It was dated Sept. 18, 2020. But you wont find the report on the districts website. Board member Zachary DeWolf will not be running for re-election to the seat representing District 5, which covers the bulk of Capitol Hill, the Central District, downtown and the area near the stadiums.. It's a tumultuous time for Seattle and the city's . WA to end masking requirement in health care, correctional facilities, Fire on Lake City Way in Seattle raises smoke, flooding concerns, One Seattle business is taking a stand against tipping mania, Chef Ethan Stowell buys a historic Seattle dive bar, Amazon shutters some convenience stores, including 2 in Seattle, at least three days before public meetings. A school board candidate must: Be a registered voter. According to the investigation, Hampson and DeWolf both denied engaging in anti-Black racism or treating the two district staffers any differently from other employees. The Seattle School Board believes students possess valuable insight and should have a paramount voice in the education received from the district and in the decisions made by the board. Food, Drink, and Coastal Christmas Anacortes has it all. The Emerald asked the two finalists in the city's tightest school board race, Laura Marie Rivera and Vivian Song Maritz, nine questions collected from community members with a stake in education, and then one of our own.. Their feelings about why or how they were targeted do not replace the need for evidence. Right now they are relying on the superintendent and staff to provide them with data. They complained that they were being tokenized in the policys development. I dont want to rehash our own private conversations.. Theyre always quick to lift other peoples stories and present them as their own. Washington Democrats are trying to force employers to hire or retain potheads with new legislation. By Chris B. Bennett, The Seattle Medium. Served on Corporate Advisory Board at the University of Arizona, School of Retail. Currently, Liza Rankin holds the district 1 spot, Lisa Rivera Smith represents district 2, Chandra Hampson represents district 3, and Leslie Harris represents district 6. What was provided offered little insight into the total claims and ignored the complainants take on the process. District 5 now stretches from the Central Area all the way to the Montlake Cut, and includes Madison Park, Montlake, Eastlake and all of Capitol Hill. Its been made available only through a public disclosure request. School Board Audit Quarterly Meeting. Although the report didnt find clear evidence that Hampson and DeWolf discriminated against the two staffers because of their race or gender, it did conclude that both board members violated board policy 5207, which prohibits harassment, intimidation and bullying. Student board member terms run . The findings call his conduct unprofessional.. Codd, Superintendent Denise Juneau, School Board President Zachary DeWolf and Hersey heard from community members at a Thursday evening meeting on the issue at Garfield High School. Students entering their junior or senior year are eligible to apply for a one-year term that will begin August 2023 and conclude at the end of the 2023-24 school year. District 6 - Leslie S. Harris. Contact us with questions about applying to be a School Board Student Member. District 4 - Vivian Song Maritz. He will decide whether there is reasonable cause to show these board members committed an act or acts of malfeasance or misfeasance while in office or that such person has violated an oath of office.. General election date. The board voted on March 24 to move Pre-K through fifth-grade students into in-person instruction starting in April 2021. Juneau spoke with students and parents of students in the district, staff, principals, and the Seattle Council PTSA, and gathered feedback from Latinx and Black community members before making the . 2023 Washington Policy Center All Rights Reserved Terms of Use, Closer look at Superintendent Reykdal's dig at WPC has me missing "Better call Saul", Washington state students to get less classroom time under new Dem-backed plan, Proposed WA bill would cut student's classtime by 4 hours a week, Tutoring bill to help students with school-shutdown learning loss blocked in Senate Ways and Means Committee, Bill reducing WA classroom learning by four hours a week working its way through Senate. Monica Velez. She is the second School Board director in recent memory to resign. Once selected, student members will need to obtain written permission to work from their parent or guardian. March 7 @ 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm. The remaining seats will open up in 2025. The six officials parents are seeking to recall are Chandra Hampson, President, Brandon Hersey, Vice-President, Zachary DeWolf, Liza Rankin, Leslie Harris, and Lisa Rivera-Smith. The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times. Miles Hagopian, a student at Mercer International Middle School, applauded the Seattle School Board's unanimous vote in June 2020 to indefinitely suspend the district's partnership with the . Come celebrate Anacortes 11th annual Bier on the Pier! I think the investigation was correct in