What’s the DEEL? Department of Education and Early Learning

Department of Education and Early Learning

Seattle Promise Scholars Exceed National Trends Despite Pandemic

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NEWS RELEASE 

Jenny A. Durkan, Mayor 

Dwane Chappelle, Director 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

October 27, 2021

Revised: November 3, 2021  

Contact: Sage Leibenson, Sage.Leibenson@seattle.gov, 206-507-6701

Seattle Promise Scholars Exceed National Trends Despite Pandemic

Applications Currently Open for Class of 2022 Graduating Seniors

SEATTLE (November 3, 2021) – Following record enrollment in the Seattle Promise program in Fall of 2020, the program is now celebrating record setting degree completion rates. In 2021, more than 80 Promise scholars completed their post-secondary degrees exceeding national two-year and three-year college completion trends.  

Among students who began college in Fall 2018, more than 20 additional Promise scholars, 75% of whom are students of color, completed their degrees within three years. In total, the 2018 cohort achieved a 37% three-year graduation rate, which exceeds the average national three-year completion rate of 28% reported by the National Center for Education Statistics. The Seattle Promise program also celebrates 2-year completion rates of 24% for the 2018 cohort and 20% for the 2019 cohort.  

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Fall 2021 DEEL Newsletter

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DEEL and ReWa partners pose for a photo! Depicted in the image is Monica-Liang Aguirre, Early Learning Director of DEEL; Susan Lee, ELC Director of Operations of Refugee Women's Alliance (ReWa); Mahnaz Eshetu, Executive Director of ReWa; Dr. Dwane Chapelle, Director of DEEL. 
Image Above: (L-to-R): Monica-Liang Aguirre, Early Learning Director of DEEL; Susan Lee, ELC Director of Operations of Refugee Women’s Alliance (ReWa); Mahnaz Eshetu, Executive Director of ReWa; Dr. Dwane Chapelle, Director of DEEL. 

DEEL’s fall 2021 newsletter is here! DEEL is proud to welcome our City’s brilliant scholars back to classrooms for in-person learning. In this issue, we share stories about how the education community continues to support students throughout the pandemic from early learning to postsecondary. We also kick off the new school year by sharing information about resources that support student success and wellness including the Child Care Assistance Program, Seattle Preschool Program enrollment, School-Based Health Center services, and more! 

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Seeking Youth Input: Survey to Inform Future Youth-Led Social Justice Projects

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DEEL is seeking is seeking feedback from Seattle youth to develop a mini-grant that will provide funding for youth-led projects – by youth, for youth – that speak out against racism and other forms of bias and hate. Help inform this process by filling out this quick and easy survey:

Youth Survey (ages 12-24): tinyurl.com/deelyouthsurvey 

Are you in need of funding to support a social justice project? Youth can fill out this survey to help inform the process.

Please help share this survey with youth and local organizations in your community! This survey will close on Friday Aug. 6, at 6:00pm. 

Seeking Youth & Community Input: Survey to Inform Future Programs Benefitting Black Girls, Young Women and Black Queer and Transgender Youth

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DEEL is seeking feedback from Seattle youth and adults to develop a funding opportunity that will serve Black girls, young women, and Black queer and transgender youth. You can help inform how DEEL designs this process by completing the following surveys: 

Youth Survey (ages 10-21): tinyurl.com/2021yth

Adult Survey (ages 22+): tinyurl.com/2021csrad

Please help us spread the word about this survey to youth and local organizations in your community!

This survey will close on August 5th.

Seattle Preschool Program (SPP) Provider Facilities Fund Request for Investment (RFI) is now OPEN!

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Funding Announcement: SPP Provider Facilities Fund. Visit "Funding Opportunities" at seattle.gov/education to learn more!

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 Monday August 9, 2021. 

  • The 2021-22 SPP Provider Facilities Fund RFI has approximately $1,200,000 available to support child care facility expansion and renovation projects for use in Seattle Preschool Program.
  • Home-, center-, and school-based providers who contract with DEEL as providers of SPP or SPP Pathway are eligible to apply.
  • Funds are awarded through a competitive application process.

DEEL will host an informational webinar on Wednesday, July 7, 2021 on the Webex platform. Webex meeting links are provided below:

SPP Facilities Fund RFI Information Session

Wednesday July 7, 2021

12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

Join Meeting Here

Meeting password: PQiiWs5Zq29

Or, join by phone at:

+1-206-207-1700 United States Toll (Seattle)

+1-408-418-9388 United States Toll

Access code: 146 800 0353

Click HERE to learn more about this funding opportunity and access RFI documents. 

