With Little League officially canceled, we spent the day in the CHAZ — on the first baseball field liberated from the Empire

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With Little League officially canceled, we spent the day in the CHAZ — on the first baseball field liberated from the Empire

By Matt Halvorson

It’s been one of the great joys of my life to share so much time with my son doing something we both love. Deep down, I think we had both known that this season was already lost, but still. It was a sad moment when we finally had to feel and acknowledge it.

What better place to be than on the first baseball field liberated from the Empire?

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All parents were summoned when George Floyd cried out for his Momma

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All parents were summoned when George Floyd cried out for his Momma

By Matt Halvorson

If you are a parent, George Floyd named you by name. We are on a path toward abolition. Consider that it took a Civil War to end chattel slavery, and that the Montgomery Bus Boycott alone lasted 382 days.

How committed are you to this? What will you do? And what will you keep doing?

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Seattle presses pause on gatekeeping by giving every student an 'A'

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Seattle presses pause on gatekeeping by giving every student an 'A'

By Matt Halvorson

Seattle Public Schools announced that all high school students will receive an “A” in every class for the spring semester, a move that quietly eliminates — for the time being — one of the primary ways an unjust education system sorts and tracks our kids.

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As illusions and excuses crumble under the weight of COVID-19, we find a moment of truth: What new world will we create for our kids?

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As illusions and excuses crumble under the weight of COVID-19, we find a moment of truth: What new world will we create for our kids?

By Matt Halvorson

What new world will we create for students and families in the wake of a pandemic that, for now, has only just begun? What are we learning as COVID-19 brings tumbling down the illusions and excuses that propped up the old system? How will our system of education change? How will we move forward as parents and teachers, school administrators and students?

Who will we choose to be now?

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It’s time to get creative as COVID-19 homeschool parents

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It’s time to get creative as COVID-19 homeschool parents

By Matt Halvorson

It’s been 10 days since my kids were last in school here in Seattle, and as the COVID-19 pandemic continues its systematic shutdown of, well, the entire system, it’s time for us parents to get creative. That’s why I’m glad to be helping my son and his buddies produce a sports-talk podcast about their own youth baseball league.

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Black History Today: Melba Ayco, artistic director and mentor

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Black History Today: Melba Ayco, artistic director and mentor

By Amanda Williams

The longer you serve children in a community, the smaller the world seems to become. Eventually you start to hear certain people mentioned over and over — the after-school counselors, the coaches, the neighborhood-parents. The mentors who’ve made an impact connecting with those around them. Ms. Melba Ayco is one of those people.

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Black History Today: Ashley Burns Nascimento, brilliant communicator for social change

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Black History Today: Ashley Burns Nascimento, brilliant communicator for social change

By Lindsay Hill

Ashley is a riveting storyteller, community convenor, researcher, and media guru for organizations committed to social change. As a leader capable of compelling both the head and the heart, she bridges divides, and she has deep experience shaping perceptions within ambivalent or disconnected audiences. If you are looking for a badass communications and campaign leader, with a refined social justice lens, Ashley is your person.

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Black History Today: Melanie Granger, creating space for play

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Black History Today: Melanie Granger, creating space for play

By Amanda Williams

When you’re a parent to Black children, finding a place for them to run free is about more than just a place where they can get their wiggles out. It is about finding a space where they are free to be young. To be loud, messy, silly and energetic, safe from judgment and bias. Melanie Granger of We Free Hearts has provided an environment for just that.

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Black History Today: Ada Williams Prince, courageously leading philanthropy toward a more equitable future

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Black History Today: Ada Williams Prince, courageously leading philanthropy toward a more equitable future

As a fellow Black woman in philanthropy, Ada is an important part of my support system; a co-conspirator and collaborator. She has taken on the burden that many of us have, supporting Pivotal’s work on diversity, equity and inclusion on top of her other job responsibilities. Her courageous leadership is helping to push our sector’s work forward as we call on our organizations and colleagues to more explicitly center racial equity and social justice.

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Black History Today: Juniper Moon, nurturing the next generation of Black history one family at a time

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Black History Today: Juniper Moon, nurturing the next generation of Black history one family at a time

By Reese McGillie

As a midwife, Juniper provides prenatal, birth and post-partum care for families in the Seattle and Tacoma area. Research has shown that the quality of prenatal care has an impact on child development, and Juniper has cultivated a stellar reputation for the nurturing and attentive care she provided for her clients and their families.

Her midwifery practice is focused on providing a model of care that is evidence-based, equitable and accessible for marginalized groups, especially people of color.

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Podcast: Stephan Blanford talks with Brandon Hersey about what it means to serve on the Seattle School Board

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Podcast: Stephan Blanford talks with Brandon Hersey about what it means to serve on the Seattle School Board

Enjoy a recorded conversation between Stephan Blanford, former Seattle School Board rep, and Brandon Hersey, who was appointed last month to represent District 7 in Southeast Seattle.