noting there was no evidence to suggest Hampson or DeWolf targeted Scarlett or Al-ansi for their racial or gender identities. The School is accredited by the New England . Selection of School Board Student Members; Approval of the Amended 2021-22 Superintendent . However, the investigation did not conclude Hampson and DeWolf discriminated against staffers based on their race or gender. Show more Show less The estimated total hours of board meetings that student board members will attend in a month is six (6) hours. Paralegal. Student board members can expect to spend approximately four (4) hours a month on additional work, including reviewing meeting materials, meeting with peers, and meeting with support staff and board mentor. DeWolfs last day in office was Wednesday; he was elected in 2017 and did not run for a second term. And its costing taxpayers thousands of dollars. If youre retired or getting ready to retire and looking for new ways to stay active, becoming a SHIBA volunteer could be for you! WA to end masking requirement in health care, correctional facilities, Fire on Lake City Way in Seattle raises smoke, flooding concerns, One Seattle business is taking a stand against tipping mania, Chef Ethan Stowell buys a historic Seattle dive bar, Amazon shutters some convenience stores, including 2 in Seattle, concluded she harassed, intimidated and bullied. But the district is doing what it can to keep the report from public view. If you feel you are being discriminated against, you need to prove it with the highest level of scrutiny., According to the investigation, both DeWolf and Hampson felt it important to move forward with an investigation so that it was clear they were not being held to a different standard or process than other SPS staff.. The attorneys representing the district, Pacific Law Group LLC, referred to the district for comment. At a meeting earlier this month, Seattle Public Schools board member Liza Rankin pointed out that the upcoming legislative session is a budget year, and called for the state to start paying for . Hampson appears easily slighted and is disrespectful to many people. 2023 FOX Television Stations, from SAT 6:00 PM PST until SUN 12:00 PM PST, Wenatchee Area, FOX13 News | Seattle & Western Washington | Formerly Q13 News, 'I've been really scared:' Survivor of home invasion sexual assault fighting to keep suspects in jail, Remains found tangled in a fishing line south of Marysville in 1979 identified through DNA, VIDEO: Kent police search for man who stole car with 2 children inside; children later found unharmed, Giant bug found at an Arkansas Walmart identified as a Jurassic-era insect, 7 people arrested in Seattle connected to national drug trafficking operation, Bryan Kohberger lawyer blasts 'grotesquely twisted' media coverage of stabbing that killed 4 Idaho students, Philadelphia Eagles WR Zach Pascal robbed at gunpoint in Maryland, Thurston County man dead after being hit by car in his own driveway, suspect arrested, VIDEO: Distinct red van may have been used in multiple break-ins in Seattle, Edmonds, Investigators: Former Puyallup police officer accused of rape may be linked to other assault, Skin cancer removed from President Biden's chest, Roof collapses during vacant building fire in Lake City, Seattle Police search for suspect who shot someone in the leg in Belltown, Seattle Police search for hit-and-run driver, SPD: 3 kids arrested for threats, stealing a car, having guns. (One recently-appointed member is not eligible for recall.). Last week, the Seattle School Board approved two measures involving African Americans males by a vote of 5-1, with the lone no vote on each measure cast by senior school board director Leslie Harris. Each School Board student member will be assigned to one of three board committees: the Audit & Finance Committee; Operations Committee; or Student Services Curriculum & Instruction Committee. Northwest for Underrepresented Regions (NUR) seeks to improve access to educational opportunities in . Hampsons attorneys are seeking to overturn the finding that their client violated the districts harassment, intimidation and bullying policy and say the district has not explained how events that led to the investigation meet the threshold of causing substantial harm to staffers under the policy. Emails and meeting notes appear to back this claim. The student positions were created under the recently adopted School Board Policy No. Hampson and DeWolf come off as petty public servants because thats precisely what they are. Each district needs to meet certain criteria set by state law: having nearly the same population size, being as compact as possible and not favoring or disfavoring a political party or racial group. Sami Al-Abdrabbuh, the chairman of a school board in northwest Oregon, has received death threats. Student board members are appointed for one year, following the academic calendar. Hampson, meanwhile, wanted to vote on the anti-racism policy instead of waiting for more community engagement, arguing its already been done. Newsletter & Website Content - OPEN. 206-252-0000, Distributing Information to Students and Schools, Northwest Coast Art by Andrea