producer, Phil Vandervort, has compiled several images and videos from just the last few days to understand the situation on the Seattle campus after three weeks of the occupied protest, which supporters call “The Popular University For Gaza Liberated Zone”.

Lots of school news, now that we’re in the last month of the school year. If you have a Chief Sealth International High School senior in your household, the CSIHS PTSA reminds you that Friday (May 24) is the deadline to apply for the new scholarships they’re offering: $1,000 each for up to five graduating seniors planning to attend a college, university, or technical/vocational program. Get more info – and the application form – by going here.

SEATTLE — After announcing a plan that could potentially close 20 elementary schools, Seattle Public Schools will hold four informational meetings for parents starting Saturday, May 25. "To ensure SPS families have the greatest opportunity to take part, each meeting will present the same information," the district wrote when...

SEATTLE — University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce is calling on a pro-Palestinian student encampment to be dismantled after multiple buildings on the Seattle campus were tagged with what she called "offensive graffiti." Some of the graffiti was "quite clearly both antisemitic and violent," according to a message...

As COVID funding dries up, school boards are making hard decisions over shutting down schools or laying off teachers in order to close budget deficits in the millions of dollars.

June 6th, 6:00pm – 7:30pm, Loyal Heights Lunchroom. Please RSVP so we can plan for attendance and childcare numbers. We invite you to join the Loyal Heights Elementary PTA, in partnership with the UW Haring Center* and All Youth Belong, in a Community Conversation about how our schools and school communities can increase inclusion and belonging for youth with disabilities in ways that help all kids thrive.