Category: Advocacy

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Reminder: PTSA General Session on April 22

Published on by hwk8ptsaLeave a comment

Welcome back from Spring Break!

Join us this Tuesday, April 22nd for the PTSA General Session Meeting, from 6:30-8pm in the Cafetorium. April’s meeting will include updates from Principal Breuder and PTSA committee members, plus a look-ahead to upcoming events, and budget information. Childcare & snacks will be provided. We hope to see you there!

Along with the PTSA meeting, there are also important funding discussions happening this week.

Middle School Mathematics Meeting, April 21  

Hosted by Hazel Wolf staff, this event is for middle school families for the 2025-2026 school year. The meeting starts at 6:00 pm on Teams.

Math Information Night Meeting Link

Middle School Spanish/Language Meeting, April 22 

Hosted by Hazel Wolf community members, this event is for middle school families for the 2025-2026 school year. This meeting starts at 5:00 pm and will be held in person and virtually.

In Person Location: HW Library

Virtual: Middle School Spanish/Language Meeting Link Meeting ID: 934 625 572 5078, Passcode: b4Qx2p 

Seattle School District Board meeting, April 23

Join your fellow Hazel Wolf parents at the Seattle School District April board meeting. The meeting starts at 4:15pm at 2445 3rd Ave. S, Seattle WA 98134.

Your presence/voice make a difference: https://www.alltogetherforseattleschools.org/home/take-action-seattle

Hazel Wolf Engineering Meeting for 2025-26 families, April 24

Hosted by Hazel Wolf community members, this meeting starts at 5:00pm and will be held in person and virtually.

In Person Location: HW Library

Virtual: Engineering Meeting Link. Meeting ID: 935 498 279 536 4, Passcode: o7Sj3s

Banner with "What Can You Do About SPS Closures" written on it

Resource Guide: School Closure Proposals

Published on by hwk8ptsa3 Comments

We believe all Seattle Public Schools families should be informed about the latest on school closures, and able to share their voices to make an impact. Here are some informational resources, upcoming events, and contact information we hope you’ll find helpful.

INFORMATIONAL RESOURCES
– Seattle Schools Information website: www.seattleschools.org/resources/well-resourced-schools/
– Seattle Family Information website: www.alltogetherforseattleschools.org/
– Fund SPS website (created by a group of concerned SPS parents committed to advocacy): https://fundsps.com/take-action

UPCOMING EVENTS
– Monday, September 16th, 6pm, John Hay Elementary School Cafeteria, 201 Garfield St, Seattle, WA 98109: Director of District 4, Dr Joe Mizrahi, will be attending this School Closure Meeting.
– Wednesday, September 18th, 4:15pm, John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence, 2445 3rd Ave. S, Seattle, WA 98134: Family gathering before the School District Board Meeting.

WHO YOU CAN REACH OUT TO
Marni Campbell, Well-Resourced Schools Officer: macampbell@seattleschools.org
School Board: schoolboard@seattleschools.org
Superintendent Brent Jones: superintendent@seattleschools.org

Please remember everyone in our community (students, staff, families, other SPS school communities) will be impacted. Be the community of kindness that we are.

"Call to Action" text in speech bubble icon.

Call to Action… Sign on Letter Urges SPS to Stop Plan to Close Option Schools

Published on by hwk8ptsaLeave a comment

During recent Seattle Public School’s (SPS) closure and consolidation plan meetings, parents and caregivers asked high-ranking district officials what the plan is for option schools and alternative programs.

The responses received gave parent-led coalition All Together for Seattle Schools a high degree of confidence that SPS plans to eliminate most or all option K-5 and K-8 programs in schools.

While SPS has not addressed this publicly, All Together for Seattle Schools is proactively making it known to SPS leadership that this would be a mistake. They have created a sign-on letter to urge the district to stop a plan to close option schools and alternative programs at the K-5 and K-8 levels.

Please consider signing on to the letter here!

If you’d like to do more, here are some suggestions of ways to take action:

  • Write to the superintendent, Dr. Brent Jones, and the school board. Tell them why we need to support diverse learning options in our school district. Include a story about your own experience showing why you think alternatives help students learn and thrive in school.
  • Reach out to parents and community members you know who care about this issue, and ask them to do the same.
  • Visit alltogetherforseattleschools.org to get involved in this citywide effort to avoid a massive mistake around school consolidation.

Option schools and alternative programs (including dual language, highly capable cohort, and others) promote positive academic outcomes for students, help create an environment that sparks innovation in learning and, given their waitlists, could actually increase SPS enrollment.

Please consider adding your voice to this call to action, and sharing with fellow parents and caregivers in your community.

Sign on to the letter here

Image credit: Canva

Prepare to Testify at School Board Meeting for Bell Change and Bussing Issue

Published on by elliskatherinem

Join us for a Q&A on how to testify at the Seattle School Board meeting (over the phone or in person). Q&A held on Sunday, May 15th at 1PM. We will talk about how to sign up, what to expect and give you ideas for talking points for the three tier school bell change/First Student busing. You can use your personal stories along with data to tell the district school board how these changes would affect you and others throughout the district. Doing that makes it’s harder to ignore and they are more likely listen. Please register in advance for the Q&A to be hosted by Tracy Buckingham and Rebecca Vaux. The next school board meeting is on Wednesday, May 18th at 4:15pm-8:30pm (you can leave as soon as your done testifying if you want). With registration for testimony open on Monday, May 16th at 8am through Tuesday, May 17th at 12 (noon). There may be spots available for walk-in testimony if there is time available. We know that they are pausing to get community feedback, so this is the time to let them know how it impacts you and the whole district. You are welcome to attend this meeting is you have a child in any SPS school.