Wilbur-Sigo, Squaxin/Skokomish, School Board Student Member Selection Committee. They inexplicably chose not to embed the actual investigation, nor did they examine who made the complaints. They found mixed and inconclusive evidence to show the conduct was based on gender. The tension came to a head during an Aug. 28, 2020, phone call between Hampson, DeWolf, the complainants, and SPS staff. The law targets boundary lines drawn with the intention of diluting votes based on race or political party a tactic known as gerrymandering. The SHIBA program part of the Office of the Insurance Commissioner is ready to help with your Medicare open enrollment decisions. It is widely acknowledged that the Seattle Public School district (with 53,000 students, the largest in Washington) is riddled with weak leadership, overly powerful unions, poor academics and deep structural problems. I found out about this a week or so before my vacation, thanks to a listener tip. The Seattle Public Schools Board Office has two main areas of focus: Supporting the Board in the preparation and planning of Board meetings to ensure they run effectively and allow for public awareness and participation. He made these comments several times. Raymond Delos Reyes is a first-generation Filipino American, born in Seattle and a native of the Rainier Valley neighborhood, where he continues to reside. The School Board student member positions were created in response to student advocacy about the need to uplift and increase BIPOC student voices within Seattle Public Schools, to work toward a student-centered educational system, and to help students understand the educational system around them and share their perspectives with district leadership. Scarlett and Al-ansi, who have escaped media scrutiny, should also be called out. The investigation is damning both for the directors who misbehaved and the complainants who use their wokeness to prove any investigation into anti-Blackness would be futile. SEATTLE, WA- Massive homeless encampments have taken over several school grounds in Seattle.Instead of demanding that the growing tent communities be removed, the Seattle School Board president and one of its directors have reportedly urged Mayor Jenny Durkan to not clear them out.. Best believe anywhere else, there would be zero homeless camps outside a school. Normally, this investigation would be posted online three days ahead of a school board meeting. While serving, School Board student members must be enrolled in courses that ensure normal progress towards graduation and maintain the number of credits necessary for advancement to the next grade level. Harris is a mother and foster parent who works as a litigation paralegal for Campiche Arnold PLLC. Applications for the 2023-24 student member positions will be open soon please continue to check this webpage and district social media for updates. Capitol Hill's school board seat will have a vacancy this year, and the incumbent has some thoughts for anyone interested in running. 04 Mar 2023 01:18:54 Inspired by the Angela Davis quote that Walls turned sideways are bridges, the board recognizes the organizational structure of the district can create a wall between decision makers and the students the district serves. (function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "https://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })(). 11% of the management team is Black or African American. Bellevue Christian Board of Directors. Please fill out this form by April 3, 2023 if you would like to join the School Board Student Member Selection Committee. West Seattle news, 24/7. Self-interested unions, insider political interests and entrenched school officials decide what happens in public schools, not parents. As crime increases, our safety measures must too, GSBA is closing the disparity gap with Ready for Business Fund. This case highlights that particular problem and ultimately can bring affirmation to the board and the superintendent they hire.. Believe me, I know. As a result of the SPS investigation conducted by the MFR Law Group PLLC, Hampson, who was elected in 2019, and board member Zachary DeWolf, who has since left the board because his term expired, were required to review the board policy that prohibited harassment, intimidation and bullying. Seattle Public Schools hired MFR Law Group PLLC (MFR) to conduct an extensive investigation into school board directors Chandra Hampson and Zachary DeWolf. In order to be compensated, students will be considered district hourly employees subject to standard onboarding and criminal background check requirements with parent/guardian consent. Its not considered harassment when an elected board member reprimands staff for failing to follow board directives, Hampsons attorneys argue in court documents. The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times. Kindergarten Class Rep - Whitney Qualls. It only requested Hampson and DeWolf review the policy the investigation said they violated. Elected to the Central Valley School Board in Spokane Valley in November 2011, Bolt . For example, in one email, DeWolf called out Scarletts dishonesty in claiming she was working with him on the anti-racism policy. I