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

Department of Education and Early Learning

Fam & Ed Levy funding available for Summer 2017

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We are currently running a Request for Investment (RFI) process to fund new or expand existing summer learning programs for Summer 2017.  Here are the details:

  • Elementary funding available: Up to $94,546
  • Middle school funding available: Up to $477,531
  • Award duration: Programs will receive funding for the next three summers (2017, 2018, 2019)
  • New for this cycle: Preference will be given to summer programs that effectively serve Black males or Black females AND/OR regions of the Seattle School District not currently served by Levy summer programming, but all programs are welcome to apply
  • Application is posted here: http://www.seattle.gov/education/about-us/funding-opportunities/summer-learning_2017
  • Deadline: Friday, November 18, 2016 at 4:30pm

We will be hosting two information sessions on Mon, Sep. 26 and Tue, Oct. 4 (details on the website).  To see a list of the schools and organizations we currently fund for summer, please go here: http://www.seattle.gov/education/k-12-schools/summer-learning

Or Email Long Phan, Summer Program Lead, long.phan@seattle.gov

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We hope you consider applying for this opportunity to create high-quality summer learning experiences for your students!

Mayor Murray 2017-18 budget proposes additional funding for education and youth

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Mayor Ed Murray delivered his 2017-18 Proposed Budget to the City Council yesterday, and I am pleased to inform you of a few exciting new items included in the Department of Education and Early Learning’s proposed budget.

When Mayor Murray appointed me as director of DEEL, he made it clear that our mission would be to advance equity in education and help close the achievement gap that has long plagued our schools. This budget invests in our kids’ education and continues making progress toward ensuring everyone has access to opportunity.

First, the 2017 Proposed Budget includes $1 million to implement the first phase of the Mayor’s Education Summit Advisory Group’s recommendations, which will be announced soon. One of these recommendations is to fund an additional 200 high quality summer learning slots for middle and high school students, primarily focusing on African-American and other students of color.  Another recommendation will provide funds for a pilot innovation model at one high school modeled on the Families and Education Levy middle school innovation program.  This program significantly improves academic achievement by following a holistic approach that addresses academic skills, social emotional development, health, and family engagement.  And, the Mayor’s budget includes funding in the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department to expand the My Brother’s Keeper initiative that helps mentor African-American boys at Aki Kurose Middle School to five other middle schools.

Second, the proposed budget adds funding of $500,000 in 2017 to expand the Parent-Child Home Program to increase the number of young children who benefit from literacy education.

Third, the Seattle Preschool Program (SPP) Levy in DEEL’s 2017 Proposed Budget includes the planned addition of new SPP classrooms, from 32 in the 2016-17 school year to 53-60 classrooms in 2017-18. This increase means up to 1,200 more students will be served by the program in the next two years.

Finally, the Families and Education Levy (FEL) in DEEL’s 2017 Proposed Budget includes additional early learning preschool slots, funding for four new elementary schools, and increased summer learning funding for elementary and middle schools.

Additionally, Mayor Murray announced the creation of a Youth Opportunity Sub Cabinet that will be comprised of City department directors whose funding and programs focus on youth in Seattle. This group will serve as a structure to better align the City’s work with youth around common goals and outcomes.

I’m excited about the additional kids we’ll be able to serve with evidence-based and innovative strategies to help them succeed in school and in life. The budget shows Mayor Murray’s commitment to this goal.

Please let the City Councilmembers know that your thoughts about these investments by emailing the Council by using the Council website linked below or attending one of the two Council budget hearings scheduled for the following dates:

  • Wednesday, October 5, 2015 at 5:30 p.m., Seattle City Hall in Council Chambers
  • Tuesday, October 25, 2015 at 5:30 p.m., Seattle City Hall in Council Chambers

http://www.seattle.gov/council/

I would like to personally thank you for your continued support of and involvement with our programs and services, and to Mayor Murray for including these proposals as part of his 2017-18 Proposed Budget.

Sincerely,

Dwane

Dwane Chappelle, Director

Department of Education and Early Learning

Wishing for more Seattle Preschool Program classrooms in North Seattle? We’re on our way!

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Article in The Urbanist:

Preschool And 70 Low-Income Apartments Headed To Lake City

by @dmtrumm on September 26, 2016
The project by LIHI at 12750 30th Ave N would add 90 apartments.