DEEL Awards $1M to Community-Based Organizations for K-12 Student Learning and Enrichment Programs in Summer 2021

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NEWS RELEASE 

Jenny A. Durkan, Mayor  

Dwane Chappelle, Director 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

July 1, 2021

Contact: Marissa Rousselle, marissa.rouselle@seattle.gov, 206-773-7307 

DEEL Awards $1M to Community-Based Organizations for K-12 Student Learning and Enrichment Programs in Summer 2021

Funding Will Expand and Enhance Community-Based Programs to Support Student Success and Wellness in Response to COVID-19 

SEATTLE (July 1) – This week, the Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) announced $1 million in community investments to enhance summer programs for more than 1,300 K-12 students impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Funded programs are designed to help students better prepare for academic success and social-emotional well-being this fall as students and schools return to full-time learning in the classroom. Programming will occur late June through August 2021. 

“We know that the COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on all students – especially low-income students and students in our Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities (BIPoC). This $1 million funding, part of the voter-approved Families, Education, Preschool and Promise (FEPP) Levy, is much needed as K-12 students prepare to return to in-person learning.” said Mayor Jenny Durkan. “DEEL and their partners have worked hard to ensure that students are coming back from a year of remote learning on an even playing field. Quality education and supportive programs are critical to supporting students both in and outside of the classroom. COVID-19 may have changed our city in many ways, but it has not changed the City’s commitment to ensuring all Seattle youth have access to education, and the support they need to be successful.”  

Community-Based Summer Enhancement and COVID-19 Response Funds were awarded to 17 community-based organizations to enhance or expand a diverse array of student enrichment opportunities, including reading, writing, STEM, social justice, college mentorship, career exploration, physical fitness, and arts. Funded programs will provide K-12 students with greater access to academic supports and culturally-responsive enrichment experiences promoting physical wellness and social-emotional learning. Of the 17 award recipients, eight are first-time funding recipients from DEEL with award sizes ranging from $5,720 to $99,940. Funded organizations are largely concentrated in the South Seattle area.  

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Sixth-Annual Institute on Children, Race, and Racism Convenes 600+ Educators and Allies to Elevate Black Boy Brilliance and Joy

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Contributors: Early Learning Training Coordinator, Michelle Winters and Early Learning Coaches Fanny Yang and Aaron Jeffers

Main event image for DEEL's Spring Institute on Children, Race and Racism: Elevating the Brilliance of Black Boys on June 2-4, 2021. The images includes happy images of Black children learning and smiling together.

On June 2– 4, 2021, DEEL hosted the sixth annual Children, Race, and Racism Institute: Elevating the Brilliance of Black Boys. Too often, the work of racial equity is framed within a deficit-based context; narratives that define Black boys and whole communities and populations by their struggles and not their assets, achievements, and abilities.  This conference sought to shift that narrative and center Black boy brilliance and joy, through research, policy and practice to provide educators with knowledge and strategies to support the genius of Black boys.   

This three-day event was co-hosted by DEEL Director Dr. Dwane Chappelle and Dr. William White, Director of My Brother’s Teacher at the University of Washington, using an interactive virtual platform, Hopin. 

Over three days, a total of 639 attendees tuned in live to hear three different keynotes from national and local leaders, as well as nine workshops led by educators working in the field. Participants also heard from a youth panel from the Seattle Public Schools Student Leadership Council and visited a virtual expo/vendor hall. Audience members included educators, administrators, and directors working with children across the birth to secondary educational spectrum.  

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COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics Now Available at Schools for Students Ages 12+

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Vaccine Eligibility Update: Students ages 12+ and their families can now get a COVID-19 vaccine at school with parental consent.

Following the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s (CDC) emergency authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for use on 12–15 year-olds, the City of Seattle has partnered with the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) and Seattle Public Schools (SPS) to offer COVID-19 vaccinations to every public middle and high school student at school sites and youth-focused community vaccination clinics before the end of the school year. These vaccination clinics do not require an appointment, and all students 12 and older are eligible to get vaccinated at each clinic with a guardian’s consent. Walk-ups are encouraged and welcomed!  

Upcoming School-Based Vaccination Pop–Ups 

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REGISTER TODAY for DEEL’s Spring Institute on Children, Race, and Racism: Elevating the Brilliance of Black Boys

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The Seattle Department of Education and Early Learning is excited to invite you to the 2021 Spring Institute on Children, Race, and Racism: Elevating the Brilliance of Black Boys.