certainly understand that SPS did not make it easy to track this story. The Seattle school board voted unanimously Wednesday to fire Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson over a $1.8 million financial scandal involving a district business development program. GSBA, Comcast, and other partners are working to address disparities in access to financial resources with the Ready for Business fund. Do I need to pull out my resume? she asked, according to witness testimony. The district's decades-long record of failure helps explain why three Seattle mothers, Emily Bramwell Cherkin, Jennifer Rebecca Olson Crow, and Beverely Diann Goodman are leading a broad coalition of concerned parents asking voters to recall six out of seven Seattle school board members. Al-ansi noted that DeWolf was pushing for a HIB investigation because he is familiar with the law and the level of scrutiny that is required around a racial claim., She calls it an institutional tactic where DeWolf is trying to find a different way to discredit their named experiences., The choice to move forward with an investigation is the most institutionally racist way you can do it, Al-ansi wrote, according to the investigation. MFR submitted the report to Seattle Schools in early August. Hampson recused herself from voting. Seattle University School of Law. While I started to look into it then, I purposefully withheld my reporting until now. Scarlett and Al-ansi did not appear pleased with the process. 2400 11th Avenue East Seattle WA 98102. Location. One witness called it worst meeting she had ever experienced., Another witness said that DeWolf began raising his voice and accused [the complainants] of being dishonest about their collaboration on the policy. She said that it seemed he felt the need to put them in their place., When one of the complainants wondered if a miscommunication could have led to the belief that they were working independent of the school board members, the witness said, DeWolf was relentless in his negative admonishing and chastising tone, which set the stage for a terrible conversation., DeWolf told MFR investigators, according to the report, that he was not scolding [the complainant], because he does not like conflict, and he was trying to be super-intentional and gentle with his language.. Hampson and DeWolf are no strangers to controversy. March 8 @ 4:30 pm - 7:00 pm. Mar. School Board Student Member Application. There was another meeting between the board directors and the complainants on Sept. 16, 2020. District 2 - Lisa Rivera Smith. Have at least a high school diploma or a certificate of high school equivalency. 174 (Teamsters 174). Come one, come all! The board vacancy came on the heels of Director Betty Patu announcing her departure from the school board, and without enough time to [] In 2023, voters will choose board members for districts 1, 2, 3, and 6. When Al-ansi attempted to explain why her ties to the local Black communities would help tweak the policy, Hampson interrupted to scoff at the womans bona fides. Redistricting is required by law. And in a district like Seattle, a $1 billion annual enterprise, its a big job for someone who isnt getting paid.Dont we deserve a higher quality education system for our 50,000 kids, asked Carlyle.Carlyle argues that many of Seattles problems, and many problems in other districts, including the achievement gap, low graduation rates, and high turnover, can be tied to the fact that board members are volunteers, arent up to the job, and dont have much time for it.Carlyles plan would pay board members, starting in the biggest, most complex district in Seattle, a salary in-line with state legislators, which is $42,000 per year.It is unreasonable to expect people to have all of that knowledge and then be full-time volunteers on top, said Carlyle. Multiple school board members say . MFR investigators did, however, find that Hampson used her position and authority to the detriment of the complainants. They expressed concerns about the expected Public Records Act disclosures after the investigation concluded., The report also notes that some witnesses asked MFR not to take notes during parts of their interviews.. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. According to the investigation, both complainants claimed that HIB investigations are not good enough to uncover implicit bias and anti-Blackness. I dont know what youre getting at by sharing yours, Hampson added, according to the witness. Applicants must be a Seattle Public Schools student entering their junior or senior year of high school at the time of selection, on track to graduate, and continue to be enrolled in Seattle Public Schools through the school year of their term. RT @mrandystevens: We need to replace the activists school board members with parents whose only agenda is to ensure a good education for our kids. The Jason Rantz Show, 3pm-7pm on KTTH. By Chris B. Bennett Co-publisher/Editor Two weeks ago, The Seattle School Board had a decision to make - who will be the next board member representing District 7, which encompasses Southeast Seattle. Theres also a federal law, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, with