The Northeast Design Review Board will hold the first recommendation meeting tonight for a 6-story 70-apartment building the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) plans to build in Lake City. The project will include a preschool, daycare center, and nine parking stalls. Apartments would serve tenants at a range of income levels from 0 to 60 percent of area median income, which roughly means two-bedroom units would rent for no higher than $1200 and three-bedrooms no higher than $1400.

Lake City is somewhat unique in the degree of community involvement in urban design thanks to a three-year envisioning project that established a framework and led the neighborhood to ask for a civic core rezone with stronger pedestrian and urban design standards.

Lake City Way was a major route bringing in commerce to the city. (
Lake City Way was an important highway bringing in commerce to the neighborhood. (LIHI)

Historically, Lake City was defined by its auto-oriented character. The design proposal layouts how Lake City Way was a thoroughfare for the region early in the automobile era and a commercial focal point that apparently eclipsed the trolley corridor. Lake City was a township of more than 40,000 when it incorporated in 1949—that was good enough for fourth largest community in the state. However, in an all too common story in auto-oriented retail, a bigger draw came in the Northgate Mall in 1950 and I-5 further altered transportation and commerce patterns when it opened in 1967, both of which pulled customers and commercial vitality from Lake City.

The envisioning project seeks to flip the script and make a more vital Lake City with a human-scaled walkable environment. The LIHI building aims to do its own part to achieve that goal with more inviting sidewalks, better pedestrian crossings, and lush landscaping. Architects selected Urban Pinnacle Oaks to anchor the landscaping, which is also filled in with a variety of plants, such as Munchkin Oakleaf Hydrangea, Creeping Lily Turf, Coastal Strawberry, Fragrant Sweetbox, and Pink Fountain Grass.

The improved sidewalk include extensive landscaping. (LIHI)
The improved NE 127th St sidewalk would include extensive landscaping. (LIHI)

The site’s sparing use of parking reflects the solid transit in the area. The 65 bus, which runs to University of Washington, stops just outside the site; the 41, which runs express via I-5 to downtown, stops a double-block to the south on 125th St, and the 372 and the 522 stop at Lake City Way and 125th St, a four-minute walk. Minimal parking also makes providing affordable housing easier by avoiding the high cost of building parking.

LIHI
The smaller circle is 1/8 mile radius and larger is 1/4 mile radius from the site. (LIHI)

The childcare facility includes an outdoor play area surrounded by a colorful fence. The architects aim to improve the “eyes on the street” effect with administrative offices and preschool classroom’s windows pointing out to the street. Both kids and adults can seek further on-site recreation opportunities on the rooftop deck, which includes another play area, lounge and picnic seating, a p-patch garden, a fire pit, and trees. The roof also includes three separate photo-voltaic solar arrays that will provide renewable energy on-site.

The play area is surrounded by a colorful fence with playful windows. (LIHI)
The play area is surrounded by a colorful fence with playful windows. (LIHI)

This LIHI project in Lake City is the type of project that should be going up in every neighborhood in the city as we cope with an affordability crisis and try to house an estimated 3,000 homeless people. If your neighborhood’s zoning doesn’t allow a multi-family project like this, you might ask yourself why not. The building is designed with careful deference to the neighborhood’s wishes as expressed by its envisioning project and neighborhood plan. Landscaping beautifies the streetscape; better sidewalks improve the block’s walkabiity, all while providing valuable community services via the daycare, preschool, and rent restricted apartments. What an asset! Give us more projects like this.

The project has had one other design review, an Early Design Guidance (EDG) meeting in June, and could gain recommendation from the Northwest Design Review Board if things go well tonight. To comment attend the 6.30pm meeting at Room 202 of the Good Shepherd Center or email the assigned planner, Joshua Johnson (joshua.johnson@seattle.gov).

Tiny Trees (Seattle PreK Pathway Program)–Highlighted as innovative new partner with Seattle Parks

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On a cloudy day, April Charlie explores the forests of Camp Long for the first time. Through her three-year-old eyes it is a wonderland – full of towering conifers, big rocks and colorful animals. It’s a perfect place to ramble, burrow and play. The best part is Charlie will get to enjoy an education full of healthy, active play in a sensory rich world where she will build both the social and emotional skills needed for a productive life and the academic skills needed for success in school. 

