Graduates of Seattle public high schools now have access to two years (or up to 90 credits) of tuition-free college at Seattle Colleges thanks to the newly expanded Seattle Promise program.

This year’s class of 399 Seattle Promise students, a 43 percent increase from last year, is projected to grow exponentially as the program expands from six Seattle public high schools to all 17 schools.

In November 2017, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan issued an Executive Order to create the Seattle Promise College Tuition Program, which builds off Seattle Colleges’ successful 13^th Year Promise Scholarship. In November 2018, Seattle voters overwhelmingly passed the Mayor’s Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise levy, which expanded Seattle Promise to include graduates from all Seattle public high schools.

“We want all students to know and believe college is a possibility,” said Seattle Colleges’ chancellor Shouan Pan. “Through wraparound services, Seattle Promise gives all students, especially first generation and underserved youth, a real and equitable pathway for college education and success in the world of work.”

“On my first full day in office, we created the Seattle Promise College Tuition Program to provide our students two free years at any of our Seattle Colleges,” said Mayor Jenny Durkan. “Access to post-secondary education is so critical to ensuring we close the opportunity gap in our region, put more young people on a path to good-paying jobs, and create a more affordable future for our children. I’m grateful to Chancellor Pan and Superintendent Juneau for their commitment to making the Seattle Promise a reality.”

Seattle Promise provides tuition, funding for school-related expenses for those with need, and individual guidance and advising from high school through a student’s first two years of college regardless of GPA, income or country of birth.

“This combination is what sets the program apart,” said Melody McMillian, Seattle Promise program director. “Students are met where they have need, supported by peers who are also going through the program, and guided individually by an advisor all along the way. The design is deliberately holistic and is improving student success.”

Seattle Promise is a partnership with the City of Seattle’s Department of Education and Early Learning and Seattle Public Schools. The program, primarily funded by the city of Seattle’s Family, Education Preschool and Promise (FEPP) Levy with additional private support through the Seattle Colleges Foundation, is focused on providing college access, success, and completion with a mission to build a local thriving college-going culture that creates a workforce ready for our region’s careers.

Applications for the Seattle Promise class of fall 2020 are now open until Feb. 15, 2020. Seattle Public School students are encouraged to start the application process in the fall of their senior year.

“I want all of our graduates to see themselves in meaningful and fulfilling careers, earning living-wages in a city they love,” said Seattle Public Schools superintendent Denise Juneau. “Seattle Promise is one of the programs that is going to help us get them there.”

Visit the Seattle Promise website at seattlecolleges.edu/promise to learn more.

Results of the Seattle Preschool Program’s (SPP) fourth year of implementation conclude Seattle has one of the best public preschool programs in the United States.  SPP was recognized for continuing to reach families that can benefit most from early childhood education and demonstrating child learning gains across language, literacy and math. SPP quality scores now surpass published results from Boston, MA, Tulsa, OK, and New Jersey and are similar to New York, NY and San Antonio, TX.

Key findings of the 2018-19 study, conducted by National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) and Cultivate Learning at the University of Washington, include:

• Larger gains for children in language, literacy, and math than would be expected by natural development alone;
• Expanded access for families furthest from opportunity, with over 75% of enrolled children from families who earn less than 300% of the federal poverty level (FPL) or under $77,250 per year for a family of four; and
• Growth over four years from 14 to 75 classrooms.

“When we support kids and families through early learning programs, our children in all parts of the city and from all backgrounds can reach their full potential,” said Mayor Jenny Durkan. “The Seattle Preschool Program is reducing the barriers facing low-income families by investing in high quality early learning to help close the opportunity gap. Developing strong cognitive, emotional, and language development in our youngest learners is a giant step toward creating success in schools for years to come.”

In a release from NIEER, W. Steven Barnett, NIEER’s founder and senior co-director, said “Seattle has built a strong foundation on which to grow and expand its preschool program… the program’s trend is clearly positive.”

Approved by voters as a four-year demonstration project in 2014, SPP opened its first classrooms in the 2015-2016 school year (SY). Each year since, NIEER has conducted an annual evaluation of the program. With funding from the voter-approved Families, Education Preschool and Promise (FEPP) Levy in 2018, SPP will continue to expand over the next seven years to 130 classrooms by SY 2025-26. The additional classrooms will increase the geographic diversity of the program, with significant growth in neighborhoods throughout Seattle, providing families in more areas access to high-quality preschools near their homes.

“We couldn’t be prouder of the incredible work done by Seattle’s early learning community partners and City staff,” said Dwane Chapelle, Director of the Seattle Department of Education and Early Learning. “We thank Seattle’s parents for trusting SPP to serve their children as the program grows and are thrilled with the results of this latest study.”  

