Right now they are relying on the superintendent and staff to provide them with data. But why did it take the Seattle Times months to cover? Thats quite clearly the opposite of being an anti-racist. By clicking Sign Up, I confirmthat I have read and agreeto the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. 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. She was elected in 2019 to represent District 3, which encompasses Northeast Seattle, including Sand Point, View Ridge and Bryant. Student members are encouraged to utilize course credit, service hour, independent study, free periods, or other opportunities, as available and appropriate for their own academic schedule, to modify their class schedule to accommodate committee meeting attendance. 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. The SHIBA program part of the Office of the Insurance Commissioner is ready to help with your Medicare open enrollment decisions. The number of hours a month may vary, but should not exceed 20 hours. Dr. Keisha Scarlett, the SPS Chief of Equity, Partnerships, and Engagement, and Manal Al-ansi, the Director of Racial Equity Advancement, alleged an orchestrated campaign of bullying, escalating intimidation, gaslighting, and retaliation that lasted for months. Elected to the Central Valley School Board in Spokane Valley in November 2011, Bolt . DeWolf did not respond to requests for comment. 11% of the management team is Black or African American. 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. And in that letter I heard from two brilliant Black women that worked within our district, Rivera-Smith said. Seattle, Washington, United States. While I started to look into it then, I purposefully withheld my reporting until now. 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. MFR investigators said DeWolf repeatedly and persistently mistreated the two complainants, violating the HIB policy. Arizona school board member says district should reject hiring teachers with Christian values: 'Not.safe' https://lnkd.in/gsiKn_qu Explore the Fox News Mar. Theyre not against racism; they want to favor one racial group over others. Location. Mary Fertakis, Kevin Wang, Patty Wood - At-Large Positions In 2023, voters will choose board members for districts 1, 2, 3, and 6. Normally, this investigation would be posted online three days ahead of a school board meeting. The board vacancy came on the heels of Director Betty Patu announcing her departure from the school board, and without enough time to [] The report found Hampson worked with DeWolf to limit the impacts and remarks of the district employee. Northwest for Underrepresented Regions. One year appointment. The Seattle Public Schools board unanimously approved the new district elections map last week. The findings note that four of the 13 witnesses they interviewed opined that Dir. Meeting days and times vary by committee and may occur during school hours. School Board student members will also attend the regular meetings of the School Board of Directors on a roughly once-per-month rotation and will have an opportunity to report on the work of their committee, offer opinions on the motions and resolutions before the board, and communicate other topics of student interest or concern. Follow@JasonRantz onTwitter,Instagram, andParler,and like me onFacebook. School Board Special Meeting: Executive Session: Supt Eval Check-In; Work Session: Policy Diet. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 174 (Teamsters 174). Social Media - Qiong Schlegel. Seattle school board directors Zachary DeWolf (L) and Chandra Hampson (R). 68% of the management team is White. Talk with Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors member Leslie Harris, who represents West Seattle and most of South Park, at 2 pm at Delridge Library. Enrollment ('17-'18) 54,573 students. 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. 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.. A hearing is scheduled for April 16th. But they did not find evidence that DeWolf discriminated against, harassed, intimidated, or bullied either Scarlett or Al-ansi based solely on race., They also said he used his position and authority to the detriment of the complainants. 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. School Board student members will have the opportunity to participate in district policy development processes and counsel board directors on the impacts of potential district actions on students. District 5 - Michelle Sarju. DeWolf engaged more harshly, disrespectfully, and/or rudely with women, regardless of race. But others note hes rude to everyone regardless of gender. By . The employees names were redacted. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Two Seattle School Board members violated a board policy against harassing, intimidating and bullying staff members last year when they were working on an anti-racism policy with two Black . 2445 3rd Ave. S, Seattle, WA 98134 Student board members will not be voting members but will serve as advisors to the Seattle School Board. During law school, I served as a Board Member on the Black Law Students Association, Alternative Dispute Resolution Board, Academic Conduct Board, and Seattle Journal for Social Justice. Winner of President's Cabinet for top performance in 2006 and 2008. The lack of choices and the disrespectful treatment of children and parents by those in power will have to change if officials are going to be accountable, or have any chance of earning back the publics confidence. 1 and International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local No. It unnecessarily meddles in the employment practices. The investigation itself was extensive. 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. If a superintendent or board member directed staff to get something done by a certain time and the employee refused to and claimed that was bullying, I mean thats just unworkable, said Talmadge, who served as a state senator for 16 years. She repeatedly said she was elected to do this work and appeared upset that her authority and duty were questioned. 2013 - Present10 years. Contact the Student Members through Lets Talk. Districts of Seattle's size are also limited by state law to seven School Board Directors. 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. August 3, 2021. Tel 206-324-0400 . The Jason Rantz Show on KTTH has a staff of one when it comes to reporting and research: Im the one. 