Jane Tunks Demel

Liveposting of tonight’s Seattle school board meeting is going on in this thread - thank you for posting it!

Stephan Blanford’s questions a perfect example of all that is wrong with SPS.

Thank you for live posting during midwinter break for all the SPS parents.

I need to know more about the ratios he’s seeing.

Hear From The Next Superintendent On Wednesday, November 19, the Seattle School Board approved the contract of Ben Shuldiner to be the next superintendent of the district. Shuldiner, 48, is from New York City and has been a teacher, c...

He used this same Q comparison for equity grading in the Garfield school newspaper interview.

www.garfieldmessenger.org/10999/articl...

I am at Block Table to see the new superintendent do a q and a with local politico Sandeep Kaushik!

How much money will it cost to send a school board director to the policy/legislative conference and is it a smart use of SPS's limited funding? How will it benefit SPS students?

Issue 17 -- School Board Budget Work Sessions Ben Shuldiner previews a new approach for SPS budgeting: direct, honest competence.

NEW: At a recent work session spread out over two meetings, SPS board directors learned a lot about the district's finances -- and how new Superintendent Ben Shuldiner intends to lead. Article by @janedemel.bsky.social:

February 7, 2026 – Board Special Meeting: Retreat – Seattle Public Schools If you are planning on attending this meeting in person and need interpretation support, please contact the Board Office (boardoffice@seattleschools.org) by January 30, 2026.

None of us avid School Board watchers will be at the board retreat, because none of us can go be in person all day, and the board/district has chosen to not provide remote access in this year of our gourd 2026. They will be discussing board governance, the board work plan, and strategic planning.

When did he say that? I only heard the Garrison Keillor reference.

He said $97 million. So that's $10 million more than the $87 they'll need to plug the deficit.

The board has been asking to hear what the strategies are for the last two years at least. They're never told!

They're unable to say what they're doing for MTSS.

Professional Learning Community (PLC): a collaborative group of educators who meet regularly to share expertise, analyze student data, and work together to improve teaching practices and student outcomes

Direct quote from Rocky: “It begs the question: What are we doing?” Maybe he will tell us one day.

So much opportunity!

Issue 14 -- Board Gets Update on Highly Capable Program Two new highly capable cohorts are coming to West and South Seattle -- but so are changes to identification practices.

NEW: Big changes are coming to highly capable programs in Seattle Public Schools — including new cohorts in West and South Seattle. Julie Letchner recaps the board meeting HC update:

The MLK Day meditation by Chelsea on Peloton quoted Renee Good (“I’m not mad at you”) during a metta mediation.

I noticed this too! I’m sure Peloton has signed off on this.

Seconding.

I had missed that the SATP was going to be intro and action at the same meeting. That's extremely disappointing. I hope staff will get the materials up on the website well before the meeting. I would love to see the board put some guardrails around when intro and action at the same meeting was used.

Introduction and Action for the Student Assignment Transition Plan at a single meeting seems too fast for something so important.

I automatically like a 1) teacher who 2) does a PRR for his public comments

Just because I'm a mom doesn't mean I'm dependent on a man. Being pregnant does suck though, no doubt.

I don't see Director Briggs.

SPS Board Meeting plan for tonight: I have to pick up big kid at 4:15pm so might be a tad late. I will skeet until some time between 6 and 7. @janedemel.bsky.social will take over for a bit on the @thebulletinsea.org account while I get a break. Trying to make it a bit more tenable!

What do they think of the Stranger influence in Seattle elections?

Guest Rant: The Stranger Got It Wrong About Sarah Clark Former Seattle School Board Director Lisa Rivera says we got the candidate in her old seat all wrong.

The Stranger got one endorsement really wrong this year. As @lisarivera.bsky.social points out, they should have endorsed Sarah Clark for school board. Rivera, herself endorsed by the Stranger when she was on the board and a 2020 delegate for Bernie Sanders to the DNC, makes an excellent case:

Sarah Clark, Joe Mizrahi, and Vivian Song lead in their Seattle School Board races, while Carol Rava and Jen LaVallee are tied Though many voters are still undecided about their 2025 choices to oversee the state's largest school district, three of the candidates have leads in their respective races ranging from six to thirty-two points. For Position #7, neither hopeful has an advantage.

Sarah Clark, Joe Mizrahi, and Vivian Song lead in their Seattle School Board races, while Carol Rava and Jen LaVallee are tied

Though many voters are still undecided about their 2025 choices to oversee the state's largest school district, three of the candidates have leads in their respective…

Please vote for Sarah Clark and tell your friends to go beyond Stranger endorsements when considering school board candidates. Our kids deserve leaders who show up prepared and informed. #SeattleSchools #VoteSarahClark