This FREE virtual event pulls together a range of incredible speakers to share their wisdom on supporting our young learners and future leaders. Over 3 days, participants will hear from several incredible keynote speakers, attend your choice of workshops, and hear from a youth panel. Join us in this space as we listen, reflect, engage, and grow in our culturally-responsive and anti-racist practices as educators.

Conference dates & times:

Wednesday, June 2 | 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM

Thursday, June 3 | 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM

Friday, June 4 | 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM

Audience:

Birth-to-3, Preschool, K-12, Educators, Administrators, Directors, Support Staff, and general public

STARS/MERIT hours will be available for early learning professionals and childcare providers who attend.

The City of Seattle encourages everyone to participate in its programs and activities. For disability accommodations, materials in alternate formats, or accessibility information, contact Michelle Winters at michelle.winters@seattle.gov.

Detailed Schedule, session descriptions, and registration information available at https://www.tinyurl.com/ChildrenRaceAndRacism. 

City Extends Childcare Copay Relief for Families through June

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Child Care Assistance Program and Seattle Parks & Recreation school-age programs accepting new enrollments with 50% off family copays in Rainier Beach, West Seattle, Magnolia, and citywide.

SEATTLE (March 11, 2021) – The City of Seattle is extending childcare copay relief for income-eligible families through June 2021 in the Department of Education and Early Learning’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) and Seattle Parks and Recreation’s child care programs. Both programs are accepting new enrollments at providers and locations across the city, as more businesses prepare to open and more parents return to work.

“It has been a year since school buildings first closed and parents began navigating how to provide safe and affordable care for their children during the pandemic. Extending our childcare copay relief recognizes the long impact COVID-19 has had—and continues to have—on our families and communities, and we hope it will help relieve some of the strain parents are feeling as they continue dealing with the effects of COVID-19 on their families,” said Mayor Jenny Durkan.

“Accessible and safe childcare is integral to our economic recovery. Vaccination and childcare access, together, will help speed our efforts to safely re-open and work to recover from the COVID-19 recession and impacts. I am delighted to see the city’s childcare investments making an immediate impact for families to continue to receive this vital service, providing stability and safety for both children and their parents,” said Seattle City Council President M. Lorena González (Position 9, Citywide).

The City first announced copay relief in November, with family copays (the amount families owe after their subsidy or scholarship is applied) being waived 100 percent for the final two months of 2020. In late December, Mayor Durkan announced families would receive 50 percent off childcare copays for CCAP and SPR childcare programs from January to March, and this latest announcement extends the 50 percent copay benefit through the end of June. Income-eligible families who sign up for CCAP or who qualify for a scholarship for SPR programs will immediately receive the added assistance.

Monica, a parent whose son is enrolled in the full-day SPR school-age childcare program in Queen Anne, said, “This has been an extraordinarily stressful year financially for me, not to mention the stress of online school. The financial assistance the City has provided allows us to afford other necessities and, more importantly, to keep my son enrolled at the community center for support with his remote schooling.” 

“We’ve long known how vital high-quality, affordable childcare is for families, and this has been especially true during a challenging year when many families are facing loss of income while also needing full-day care for their school-age children,” said DEEL Director Dwane Chappelle. “We’re glad to continue making quality, affordable care more accessible as we move closer to recovery, and we want more families know about these opportunities as many begin going go back to work.”

DEEL’s Child Care Assistance Program helps low- and moderate-income working families or families with a parent attending school or a qualified job-training program to pay for child care for children ages one month through 12 years. CCAP subsidies can be used at any one of the City’s 205 participating CCAP providers.

Seattle Parks and Recreation currently offers full-day care at 17 sites for children ages 5 to 12 and provides children with remote learning supports, enrichment activities, and nutritious meals and snacks. Income-eligible families can receive a scholarship for the program, as well as the additional 50% copay assistance through June 2021. All locations currently have openings for full or partial-week care, with the highest capacity at sites in Queen Anne, Magnolia, Rainier Beach, and West Seattle.

For more information or to enroll at one of Seattle Parks & Recreation’s school-age childcare programs, call 206-615-1276 or visit the SPR website. To apply for the Child Care Assistance Program, which includes care for infants and toddlers, call 206-386-1050 or visit seattle.gov/ccap.

Seattle Department of Education and Early Learning’s mission is to transform the lives of Seattle children, youth, and families through strategic investments in education. www.seattle.gov/education

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