similar requirements that prohibit discriminatory practices when redistricting. Students entering their junior or senior year are eligible to apply for a one-year term that will begin August 2023 and conclude at the end of the 2023-24 school year. And in that letter I heard from two brilliant Black women that worked within our district, Rivera-Smith said. The two district employees, both of whom are women still working for Seattle Schools, alleged an orchestrated campaign of harassment, intimidation, bullying based on race and gender in response to their work on the anti-racism policy, according to the investigation by the MFR Law Group PLLC, a law firm focused on employment law and human resource services in the Pacific Northwest. The two SPS employees believed board members were silencing, undermining, discrediting and discriminating against them based on gender and race, court documents say. Try searching for this story on the websites for KIRO 7, KING 5, KOMO News, or FOX 13. She is the Seattle School Board president. "You will not see me supporting your business and I find it intriguing you think that crime is just in Tacoma, said a Tacoma Councilmember. School Board student members are charged with engaging students and student groups for feedback and with carrying forward the diverse perspectives of Seattle Public Schools students. Two Seattle School Board members violated the board's harassment, intimidation and intimidation policy last year when they worked on an anti-racism policy with two black district employees, an external investigation showed. For details see Revised Code of Washington 29A.56.110. Neither board member had to pay a fine, nor were they disciplined. Meeting days and times vary by committee and may occur during school hours. MJ Bolt is an elected Eastern Washington representative to the Washington State Board of Education. But the investigation said her treatment of Scarlett and Al-ansi was not based on race or gender, as alleged. Did you like this opinion piece? She repeatedly said she was elected to do this work and appeared upset that her authority and duty were questioned. Founded in 1856, St. Paul's School is a fully residential independent high school located in Concord, N.H. With just a week before the Seattle School Board is scheduled to vote on a plan for instruction this school year, which begins Sept. 2, some members including Chandra Hampson say the district's . Our safety, legitimacy as leaders, unique and necessary lived perspectives, and material contributions have been routinely marginalized and discredited in accordance with our proximity and alignment with white-centric institutional norms, and these Board Directors views, they wrote in the memo. During a board meeting Sept. 9, the board voted to take action based on the findings of the investigation. Specifically, the recall petition itself reports that Seattle school board members have: Delayed reopening Seattle schools to full-time, in-person instruction, compared to the great majority of other districts; Violated their legal duty to provide special needs students with access to in-person instruction; Given away school property in West Seattle in violation of legal standards; Failed to correct a 2015 school board decision to take $2.7 million in private money while keeping the donors name secret; Approved contracts on planned Rainier Beach High School and Northgate Elementary construction projects which involve conflicts of interest and violations of environmental review laws; Failed to protect student privacy online; Failed to consult the Duwamish Tribe regarding environmental review of the Northgate Elementary project; Failed to provide adequate school-day recreational areas for students; Sold school property to a favored buyer without holding a public hearing; Discriminated against students by canceling the Highly Capable Program at Washington Middle School; Violated the rights of Kimball Elementary School students by improperly changing the attendance area. A Seattle school board member has gone to court to fight the outcome of a district investigation that concluded she harassed, intimidated and bullied two Seattle Public Schools employees. Hampson did acknowledge the group phone call was terrible, the report said, but denied violating harassment, intimidation and bullying board policies. I have been doing this for 30+ years, and I dont need to hear your qualifications. Board members also believe students possess valuable insight and should have a voice in the education received from the district and the decisions made by the board. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Currently the owner of Delos Reyes Law . John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence The report noted that it seemed [DeWolf] felt the need to put them in their place. One of the accusers tried to raise that there must have been a misunderstanding, but DeWolf was relentless in his negative admonishing and chastising tone, which set the stage for a terrible conversation., Hampson berated staffers, the investigation said, and the conversation became very heated and spiraled out of control..
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