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A student in Garfield High School's HCC program takes a hard look at Danny Westneat's 'racially insensitive editorial'

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A student in Garfield High School's HCC program takes a hard look at Danny Westneat's 'racially insensitive editorial'

By Dylan Blanford

Earlier this week, the Seattle Times’ columnist, Danny Westneat, wrote a racially insensitive editorial about the high school that both his son and I attend. We don’t need dismissal and condescending advocation. We need people who are actually ready to listen, engage, and do the work to change the system, not write patronizing articles. 

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How Do We Create Spaces for Healing as Educators of Color?

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How Do We Create Spaces for Healing as Educators of Color?

By Marcus Harden

Education tends to make the most rational people seem crazy. So, it begs the question, how do we heal in these sick environments? My go-to answer is to typically just burn it all down and start anew, but we know that those efforts usually just end up looking like a new emperor in the same old clothes.

So, where does our healing come from?

It starts with acknowledging the hurt that has been caused by systems of oppression -- and the equal importance of finding healing for the students and often-overlooked educators who bear the deepest wounds.

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Catching systemic racism in the act in Seattle Public Schools

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Catching systemic racism in the act in Seattle Public Schools

By Matt Halvorson

Systemic racism is often hard to see in action.

It’s easy to look back and wonder, how did we get here? How do we have such deep-rooted opportunity gaps in our schools? How do we have so few Black teachers? How can there be such a thing as a “school-to-prison” pipeline? How do we have so few women of color in positions of elected leadership?

These systemic issues are not necessarily carried out by people of malicious intent. They are carried out by all of us every day as we make seemingly reasonable decisions, and through polices and processes that masquerade as neutral.

We are in the eleventh hour of one such process, but it’s not too late! Today — this very evening — we have a chance to catch the system in the act. So let’s do it.

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Guest Post: "Stop feeding the school-to-prison pipeline with expulsions," by Rebeca Muñiz

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Guest Post: "Stop feeding the school-to-prison pipeline with expulsions," by Rebeca Muñiz

By Rebeca Muñiz

Rebeca Muñiz is a candidate for Seattle School Board District 3. She holds a Masters in Education Policy and Leadership from the University of Washington. During her time at UW, she conducted research on the Seattle Public Schools racial equity teams, which informed her understanding of systemic disparities in schools and ways we can address it. Rebeca now serves as a volunteer with One America and the Gender Justice League.

Learn more about Rebeca’s campaign at www.ElectMuniz.com.

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In schools and on the field, equity is an investment in righting wrongs

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In schools and on the field, equity is an investment in righting wrongs

By Erin Jones

As a former high-level athlete...

As someone who came to the United States in 1989 with the dream of someday playing for the national soccer team (I was good but never that good)...

As someone who tried out for 2 WNBA teams in 2000 and learned that non-drafted players typically were paid $20-$30,000/year (about the same as what I made as a starting teacher)...

As someone who has known players in both the NFL and NBA...

The issue of pay for female athletes has been on my mind for a long time.

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Twelve candidates have applied to represent District 7 on the Seattle School Board. Here's what we know so far ⁠— and what to watch for.

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Twelve candidates have applied to represent District 7 on the Seattle School Board. Here's what we know so far ⁠— and what to watch for.

By Stephan Blanford

Over the weekend, the Seattle School Board finally released the applications of the 12 Southeast Seattle residents who filed to replace Betty Patu on the board. The District 7 seat, which Patu held for 10 years, was vacated July 1 and will be filled when the six remaining board members cast votes for their preferred applicant at the Aug. 14 board meeting.

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Dear Leslie Harris... I wrote you a song.→

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Dear Leslie Harris... I wrote you a song.

Leslie Harris is the president of the Seattle School Board, and she will preside over an important decision this summer as the board appoints a new representative for District 7 in southeast Seattle. Here Matt Halvorson asks for a transparent, inclusive process... in song!

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The portal is now open. Seattle, our time is at hand.

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The portal is now open. Seattle, our time is at hand.

The portal is now open. Our time is at hand. 

It sounds like science fiction, but alas, the portal is online rather than interdimensional, and the opportunity we now face would allow us to completely revamp our school board before the end of the year.

So the machinations of the Seattle School Board might involve fewer lasers than you were hoping for, but it’s important nonetheless. 

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Betty Patu is resigning from the Seattle School Board. We're just asking for a legitimate, transparent process... (that results in appointing a champion for equity)

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Betty Patu is resigning from the Seattle School Board. We're just asking for a legitimate, transparent process... (that results in appointing a champion for equity)

Betty Patu, our longtime school board director in Southeast Seattle, will resign her position at the end of the month, but the timing of her announcement has cast doubt on the integrity of the entire process.

Patu announced her resignation at the May 15 school board meeting, which wouldn’t be remarkable except that if the announcement had come three days earlier, her replacement would have been elected by voters.

As it is, the school board will take applications from the public, and the board will have the final say in appointing Patu’s replacement.

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