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

Department of Education and Early Learning

DEEL Partner Schools Adapt During a Challenging Year

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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.  

A usually bustling entrance to Grover Cleveland STEM High School stood quiet while classes were hosted virtually during  COVID-19 pandemic. 

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. 

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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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Mentoring Urban Students and Teens (MUST) Provides Continuity of Connection and Near-Peer Mentorship Throughout COVID-19

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MUST mentors and mentees posing for a photo after a basketball game before the COVID-19 pandemic.  

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.  

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Seattle Preschool Program Provider Transforms School Bus into Mobile Classroom, Bringing Safe, In-Person, Individualized Instruction to Students’ Homes

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Contributors: Debra Kinsey, Early Learning Preschool Manager, and Grace Funk, South East Regional Coaching Manager 

Causey's Learning Center Educators standing outside Causey's Classroom on Wheels, waving at the camera, in December 2020.
Causey’s Learning Center Educators standing outside Causey’s Classroom on Wheels in December 2020.

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. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be highlighting some of the inspiring work we’ve seen over the last year. Here is one example highlighting one of our Seattle Preschool Program providers, Causey’s Learning Center. 

During the 2020-2021 school year, the Seattle Preschool Program (SPP) looked different from previous years, with smaller class sizes, social distancing, and masked faces all around. For many families and providers, the difference was even greater—some SPP programs opted to provide family-directed remote programming for parents who were more comfortable with their children staying at home, while others offered a combination of both in-person and remote programming.   

Ruth Brown and her team at Causey’s Learning Center, an SPP provider since the program’s inception in 2015, offered remote-only programming at the start of the school year, but their innovative approach brought creative solutions right to the doorsteps of their preschoolers. They called it Causey’s Classroom on Wheels. 

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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. 

Thank You, Seattle Child Care Providers and Educators!

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Child care providers, early learning educators, youth development workers, and K-12 teachers play an essential role in the development of our children and a strong social infrastructure. Their value has never been more apparent than during the last year, when life and learning for Seattle’s children and youth took on a drastically different format.

DEEL is deeply grateful for all of our city’s child care providers and educators for their support and nurturing care of Seattle students and families over the last year. They have supported children and families in countless ways, adapted to the challenges of remote learning, and kept students engaged and connected to their school community – and we appreciate all that they do!

In recognition of their service to families and students, Mayor Jenny Durkan has proclaimed today, May 7th, as Child Care Provider and Educator Appreciation Day.

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City Announces New Seattle Preschool Program Classrooms and Opening of 2021-2022 Applications

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This week, the City of Seattle announced that applications for the 2021-2022 school year for the Seattle Preschool Program are now open. The program also welcomed three new partner agencies and 14 new classrooms to be added in the fall, bringing the total number of SPP classrooms to 129 and total number of preschool slots to more than 2,000.  

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Seattle Preschool Grows with Help of Seattle Facilities Funds

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Tiny Tots Directors in Construction Hats
(L-R) Jacqualine Boles, Tiny Tots Director of Health and Family Services; Angelia Hicks-Maxie, Chief Executive Officer; Marcell Lyons, Childcare Compliance Officer

Angelia Hicks-Maxie got into the childcare business, in part because she loves helping kids, but also to follow in her mother’s footsteps. She had dreams to expand Tiny Tots Development Center, first founded by her mother in 1969 as an in-home child care operation, into a multisite, full-service early learning center. 

As an energetic addition to the business in the late 1990s, Hicks-Maxie had a lot of ideas. It was clear to her she would need to seek outside funds to bring those ideas to life, but finding the right sources is no easy task and growth took time.

“Without funding, preschool programs can’t grow. We’re not a profit center. In child care, you make about enough to cover your expenses and pay your staff—and not what they should be paid—and you’re struggling with that. There is no room for you to dip into a fund and say I’m going to get some capital for a new building.” 

Angelia Hicks-Maxie, SPP Provider Facilities Fund Awardee

Along the way, Angelia learned about the Seattle Preschool Program (SPP) Facilities Fund, which invests in the expansion and improvement of high-quality learning environments for participation in the City’s award-winning preschool program. SPP provides Seattle three- and four-year-olds with access to high-quality, culturally responsive preschool services that improve kindergarten readiness and support subsequent academic achievement.  

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Call for Community Volunteers: Join the FEPP Levy Oversight Committee to advise on over $80 million in annual education investments

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Seattle Boards_Seattle DEEL_FEPP logos

The Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) is currently accepting applications for three new committee members for the Families, Education, Preschool and Promise (FEPP) Levy Oversight Committee (LOC). Interested community members are encouraged to apply through the City of Seattle Boards and Commissions website. Applications are due by Friday, March 5, 2021.

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