The Seattle Preschool Program helps prepare children to enter school with the skills they need to succeed. Research shows that children who attend high quality preschool programs have better academic and life outcomes: they’re more likely to have better grades, graduate, attend college, get a job, have higher lifetime wages and better mental and physical health.

The full study is available at http://nieer.org/research-report/seattle-pre-k-program-evaluation.

The Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) is partnering with YWCA Seattle/King/Snohomish to provide support for students in Seattle Public Schools (SPS) experiencing homelessness or housing instability. DEEL announced today that more than $400,000 from the voter-approved Families, Education, Preschool and Promise (FEPP) levy will be invested into the YWCA to develop programs that provide a rapid and culturally responsive approach to housing services for families experiencing homelessness.

Research shows that students experiencing homelessness or housing instability—whether living in hotels/motels, in shelters, unsheltered, or doubled up—have significantly lower academic outcomes than their housed peers.

Statewide, students experiencing homelessness (including doubled-up students) have a 62% attendance rate, compared to an 86% attendance rate for their housed peers. Further, three in four students experiencing homelessness do not meet the proficiency level on state math assessments and have a four-year graduation rate that is more than 25 percentage points lower than their housed peers (55% versus 81%). Student mobility is greater for homeless students as well. During the 2015-16 school year, 10% of Seattle School District’s students experiencing homelessness changed schools compared to only 3% of stably housed students.

“We know that homelessness and housing instability significantly impact a student’s ability to thrive in school. We must do more to help our students and families experiencing homelessness, and we must ensure our programs are culturally responsive and work to break down systemic barriers,” said Mayor Jenny Durkan. “This investment is an important step to help some of the most vulnerable students in our schools, and to end youth homelessness in our region.” 

This year’s Point in Time count found that nearly 1,100 youth and young adults (YYA) were experiencing homelessness across King County, which represents a 28% decrease over 2018. Data shows that 32% of YYA identified themselves as having been involved in the foster care system, 34% identified as LGBTQ, and YYA reported higher rates of psychiatric or emotional conditions than adults experiencing homelessness.

“The challenge of finding housing disrupts the lives of students and their families. Some students who leave school when their families are homeless do not come back,” said DEEL Director Dwane Chappelle. “These funds, and our work with the YWCA, are intended to ensure that during a period of disruption and instability, students have the support and services they need to remain in school.”

YWCA Seattle/King/Snohomish will use these funds to develop a program that will:

• Secure permanent housing for Seattle Public Schools (SPS) families experiencing homelessness or housing instability;  
• Improve attendance among SPS students experiencing homelessness;
• Increase school stability—reducing the number of times a student transfers schools in a year; and
• Prevent SPS families with unstable housing from becoming homeless.

“Supporting students effected by the homeless crisis will take all of us. Enhanced YWCA supports including secure, permanent housing for SPS families will make a world of difference,” said Seattle Schools Superintendent Denise Juneau. “This is just one more example of how the City’s levy FEPP helps provide stability, consistency, and predictability so students can benefit from a great education in Seattle Public Schools.”

This program will deliver specialized services for youth and their families, from case management to housing search assistance, through a culturally relevant lens. A YWCA Youth Advocate will work closely with participants to identify and assess their needs, strengths, and goals, and help students connect to programs that will support their attendance, academic success, and overall well-being.

“We’re grateful to be selected for this award, which will strengthen YWCA’s work to restore housing stability and economic independence for families, while increasing our services for Seattle Public Schools students who face homelessness,” said Chief Program Officer, Patricia Hayden.

YWCA Seattle/King/Snohomish is committed to gender and racial equity in housing, economic advancement, health, and safety, with programs that center those who are furthest from opportunity. YWCA has provided critical services for families in Seattle since 1894 and has 125 years of experience delivering the tools and resources they need to thrive, from emergency shelter to permanent housing.

DEEL’s mission is to transform the lives of Seattle’s children, youth, and families through strategic investments in education.

DEEL is notifying early learning providers in Seattle of the opportunity to join the Seattle Preschool Program (SPP). DEEL has approximately $1.8 million dollars in funding beginning in the school year 2020-21 that will award up to 8 new classrooms.

These new classrooms will include a combination of classrooms identified through this RFI, expansion of existing SPP providers, and direct contracting with eligible entities.

Through this RFI, DEEL is seeking applicants that are new to contracting for publicly funded preschool. 

