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:
Please help share this survey with youth and local organizations in your community! This survey will close on Friday Aug. 6, at 6:00pm.
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:
Please help us spread the word about this survey to youth and local organizations in your community!
This survey will close on August 5th.
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
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.
[Read more…]As the 2020-2021 school year nears its end, DEEL is reflecting on the innovative ways our partners pivoted during the pandemic to continue serving Seattle children, youth, and families. This article highlights the work of many of our Levy partner schools who receive School-Based Investment (SBI) awards.
When the pandemic forced school buildings to close and shifted learning online, the risks of missed instructional time, limited social connection, and disruptions in access to vital resources and services disproportionately affected Seattle’s most vulnerable students. Increased academic support, social-emotional services and culturally-responsive teaching practices became more important than ever for student wellness and continued academic success. In response, DEEL’s K-12 partner schools developed innovative strategies that centered educational equity, increased positive family engagement, and supported student learning throughout the COVID-19 crisis.
DEEL’s School-Based Investments (SBI) are part of the Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise Levy passed by voters in 2018. SBI investments provide intensive, supplemental support for a limited number of schools with high concentrations of historically underserved populations and students not yet meeting grade level learning standards. Investments are focused on expanded learning, academic support, social-emotional skill development, college readiness programming, and career exploration experiences.
[Read more…]Contributors: Early Learning Training Coordinator, Michelle Winters and Early Learning Coaches Fanny Yang and Aaron Jeffers
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.
[Read more…]
As the 2020-2021 school year nears its end, DEEL is reflecting on the innovative ways our partners and providers pivoted during the pandemic to continue serving Seattle children, youth, and families. Here is an example highlighting how one of our Opportunity and Access partners, Mentoring Urban Students and Teens (MUST), provided continuity of near-peer mentorship services.
Social connection and mentorship became more important than ever for students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cancelled academic and social activities put many students at risk of social isolation and disconnection from school, creating new social-emotional hardships for families. Simultaneously, the movements for racial justice that swept across our nation alongside the novel coronavirus unearthed historical trauma that compounded the urgent need for social connection and culturally responsive avenues for emotional wellness. One of DEEL’s Opportunity & Access partners doubled down on their commitment to provide safe, in-person mentorship services to keep Black high school boys in the Rainier Valley socially connected and engaged in school.
[Read more…]
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.
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.
[Read more…]
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.
Interagency Academy’s graduation ceremony, held the evening of Juneteenth—a holiday celebrating the ending of slavery in the United States—was a tribute to heritage, tradition, and hope over struggle, and it included an air of royalty.
DeMarcus Belle was one of the proud “Kings” who graduated Friday, June 19, as part of the 2020 Interagency graduating class. These young men were part of the Kingmakers of Seattle program, first launched in 2017 at four pilot schools within Seattle Public Schools—one high school (Interagency) and three middle schools (Aki Kurose, Asa Mercer, and Denny International). The program is implemented in partnership with the SPS Department of African American Male Achievement (founded 2019) to intentionally focus on improved outcomes for Black male students. It is currently funded under the Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise (FEPP) levy.
Modeled after the Oakland Unified School District’s Office of African American Male Achievement (AAMA) program, Kingmakers is an elective class specifically designed for Black male students (called Kings) taught by Black male educators (called facilitators). Classes follow the Khepera curriculum—a culturally relevant African-centered curriculum that is both engaging and academically rigorous. The curriculum emphasizes Black history, cultural knowledge, positive self-identity, literacy, and academic mentoring.
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