u/blukoff

Themes appear to be:

1. It's a start.
2. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. (Something which a lot of people in Seattle need to hear)
3. SPS is structurally insolvent. I hadn't heard it put this way before: "Based on our current systems and fiscal rules, we spend more than we are given, and almost every additional student we enroll deepens that structural deficit. I want to be clear: we go into a deeper deficit for almost every student who attends our schools. We simply cannot grow our way out of this problem."

>Dear Seattle Public Schools Community,

>I hope this newsletter finds you well. This edition will be a bit longer than usual because it will be my last one for a few weeks.

>As we head into summer break, I want to begin with gratitude.

>Thank you to our amazing educators, who support our students academically, socially, and emotionally every day. Thank you to our wonderful families for believing in Seattle Public Schools; not only by entrusting us with your children each day, but also by volunteering, tutoring, mentoring, helping with homework, and getting your scholars out of bed each morning.

>Thank you to our incredible community for showing up for our schools in countless ways. And, of course, thank you to our students, who come to school ready to work hard, support one another, and learn.

>It is only because of all of these remarkable people that our district can be exceptional.

>I would like to highlight some of the wonderful things we have accomplished over the last five months.

>We created a districtwide cell phone policy. I know some of you believe it is too lenient, while others think it is too restrictive. But it is a start, and it has already improved our schools.

>We formally announced our intention to build a field for Lincoln High School. I know some of you would have preferred a different location, and many community members are concerned about the impact on the surrounding flora. But again, it is a start. It creates a path toward giving our students and the broader community greater access to high-quality athletic facilities.

>We expanded school choice, allowing more students and families to attend the schools they want when physical space is available, rather than having the district limit movement for other reasons. As a result, hundreds more students have been able to enroll in their preferred school for next year. I also recognize this has meant some educators have had to move between schools because staffing must follow students, but it is a start.

>We increased the number of students who can take advanced math over the summer, helping more students stay on track to take calculus in high school. I know some families wanted even broader access, but it is a start.

>We restructured Highly Capable services to make this wonderful program accessible to more families. I also know many families continue to have concerns about how we structure advanced learning, but it is a start.

>We created new Executive Director positions aligned by grade level to better support our students, educators, and schools. I know there is still much more work to do organizationally, but it is a start.

>And in some ways the most important thing we have done together over these last five months is breathe a new sense of hope and positivity into the school system. This alone won't lead toward higher student achievement, but it is a start.

>There is an old aphorism, often attributed to Voltaire: “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

>I am partial to a similar line from King Lear: “Striving to better, oft we mar what’s well.”

>As we continue moving forward, centering student achievement in every decision we make, we will have to make choices that are not perfect, but we believe are good. Once we make those decisions, we should evaluate their impact, learn from them, and improve.

>Over the coming months and years, we will have to make some very difficult decisions. I hope they will be good decisions rooted in reality, even if they are not perfect ones.

>And the reality is that we are structurally insolvent. Based on our current systems and fiscal rules, we spend more than we are given, and almost every additional student we enroll deepens that structural deficit. I want to be clear: we go into a deeper deficit for almost every student who attends our schools. We simply cannot grow our way out of this problem.

>Rather than aligning our spending with the resources we actually have, many of our formulas and systems continue to generate costs regardless of how we are funded.

>This is not sustainable. This will have to change. There will have to be trade-offs. We can’t continue to live above our means.

>At the same time, I believe we can emerge from this budget crisis even stronger if we are willing to confront today’s realities and make decisions based on facts rather than hope or wishful thinking.

>We have made great strides over these past five months, and I know we will accomplish even more in the months ahead.

>Thank you all for believing in SPS. With your help and hard work, SPS truly will be the best urban public school district in the country.

>Ben

Anyone know anything more about this?

Focuses on alternative schools and Rainier Beach HS.

>Dear Seattle Public Schools Community,

I hope this newsletter finds you well. I can't believe that this coming week I will be attending my first Seattle Public Schools graduation. On Wednesday, June 10, I will have the honor of watching The Center School’s seniors walk across the stage and receive their diplomas, one of the many amazing culminating events happening across our district at this time of year.

>For those of you who don't know, The Center School is one of those unsung gems of SPS: a small, alternative high school that infuses arts and career readiness throughout its programming.

>In fact, SPS has many wonderful alternative schools that fly under the radar, places of learning like Nova and Seattle World School, Middle College and Alan T. Sugiyama, Interagency, Seattle Skills Center, Cascade Virtual Option, and Cascade Parent Partnership.

>If any family is looking for a different kind of high school experience, please check out these wonderful programs.

>This week I also want to highlight one of our comprehensive schools and the tremendous progress they are making in college acceptances.

>The last time I wrote about Rainier Beach High School, I was congratulating them on winning the Boys Basketball Championship. And for much of this city, RBHS is known for its athletics. But over the last five years, something very special has been happening academically as well. With their focus on the International Baccalaureate program, the rigor and achievement of the students have gone up.

>As you have heard me say many times: students rise to the level of expectation. And the expectations at RBHS are rising. As proof, more RBHS students were admitted to the University of Washington this year than in many years. This year, 53 of their 104 applicants received offers of admission, greatly outperforming UW’s overall acceptance rate (39%). And over the last five years, the IB Diploma students have been admitted at a whopping 89%.

>Take a look at how RBHS's UW pipeline has grown:

>Year | Applied | Admitted | Enrolled

>2021 | 56 | 22 | 16

>2022 | 59 | 21 | 17

>2023 | 79 | 48 | 27

>2024 | 73 | 42 | 33

>2025 | 95 | 46 | 37

>2026 | 104 | 53 | TBD

>Since 2021, RBHS has more than doubled the number of students who have been accepted. Amazing.