For more information and to download the application go to: http://www.seattle.gov/education/for-providers/funding-opportunities/seattle-preschool-program-2020-21-preschool

The Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) is committed to developing a roster of Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) that will work with Seattle Public Schools to provide specialized mentoring programs. After a call for Request for Qualifications (RFQ), DEEL has selected 10 CBOs that will provide these services to historically marginalized populations, with a focus on young Black men and boys.

The goal of the RFQ was to find CBOs that were interested in developing culturally specific programs to foster healthy identity, provide cultural knowledge, and build academic success for Black/African American men and boys and/or other historically underserved groups.

The goal of the Family, Education, Preschool, and Promise (FEPP) Levy is to ensure Seattle students have increased academic preparation, expanded learning opportunities, social-emotional skill building, and college and job readiness experiences that promote high school graduation. DEEL will be investing up to $300,000 in mentoring services and will facilitate sessions to align CBOs with schools that meet the mentoring services the school’s’ desire.

The programs that submitted RFQs are:

• El Centro de la Raza
• 4C Coalition
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound
• Project M.I.S.T.E.R.
• West African Community Council
• M.U.S.T. Mentoring
• Life Enrichment Group
• Seattle CARES Mentoring Movement
• Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle
• ACE Academy

Each organization that presented RFQs were vetted by a panel that included youth representatives, staff from Seattle Public Schools, community organizations and DEEL staff. The panel scored each organization using criteria that included Cultural Competency and Responsiveness, Program Design, and Past Experience.

The Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) is notifying organizations, consultants, specialists, and any other entities providing services described in this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) of a funding opportunity through the City of Seattle 2018 Families, Education, Preschool and Promise (FEPP) Levy.

The purpose of the Comprehensive Supports RFQ is to solicit applications to identify qualified organizations and individuals to provide time-limited, teacher-focused, classroom-level services to early learning providers participating in the Seattle Preschool Program (SPP) and the SPP Pathway.

Identified organizations and individuals will work with preschool teachers who need additional and intensive coaching and/or support and have already utilized their agency’s resources.  These services are intended to build the capacity and skills of preschool teachers working with a small number of children who need intensive strategies inclusive of, but not limited to, behavioral, developmental, and/or connected to family/childhood trauma.

DEEL has approximately $400,000 available for 2020 to contract with selected applicants from this RFQ. To be considered for funding, eligible applicants are invited to submit an RFQ application by December 2, 2019. DEEL reserves the right to re-release this RFQ throughout the FEPP Levy period. Executed contracts will have evaluation and performance expectations.

A review panel will assess applications but may also elect to conduct interviews or site visits to gather further information or clarify questions.

On Friday, November 1, there will be a webinar available online for those interested in applying. There will also be two public information sessions:

Tuesday, November 5 10:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. 2100 Building, The Board Room  2100 24th Avenue South, Seattle

You can RSVP for the information sessions here.

For more information, or to download the RFQ application, go to the DEEL website: http://www.seattle.gov/education/for-providers/funding-opportunities

News Release

From the Department of Education and Early Learning                                    October 2, 2019

Contact: Al Sanders, Department of Education and Early Learning,

 al.sanders@seattle.gov, 206-485-5926

SEATTLE (October 2, 2019) The Department of Education and Early Learning announced today that it would award more than $1.2 million to create classrooms and improve safety at five Seattle preschools. The providers receiving capital funding are all operated by women of color and serve linguistically and culturally diverse students in south Seattle.

Finding licensable space for preschool facilities in Seattle remains a significant challenge for providers. Through the voter-approved Families, Education, Preschool and Promise (FEPP) Levy, the Seattle Preschool Program will be investing approximately $7.5 million to help preschool providers build, upgrade and renovate their spaces for SPP. This investment will allow 80 additional children to attend preschool in Seattle.

“The City understands that developing and maintaining high-quality learning environments is an enormous cost burden to our providers,” said Dwane Chappelle, the Director of the Department of Education and Early Learning. “The funds support providers and ensures the continued growth of preschool seats throughout Seattle. While the funds are specifically for preschool spaces, these classrooms could also be integrated into licensable child care spaces and support the Mayor’s proposal to expand the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP).”

The four providers receiving Seattle Preschool Program Facilities investments are:

Voices of Tomorrow-$249,999: The funds will renovate and expand of classrooms, restrooms and kitchen space, and the construction of an outdoor play area. These renovations will allow the program to expand to serve up to 40 children for a full day program

Tiny Tots-$900,000: Tiny Tots will be part of the Othello Square complex that will open in 2021. The award will be used to place two SPP classrooms inside Tiny Tots’ Early Development Center at Othello Square, which will serve 40 children. The center will include rooms for infants, toddlers, and preschool, with a commitment to the City of 20 years.