In an outdoor classroom, lessons have a natural magic: instead of counting marbles, children collect and count acorns; to learn colors, geometry and fine motor control, children use paintbrushes to spread pollen between flowers and record the color, shape and number of petals to share with the class; and with a pile of leaves and twigs, they build sculptures and art that reflect the wilds of their imagination.

In an innovative partnership, Seattle Parks and Recreation is providing space for Tiny Trees Preschool to operate, on a pilot basis, 11 affordable, nature-rich outdoor preschool classes, helping 180 children a day at four Seattle Parks.

Affordability was a major reason April Charlie’s parents chose Tiny Trees. “Shortly after Charlie was born, we added her to a number of wait lists for various preschools,” said Annie McGlynn-Wright. “Some cost more than $19,000 a year, far more than what students pay now in tuition at the University of Washington and just not possible for a working family like us.”

At Tiny Trees, 52% of the incoming class receives financial assistance. At Carkeek Park, families who make less than $72,000 a year receive free tuition through the Seattle Preschool Program Pathways. “We’re committed to creating a school where every child is welcome,” said Andrew Jay, CEO of Tiny Trees Preschool. “Making tuition affordable and investing in teachers who reflect the diversity of the neighborhoods our schools are a part of, are key to that success.”

Tiny Trees Preschool keeps costs low by eliminating the cost of building, renovating and maintaining a child care facility. Instead of spending a huge amount on bricks and mortar the school spends it on hiring and supporting great teachers. The result is a preschool that costs 80% less to start and tuition prices that are 10 or 40% below market rate. Beginning September 12, 2016, Tiny Trees will operate schools at Camp Long in West Seattle, Carkeek Park in Northwest Seattle, John C. Little Park in the Rainier Valley and Jefferson Park on Beacon Hill.

The pilot agreement illustrates Seattle Parks and Recreation’s support for the city’s Preschool Program, approved by Seattle voters in 2014 to make preschool opportunities available for all Seattle 3- and 4-year-old children.

“This unique outdoor preschool program helps children to learn and develop while experiencing the wonder of the natural world,” said Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent Jesús Aguirre. “Supporting families in connecting their children to the natural world at an early age supports our efforts to build life-long advocates for the preservation of outdoor space and environmental stewardship.”

The Seattle Preschool Program aims to provide high quality early childhood education programs for 1,600 children a year by 2018. Tiny Trees Preschool is a provider for the Seattle Preschool Program – Pathways at Carkeek Park, and has two years to meet the quality standards for the Seattle Preschool Program.

Outdoor preschool is a concept that started in Norway, Germany and Denmark, three countries where the weather can get really cold. The model has been tested in the Northwest by Cedarsong Nature School, which has been offering year-round outdoor preschool on Vashon Island since 2006.

To make sure families are prepared for a Seattle winter, Tiny Trees provides every child a free one-piece rain suit and boots from the Vancouver, WA based company Oakiwear. Children also use picnic shelters in heavy rain and there is an emergency shelter designated at each site in case of severe weather or emergency. Tiny Trees follows the Seattle Public Schools (SPS) calendar and is closed on SPS snow days.

For more information, please visit TinyTrees.org.

Source: http://parkways.seattle.gov/#sthash.uW9t2RrG.dpuf

Profile of an SPP Scholar–Teacher Tiffany

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Tiffany is a lead teacher at Causey’s MLK site. She has taught at Causey’s for 14 years. When Causey’s Early Learning Center joined the Seattle Preschool Program Tiffany became eligible to take part in the SPP Scholars program. SPP Scholars is a program within the Seattle Preschool Program that provides teachers with funding and support to start or complete their degree in Early Childhood Education.

Tiffany only need a few more credits to complete her degree, and with the support of the SPP scholars program she was able to graduate from Goddard College with a Bachelor’s degree in Dual Language PreK-3rd Education. Congrats!

Here’s a little more about Tifany

Are you a native of Seattle? If not, where are you from and how long have you lived and worked at Causey’s in Seattle?

 I am a native of Seattle and I have worked at Causey’s Learning Center 16 years.

How long have you been teaching Preschool?

 I have been teaching preschool for 14 years

What is your favorite children’s book to read to your class?