>I also want to give a big shout out to the Kingmakers program. On May 29, I had the great fortune to attend the 2026 Kingmakers of Seattle Crowning Ceremony.

>After being treated to amazing food and dessert, the guests were enthralled by stories of our students. It was a night of empowerment and praise, an event full of love and celebration. Students were commended for increasing attendance and academic outcomes. Students read essays about how impactful the Kingmakers program is to them.

>At the end of the night, all the participating students were “crowned,” given a black baseball cap with a crown emblazoned on the front.

>I want to personally thank Dr. Mia Williams and all the Kingmakers facilitators for supporting our students with so much love and support.

>Thank you all for believing in SPS. With your help and hard work, SPS truly will be the best urban public school district in the country.

Ben

Good for her and for Lakeside

This is pretty cool.

Excerpt:

>Sean Reardon, who studies poverty in education and co-authored the Stanford study, says Seattle’s overall success masks “enormous inequality.” In fact, SPS has some of the largest achievement gaps in the U.S., a fact that has been the shame of this city for years and only worsened during the past decade.

>Not for lack of attention. Seattle has focused millions of dollars and plenty of mental energy on Black students through efforts like the Office of African American Male Achievement. What’s missing is accountability (and proven interventions like high-dosage tutoring).

>It’s no wonder Shuldiner is working hard to highlight Seattle’s strengths. A major test of his tenure will be whether he is able to attract all families back to SPS, which would boost the district’s finances as well as its image.

"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."

Don't know how much new is being said here since I haven't listened to the whole thing yet...

The dean of local historians has died. May his memory be for a blessing.

Here we go again.

I just saw them post this on Facebook -- but it's a PDF (https://www.washingtonea.org/file\_viewer.php?id=67562). So here's the extracted text:

>Dear Superintendent Shuldiner,

>In recent weeks, you have announced the placement of Anitra Pinchback-Jones at Adams Elementary despite years of allegations of harm to students, staff, and families.

>In a meeting with Adams Elementary families on April 20th and at the SPS Board meeting on April 22, you stated that there are no disciplinary actions in Ms. Jones’s personnel file despite founded violations of state labor law and IDEA during her tenure at Rainier View Elementary and that her evaluations show no indications of performance concerns. This also means that the many complaints and allegations from families either were not investigated or resulted in no findings.

>This has caused great concern for SEA leadership and our members.

>SEA is deeply concerned that District leaders failed to act on founded complaints that Ms. Jones violated state and federal law and SPS policies and a disturbing pattern that all concerns investigated by SPS resulted in no findings. A special education complaint filed by RVE PTSA to OSPI found violations of IDEA and concluded that District policies and processes were not followed at RVE during her tenure. Did the district investigate whether Principal Jones was responsible for these violations? In November 2024, Ms. Jones was found to have violated state labor law for discriminating against and retaliating against staff who exercised their union rights. SPS policy prohibits retaliation. Did an SPS investigation occur as to whether the actions of Ms. Jones violated SPS policy? In April 2025, the Attorney General filed a lawsuit against SPS for violations of state law providing workplace protections for pumping and pregnant people. This stemmed from multiple complaints from RVE educators in the 23-24 school year. Was Ms. Jones investigated for violating state law and district policy at this time?

>We call on you to conduct an investigation into the failure of SPS leaders to investigate and address with fidelity, family and staff complaints, and founded law and policy violations against Anitra Jones. District leaders who are responsible for failing to hold Jones accountable should themselves be held accountable. All investigations conducted into parent and staff complaints/allegations about the conduct of Anitra Jones toward students and staff should be reviewed. We ask that you review all complaints lodged against Ms. Jones and confirm that they were investigated. If uninvestigated complaints are found, we ask that you take immediate action to investigate those complaints.

>We believe that the record will show that multiple individuals still currently holding SPS leadership roles did not respond to, investigate, or act on concerns/complaints/allegations/violations with fidelity and in alignment with SPS policies and procedures. If so, those individuals should be held accountable.

>You have also stated that state law and an internal SPS document require you to place Ms. Jones in an elementary principal position. This “internal document” should be shared publicly and reviewed as to the legal viability and authenticity of such a document. We ask that it be confirmed that this internal document was actually approved and signed by former superintendent Brent Jones.

Just got this via email and the School Messenger app. Kind of surprised no way to RSVP or access online. Perhaps we will be receiving a revised version soon?

>Dear Seattle Public Schools Community, 

>We are so grateful to everyone who joined us at our March and April community engagement meetings. Whether you came in person or joined us online, your time and voice matter to us. We do not take that for granted. 

>We have transcribed all the feedback from each session and are now working through the key themes across everything we heard. Our first round of meetings was intentionally broad. We wanted to open the conversation wide and hear what was on your mind before we narrowed our focus. That was by design. 

>As we move forward, we will shift to more focused conversations organized by subject and theme, based directly on what we are learning from you. We want these meetings to go deeper, not just wider, digging into what you shared during the first round of meetings. 

>We are planning one more community meeting before the end of this school year. Join us: 

>When: Tuesday, May 19 

>Time: 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. 

>Where: Asa Mercer International Middle School, 1600 S Columbian Way 

>Looking ahead to next school year, we plan to build a recurring monthly engagement schedule, so these conversations become a consistent part of how we find solutions to the challenges at hand. 

>Thank you for your trust, honesty, and commitment to Seattle's children. With your partnership, we can make Seattle Public Schools the best urban school district in America. 

>We hope to see you on May 19.  

>In Partnership, 

>Ben Shuldiner 
Superintendent 
Seattle Public Schools