Causey’s Main $20,000 and Causey’s MLK $42,686: The two locations will use the funds to make safety improvements to their sites.

Bella’s Creative Learning Center-$50,000: The funds will go toward expanding a residential space to accommodate 12 SPP students.

DEEL’s mission is to transform the lives of Seattle’s children, youth, and families through strategic investments in education.

We need your voice, we need your experience, we need YOU! 

Do you have a passion for improving educational outcomes for youth of color? Are you interested in helping your community meet the challenge of closing race-based opportunity gaps in education?

DEEL needs volunteers to review applications for awards that will come from the voter approved Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise Levy (FEPP). Many of the awards will focus on helping eliminate racial disparities and systemic racial bias in education.

You don’t need experience, just a desire to get involved!

If you are interested, click here for more information and to complete a short survey.

The Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) is excited to announce a special event, a School Community Partnership Summit to be held on Thursday, October 17 from 8:00-3:00 p.m. at Magnuson Park in Sandpoint.

The School Community Partnership Summit is convened by the City of Seattle’s Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL), and our partners, as we begin investing Families, Education, Preschool and Promise (FEPP) Levy funds in pursuit of our community’s shared goal to eliminate race-based opportunity gaps among Seattle’s youth. 

Achieving this worthy goal will require all of us—schools, community-based organizations, families, and committed individuals—to work together in authentic relationship and with common purpose. 

 
This summit is a unique opportunity for community partners and schools to relationship build and network with each other.  

Registration is open! 

Registration for the School Community Partnership Summit will be open through Friday, October 11!  

Community partners and schools will be limited to register a maximum of 3 individuals. Please identify the  individuals who will represent your school, organization, or program prior to completing the registration form.  

Who should attend? 

Community groups should register individuals with:  

• Deep knowledge of the programs the organization offers, 
• Some level of decision-making authority, such as Program Director/Manager, Executive Director, or Site Coordinator.  

Schools should register individuals who are:  

• Responsible for funding, partnership decisions, and grant writing, such as Principals, Assistant Principals, or other school leaders 

For more information on the Summit and any questions regarding registration, contact Marissa Rousselle at Marissa.Rousselle@seattle.gov.  

Today, Mayor Jenny Durkan is releasing her 2020 Proposed Budget. This is the second year of the two-year budget biennium, and the proposed budget maintains core services while increasing investments in priorities like public safety, affordable housing, homelessness, transit and transportation safety, and opportunity and jobs for Seattle’s young people.

The proposed 2020 Budget for the Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) totals more than $105 million and includes the first full year of Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise (FEPP) Levy funding as well as expansions to DEEL’s Sweetened Beverage Tax investments.

I wanted to share some of the highlights from the department’s proposed budget, including new and expanded programs and investments.

• Expansion of the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP): The proposed budget more than doubles the level of investment in CCAP with an additional $3 million in funding. The budget provides major investments in increasing family access to vouchers, providing supports and incentives for providers, and adding staff capacity to the department to manage this growth in the program.
• Transfer of Upward Bound from Human Services Department (HSD) to DEEL: The proposed budget includes the transfer of the Upward Bound program from HSD to DEEL. Moving the program and staff will increase alignment with education resources, access, and the relationships that DEEL holds as the City’s education leader. At the same time, with the Seattle Promise program gearing up for its first full year of expansion into all 17 Seattle Public School high schools, integrating Upward Bound into DEEL will allow for direct access for students in the program to Promise.
• New FEPP Levy positions: The budget continues to invest in the capacity needed for DEEL to deliver on its mission and the FEPP Levy Implementation & Evaluation Plan. Three new positions are proposed through the FEPP Levy, including:
  • 1.0 FTE Public Relations Specialist, Sr, in the Strategy and Innovation Division to help make the public aware of the programs, services, and resources that DEEL offers.
  • 1.0 FTE Administrative Specialist II in the Early Learning Division to address needed support to ensure timely and customer-oriented operations.
  • 1.0 FTE Strategic Advisor 1, Exempt, to serve as the Early Learning Operations Data Analyst to provide support for the division’s continued work on Child Information and Provider System (CHIPS) as well as ongoing data management support.

Over the next two months, the City Council will review the Mayor’s the proposed budget. Traditionally, the Council votes on final adoption of the budget in late November. More information about details in the budget can be found at www.seattle.gov/budget, and you can also direct any questions to jenny.durkan@seattle.gov.

In gratitude,
Dwane Chappelle
Director, Department of Education and Early Learning