I love reading Dandelion by Don Freeman (Even though this is a book that is over 30 years old it sends a great message to myself and children…You’re great just the way you are…don’t change…just be yourself)

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What is your favorite activity or subject to teach to your class?

I love teaching and having children explore the arts (Introducing different types of music, songs, dance, acting, painting, drawing)….I believe this helps children find their voice and it promotes self-awareness.

Now that you have your degree how do plan to spend your free time?

 Free time?  What’s that?  I can’t sit still…I want to get back to volunteering and helping people in my community, I miss the interactions and conversations. Also…I really want to go back to school to work towards my teaching certificate.

What is your most favorite thing about teaching preschool?

Giving children opportunities to explore, be free, and enjoy the experience of learning.

If you wish you can also include a few words of appreciation or thanks to someone or a list of folks that have supported you on your journey to complete your degree.

I want to thank my family for their unwavering support and for giving me a solid foundation to become a very strong woman.  Thanks to all of my coworkers who have been very supportive and to the City of Seattle/SPP for helping me complete one of my educational goals.

Summer School in Seattle

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Denny International Middle School’s Summer of Learning

 

As August begins, the Westside Scholars at Denny International Middle School are finishing up five weeks of academics and enrichment classes. DennySummerLearning5

Over 200 scholars participated in Denny’s summer program this year which is funded by the City of Seattle, Families and Education Levy. The Westside Scholars Program is intended to offer extra academic support to incoming 7th and 8th graders as well as serve as an introduction to middle school for incoming 6th graders from all of Denny’s feeder elementary schools. The program is an excellent opportunity to become familiar with the building and future teachers as they transition to the next level of their education. Amongst the many enrichment opportunities such as Mariachi, Cooking and Cartooning, sixth graders participated in a unique Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) class twice a week that made science alive and active.  A tremendous staff of educators and community partners led and guided the scholars’ instruction and development.

Congratulations to our scholars and thank you to our staff and partners for making this happen for our community!

Go Dolphins!

DennySummerLearning3DennySummerLearning6

 

DEEL Manager, Sonja Griffin, awarded Weikart Award at 2016 HighScope International Conference

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IMG_1189We would like to acknowledge our very own Early Learning Manager, Sonja Griffin who deservingly received the Weikart Award at the Annual 2016 HighScope International Conference in Detroit, Michigan!

Former Department of Early Learning (DEL) Director, Bette Hyde and HighScope Certified Trainer, Kay Rush presented Sonja with this amazing award.

Congratulations Sonja on this award—wonderful work!

“I share this honor with all of our programs using HighScope in Seattle!”-Sonja

We’re so proud!

 

Looking for summer activities and learning opportunities for your student?

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Our belief is that high-quality summer learning is critical to closing the achievement gap.

Summer learning opportunities are focusing on students who meet some of the following criteria:

  • Children with no prior preschool experience
  • Children who have been identified as not meeting standards on
    • Teaching Strategies GOLD
    • Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA)
    • Measures of Academic Progress (MAP)
    • Washington English Language Proficiency Assessment (WELPA)
  • Students who failed at least one core course during the first semester
  • Students who received more than 5 absences during the first semester

In Summer 2016, the Families and Education Levy will invest a total of $2.3 million in high-quality summer learning programs that serve more than 2,000 of Seattle’s students.

  • If you are a school or community based organization interested in applying for funding, please see current “Funding Opportunities.”
  • If you are a student or parent interested in summer programs, please see our list below and contact the program directly.

Levy Funded Summer Programs

Elementary  Summer Learning–click here for details

Middle School Summer Learning–click here for details

High School Summer Learning–click here for details

Seattle Speaks: Making the Grade

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SeattleSpeaks

Making the Grade:

A community conversation on education funding

As the state Legislature defers fully funding public education for yet another year, what are the implications for Seattle schools? Are we on the right path to funding and providing a quality education for all students? Weigh in at a live televised conversation.

 
TUESDAY, APRIL 19
Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave.
6 p.m. doors | 6:30 p.m. audience prep | 7 p.m. show
Watch live on Seattle Channel 21 or seattlechannel.org

REGISTER
Admission is free, but seating is limited.
Sign up at seattlecityclub.org or 206-682-7395
Follow the conversation #SeattleSpeaks