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 . School Board (1882 present) minutes, indexes, correspondence, email, public hearings and administrative documents. They found mixed and inconclusive evidence to show the conduct was based on gender. Greetings from the Admissions Director; Prep At A Glance; Explore Prep; Open House; Panther For A Day; Apply to Prep; . The anti-racism policy has not been adopted by the school board. She is passionate about high-quality education for all Washington students and for an equitable education system to help fully equip achievers for tomorrow. That meeting was the focus of the investigation and what triggered the accusations against Hampson and DeWolf. The campaign also builds on the Clean Schools Resolution passed by the Seattle School Board in February, which commits the district to being fossil fuel-free by 2040. 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. 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. (One recently-appointed member is not eligible for recall.). and are the keepers of school policy. Medicare open enrollment is here and SHIBA can help! However, the investigation did not conclude Hampson and DeWolf discriminated against staffers based on their race or gender. Email the Records and Archives Center archives@seattleschools.org for finding aids for paper records: school board and superintendents working files, correspondence and meeting materials. Seattle school officials declined to comment on the case, although spokesperson Beverley Redmond said the replacement of the harassment, intimidation and bullying policy does not impact the superior courts decision. Bellevue Christian Board of Directors. These meetings are held Wednesdays at 4:15 p.m. at John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence. Work Session: Building Relationships with Youth Continued (with Kings) . Seattle Public Schools started out the 2020-2021 school year in remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But some witnesses and school board directors got in the way. 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. But the investigation said her treatment of Scarlett and Al-ansi was not based on race or gender, as alleged. Hampson and DeWolf are no strangers to controversy. Bier on the Pier takes place on October 7th and 8th and features local ciders, food trucks and live music - not to mention the beautiful views of the Guemes Channel and backdrop of downtown Anacortes. One of the accusers tried to tell Hampson and DeWolf twice they were disrespecting her, the report said. 2400 11th Avenue East Seattle WA 98102. Redistricting is required by law. District 4 - Vivian Song Maritz. The events that took place between the Seattle Public Schools employees and board members Chandra Hampson and Zachary DeWolf happened in August and September 2020 during meetings and discussions about a draft of the districts anti-racism policy. Then listen to the Jason Rantz Show weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). The Board of Directors is self-perpetuating; new members are elected each year, serving up to two, 3-year terms. John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence Seattle University School of Law. As soon as the call began, DeWolf raised his voice at the two women who made the allegations and accused both of them of being dishonest about their collaboration on the anti-racist policy, according to the report. 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The filing deadline for this election was May 21, 2021 . Hampson, meanwhile, wanted to vote on the anti-racism policy instead of waiting for more community engagement, arguing its already been done. 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. Posting documents for regular Board meetings at least 3 days in advance of the meeting to allow for public review. She is the second School Board director in recent memory to resign. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. District 7 - Brandon K. Hersey. It was an attempt to limit Scarletts contributions to the meeting. Is there a reason you telling me this? November 2, 2021. Committees meet monthly. School Board student members will be provided agendas and other materials in preparation for meetings and are also encouraged to attend board work sessions and other special meetings of the board. Other indicators of failure are Seattles extraordinarily high private school attendance rate, dangerous homeless encampments adjacent to school grounds, the persistent learning gap for black, Hispanic and Native American children, and the fact that hundreds of families have left the system since March of last year. Theres been an issue on whether the staff of Seattle Public Schools runs the district or if the superintendent and board do, said Hampsons attorney, Philip Talmadge, a former Washington State Supreme Court justice. In the summer of 2020, the two staffers and board members disagreed on when the anti-racism policy should go to a board vote. 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. But the Seattle Times has an entire education section of their paper. Your IP: Scarlett and Al-ansi, who have escaped media scrutiny, should also be called out. All current board members still reside in the districts they represent under the new map. Scarlett and Al-ansi outlined the complaints in a memo titled Bullying, Intimidation, and Anti-Black Racism, which was sent to the full board and then-SPS Superintendent Denise Juneau. They barely got a slap on the wrist. 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.. AMDG; For the Greater Glory of God; Seattle Preparatory School. For details see Revised Code of Washington 29A.56.110. Board of Directors and District Map. 2445 3rd Ave. S, Seattle, WA 98134 The controversy began about two years ago, when SPS hired a law firm focused on employment law and human-resource services in the Pacific Northwest to investigate claims that Hampson and DeWolf violated a board policy during meetings that took place in August and September 2020. Work. Emails and meeting notes appear to back this claim. School Board Special Meeting: Ad Hoc Community Engagement Meeting. . 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.. 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 . During a group phone call in August 2020, the situation took a turn for the worse. Served on Corporate Advisory Board at the University of Arizona, School of Retail. Multiple school board members say . And District 6 in West Seattle now stretches to the other side of the Duwamish Waterway and includes Georgetown and South Park. 