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIqdO2grzoqGtx9hrPmCjQrsU889Zr0zp7A

Seattle School Board resolution on COVID Vaccination Access, Acceptance and support for Board of Health Mandate for Students 

Published on by elliskatherinem

November 1, 4pm, Families of Color Seattle, Christine Tang, Directors Hampson, Rivera-Smith

Microsoft Teams meeting

Join on your computer or mobile app

Click here to join the meeting

Or call in (audio only)

+1 206-800-4125,,437588733#   United States, Seattle

Phone Conference ID: 437 588 733#

November 2, 6pm, Students of Color, Directors Hampson, Rankin, Rivera-Smith

Microsoft Teams meeting

Join on your computer or mobile app

Click here to join the meeting

Or call in (audio only)

+1 206-800-4125,,966295686#   United States, Seattle

Phone Conference ID: 966 295 686#

This is a School Board led engagement on Resolution on State Board of Health Vaccine Mandate process. Staff are extremely busy setting up vaccine clinics (~48!) in the coming weeks. 

Description: Seattle School Board resolution on COVID Vaccination Access, Acceptance and support for Board of Health Mandate for Students 

Purpose: As significant disparities exist with respect to information, access and impact of COVID we are now, a month and a half in to the school year, seeing how those disparities impact our students in SPS. Seattle Public Schools has become the frontlines for Public Health management and, until such time as the virus is controlled with sufficient community immunity, expends precious educational resources on managing cases, quarantines and contact tracing and less time supporting students. Seattle Public Schools is considering a resolution that would ask the State Board of Health to being the evaluation process (the same process as every other vaccine mandated for school attendance). 

While vaccines are the most effective way to combat the disease and keep our students and staff safe, we also know the aforementioned disparities mean the impact of a prospective mandate for students would also create additional disparities. Before we vocalize our support, we would like to hear from community members what they believe we need to know, what they need to know from us and our partners and how SPS can best use its education and partnership resources to mitigate disparities. 

Prospective questions for attendees (completely open to changes with these): 
1 The state department of health mandates many vaccines for school attendance, once fully approved by the FDA, how do you feel about the state Department of Health potentially including approved COVID mandates? 
2 What has the impact of testing and quarantining been on your and/or your child’s school experience. 
3 What would be the impact of a vaccine mandate on your family? 
4 What role do trust and lack of information from trusted sources play in your feelings about vaccines for students? 
5 How has COVID impacted your relationship with SPS in general?k 
6 What could SPS do or collaborate with partners on that would support you and your family with respect to COVID and public and student health concerns in general? 

Important articles from edweek: https://www.edweek.org/leadership/fda-says-vaccine-benefits-outweigh-myocarditis-risks-here-are-the-facts/2021/10?utm_source=nl&utm_medium=eml&utm_campaign=eu&M=64189905&U=&UUID=adb1899dbfe10387c4fb8e942c884b6b

https://www.edweek.org/leadership/covid-19-vaccines-for-children-5-to-11-clear-hurdle-to-emergency-approval/2021/10?utm_source=nl&utm_medium=eml&utm_campaign=eu&M=64189905&U=&UUID=adb1899dbfe10387c4fb8e942c884b6b

Bussing Suspended Starting Monday

Published on by elliskatherinem

Hi Wolfpack Families

Unfortunately, due to the labor shortage and vaccine mandate, Seattle Public Schools’ bus vendor does not have enough drivers to operate the busses for our general education students starting this Monday. They are doing their best to hire more drivers to reinstate the bus routes. You can read more from SPS here.

In the meantime, we need to work together to get our kids to school.

We need volunteers for these three jobs:

  1. Parents/guardians who can drive carpools
  2. Parents/guardians who can walk with kids to school
  3. Parents/guardians who can work as crossing guards and traffic control near school

If you can volunteer to help in any of these ways, please complete this Google Form.

If you need help getting your child(ren) to school, complete this Google Form to provide day, time and location information.

This should help us connect families who can work together and support each other.

Also remember that the Hall of Fame Team Camp (HOFTC) provides afterschool care for days when it’s difficult to get your child home. Scholarships are available. You can check out the options here: Hall of Fame Team Camp at Hazel Wolf K-8

Looking for other ways to connect with wolfpack families in your hood and coordinate driving? Some have had luck with this app. https://karpoolclub.com/ Subscribe to the Hazel Wolf School group.

Want to let someone know exactly how you feel? You can reach Governor Inslee here. If his office is flooded with requests it may help move them to bring in the National Guard to get the kids to school. It’s not just for your kid(s) sake but for all the kids who don’t have other options.  

We’re sorry this is hard and frustrating. We’re right here with you and know that if we pull together we can get all these kids to school. We GOT this wolfpack!