In celebration of DiscoverU 2020, a week of college and career exploration, we’re featuring an interview with Rory Gill, Seattle Preschool Program (SPP) Teacher at Daybreak Star Preschool and recipient of the Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise (FEPP) Levy funded SPP teacher scholarship.
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The Seattle Preschool Program (SPP) Provider Facilities Fund Request for Investment (RFI) is now OPEN!
The Department of Education and Early Learning is excited to announce the opening of the SPP Providers Facilities Fund Request for Investment (RFI) funding opportunity as part of the Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise Levy, passed by voters in 2018.
To be considered for funding, applicants are invited to apply by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, November 18, 2020.
DEEL will host two informational webinars on Thursday, October 22, 2020, on the Webex platform. Webex meeting links are provided below.
Click HERE to learn more about this funding opportunity and access RFI documents.
A brand-new DEEL newsletter has launched! This department resource will provide a closer look at the investments the City of Seattle is making in education—from early learning to postsecondary.
In this first issue, we’re covering how our investments and our partners are pivoting for a school year unlike any other we’ve known. As our city continues to navigate COVID-19 and build toward recovery, DEEL is working with our partners to adapt to the challenges before us with innovation, collaboration, and a sharp focus on racial equity.
Here’s a closer look at what’s in the Fall 2020 issue:
To receive future issues of the DEEL newsletter, sign up on DEEL’s mailing list.
Early this month, Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC) announced that 29 School-Based Health Center (SBHC) services will be available to Seattle Public Schools students this fall, including 8 elementary schools and 21 middle and high schools campuses. This announcement included the opening of two new centers at Lowell Elementary and Nova High School.
SBHCs are part of the K-12 Health investments under the Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise (FEPP) levy passed by voters in 2018. These investments offer comprehensive medical and mental healthcare, including routine primary care, vaccinations, counseling, and some dental services. SBHCs are designed to promote early intervention, prevention, and treatment of health-related barriers to learning and life success and increase the number of students graduating prepared for the post-secondary pathway of their choice.
The school district’s decision to implement 100% remote learning this fall hasn’t changed the health care needs of students and, if anything, many students may be missing out on the sports physicals or routine immunizations they would typically get in the fall. As such, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) made the decision to open their buildings for SBHC access, and families should know that students enrolled in SPS can receive services at any of the open SBHCs, not just at the school where a student is enrolled.
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Last week, Director Dwane Chappelle was unanimously reconfirmed by the City Council in his role as head of the City of Seattle’s Department of Education & Early Learning (DEEL) through January 2024, following his initial four-year term. Director Chappelle originally became DEEL’s director on February 3, 2016 and was nominated for reappointment by Mayor Jenny Durkan early this spring after having served in Mayor Durkan’s cabinet since her election in 2017. The COVID-19 pandemic briefly delayed the reconfirmation process, which was put back on the City Council agenda this month.
“Every day, Dwane shows up to work committed to centering the needs of students furthest from educational justice. Under Dwane’s leadership, DEEL has made incredible strides, including the Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise levy, which makes significant investments to close the opportunity gap, expand child care and preschool, and create two years of free college. I am so grateful that Dwane is a member of my Cabinet. He makes DEEL better, he makes our students’ lives better, and he makes the City better,” said Seattle Mayor Jenny A. Durkan.
[Read more…]This week, Mayor Jenny Durkan and DEEL announced $4.9 million in Opportunity and Access awards that will be distributed over the next three years to community-based organizations (CBOs) focused on closing opportunity gaps through expanded learning and college and career readiness. The announcement came as part of a larger press release announcing both School-Based Investments and Opportunity and Access investments that will begin this school year.
Part of the Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise levy passed by voters in 2018, Opportunity and Access funding is a new investment area that allows for multiple service delivery methods to help students develop academic and nonacademic skills that will help them graduate on time and enter postsecondary programs.
[Read more…]The Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) has limited staff on site in the Seattle Municipal Tower to encourage social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Staff can be contacted directly by email or phone. Interpretation services available.
Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, Amharic, Korean, and Somali language translations below.
CLICK FOR LANGUAGE TRANSLATIONSUPDATE: Event video replay here.
Join us on Monday, August 31, at 4:30 p.m. for our live, virtual Parent Q & A Event to get your questions answered about Seattle Preschool Program (SPP) offerings this fall. Access the meeting here. Click “Join by browser” to bypass the app download.
Hear from SPP staff and providers about changes to SPP programming this fall, reduced and free tuition options, and health and safety guidance for preschool during COVID-19. Parents will also be able to ask questions in our Webex virtual meeting platform.
To apply for SPP, click here.
NEWS RELEASE
Jenny A. Durkan, Mayor
Dwane Chappelle, Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 25, 2020
Contact: Marissa Rousselle, marissa.rousselle@seattle.gov, 206-773-7307
Seattle Preschool Program Enrolling for Fall with Free and Reduced Tuition Options
City offers families multiple early learning options during COVID-19 pandemic
SEATTLE (August 25) – The Seattle Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) is announcing modifications to the Seattle Preschool Program (SPP) for the 2020-2021 school year in response to COVID-19. SPP programming will be available this fall in one of three programming options: in-person, 100 percent remote, or a hybrid option of both in-person and remote.
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When school buildings closed in March, educators were forced into hyperdrive to launch remote learning strategies for students and parents with varying degrees of access to technology tools. Suddenly educators were just as concerned with platforms and bandwidth as they were with curricula and classrooms.
It has been a steep learning curve, says Mimi Somsanit, Seattle Department of Education and Early Learning’s K-12 Summer Learning Project Coordinator. “Most of our summer programming has switched to a virtual environment to comply with the Department of Health’s social distancing guidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Program providers have had to adapt and modify their summer work plans in different ways to ensure staff and students are kept safe while still providing meaningful experiences.”
Somsanit, who is responsible for supporting providers and tracking program progress for kindergarten through high school, says while programming looks a lot different, providers ultimately found successful strategies to help students.
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