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 . It's easy to be accused of fearmongering regarding crime, but Seattle residents might have good reason to be concerned for their safety. But they are also fringe partisans who set up their complaint to fail when they claimed concern over the process not being able to weed out implicit bias. City officials and school board members have declined to meet with the group of neighbors, parents and employees who are . The law targets boundary lines drawn with the intention of diluting votes based on race or political party a tactic known as gerrymandering. Founded in 1856, St. Paul's School is a fully residential independent high school located in Concord, N.H. The Stranger, normally interested in amplifying claims of racism, offered the bare minimum in covering the story, only to link to the Seattle Times. The experiences of the past year have taught parents a hard lesson just how little power they have in the current system of public education. Facebook Parent Group Moderator - Kaye Smith. Seattle School Board President Chandra Hampson threatened volunteers with trespassing who were distributing leaflets on Monday regarding a homeless encampment on campus and school officials' refusal to address it. So, the actual people who actually do the job clearly like it and want to keep doing it.Mas argued theres a better solution to the fact that the job can be demanding, a solution that doesnt involve paying board members.They dont need to be paid themselves, they need some paid staff to answer those emails, to do some independent data gathering, he said. Hampson declined to comment. Applications for the 2023-24 student member positions will be open Monday, Feb. 27 - March 24. Seattle Public Schools hired MFR Law Group PLLC (MFR) to conduct an extensive investigation into school board directors Chandra Hampson and Zachary DeWolf. For example, in one email, DeWolf called out Scarletts dishonesty in claiming she was working with him on the anti-racism policy. Hes no longer in office, with Nov. 17, 2021, being his last day serving on the school board. Not have been convicted of a felony. Neither board member had to pay a fine, nor were they disciplined. Try searching for this story on the websites for KIRO 7, KING 5, KOMO News, or FOX 13. 8. 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.. Some kids are back at Seattle schools, but 2 homeless camps near Meany Middle and BroadviewThomson Elementary have parents worried. The district has improperly employed [the harassment, intimidation and bullying policy] to rebalance the power between elected directors and staff., Board members are elected to advise and approve policies, Talmadge said. 206-252-0000, Distributing Information to Students and Schools, Northwest Coast Art by Andrea Wilbur-Sigo, Squaxin/Skokomish, School Board Student Member Selection Committee, School Board Policy No. The district elections map only affects who can run for school board (candidates must live in the district they run for) and which board members people vote for. A list of School Board Members and Superintendents. He made these comments several times. Hampson and DeWolf later tried to expedite the board vote on the anti-racism policy during an executive committee meeting without the staffers. The School Board Office will reach out to interested students with further information and meeting dates. The student positions were created under the recently adopted School Board Policy No. Board members raised their voices at staff and the conversation has been described as terrible, heated, and berating, according to interviews conducted by investigators. In a series of emails, DeWolf and Hampson accused staffers of inaccuracies in district meeting minutes and claimed the district staffers didnt do the work they said they did, the report said. She is the Seattle School Board president. Ghislaine Maxwell has appealed the conviction and 20-year prison sentence she received for trafficking girls to Jeffrey Epstein for sex, with her . The conduct violated SPSs policy against harassment, intimidation, and bullying (HIB). 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. The superintendent was in attendance. All students and the more than 100 full-time faculty members live on the grounds. The board voted to withhold the information from online publication in an apparent move to keep the adverse findings from the public spotlight. 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.. 2445 3rd Ave. S, Seattle, WA 98134 Mar. Hampson and DeWolf come off as petty public servants because thats precisely what they are. Indeed, they seem upset that an investigation would occur and that their claims arent believed at face value. Believe me, I know. Harris is a mother and foster parent who works as a litigation paralegal for Campiche Arnold PLLC. 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. School Board student members will receive $17.27/hour for their work in this role, not to exceed 20 hours a month. There was also confusion among board members and staff about the timeline of the anti-racist policy, the emails show. The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times. Student board members are appointed for one year, following the academic calendar. Email the Records and Archives Center archives@seattleschools.org for finding aids for paper records: school board and superintendent's working files, correspondence and meeting materials. July 6, 2022 at 6:00 am Updated Aug. 2, 2022 at 4:46 pm. Part of the reason that I personally chose not to run is that it is such a huge commitment, particularly for someone who has a full-time job, and we have three board members who have full-time jobs.Smith-Blum said that there are good quality candidates who dont ever run because of the fact that its so overwhelming, with no compensation.But others doubt that board pay is a panacea.I dont think we are going to get a better corps of board candidates for that level of pay, and I dont think anybody who is doing it is doing it for the pay, said Charlie Mas who writes for the Save Seattle Schools website. (One recently-appointed member is not eligible for recall.) A district that I know ardently strives to be a safe, welcoming and anti-racist institution. 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. Melissa Westbrooks local blog which I just discovered actually covered this story back in October.