Friday Memo to the Board Superintendent's Office for the week of February 8, 2021 - Seattle ...
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Friday Memo to the Board
Superintendent’s Office
for the week of February 8, 2021
Happenings:
• Worked with partners to attempt to get 600+ vaccines for special education staff. Organizations
appear interested and willing; however, vaccine supply and state prioritization categories remain
to be issues. Will continue to call on partners to assist.
• Was the guest on Northwest Newsmakers on KCTS and spoke about our work during remote
learning and our work to implement Seattle Excellence
• Held monthly meeting with Mayor Durkan and her team to discuss Seattle Promise, Memorial
Stadium, and vaccines
• Stood up Snow Alert team to ensure we are prepared for winter weather. Also lifted power outage
team and sent preparedness information to families and staff
• Spoke at Alliance for Education board meeting to share SPS work to date and next steps
• Met with City Year to start planning the 21-22 school year with their partnership
• Dropped in to thank the Indian Parent Advisory Council for their work in supporting Native
students throughout SPS
Stormwater Fees Update: Staff are providing a brief update in response to Board Director inquiries on
the status of work to request a waiver of our stormwater drainage fees from the City of Seattle. Staff
across divisions are working to identify efforts that provide value equivalent to or greater than the fees
currently paid to the City of Seattle for stormwater drainage. The efforts being explored include
improving our capital assets through green infrastructure (cisterns, rain gardens, detention vaults, etc.);
curriculum and student activities related to stormwater and water management; continued maintenance of
stormwater infrastructure; and partnerships, such as our Joint Use Agreement with Seattle Parks and
Recreation and Community Alignment Initiative Agreements with childcare providers. Staff members
across multiple departments are also partnering with Parks and Recreation and EarthGen to participate in
a Green Schoolyard Technical Assistance Program hosted by the National League of Cities and Children
& Nature Network as part of the Cities Connecting Children to Nature initiative. Staff are collecting
information on waivers of such fees provided in different jurisdictions in the region, as well as the limited
waivers provided in Seattle (i.e. the Port of Seattle). Efforts and analysis will be packaged to use in
conversations with City leaders and Seattle Public Utilities.
Power/Tech Outage
https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/power_or_tech_outage_plan.
Inclement Weather/Snow Day
https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/weather_response
Remote Learning Task Force
https://www.seattleschools.org/families_communities/committees/remote_learning
Legislative Updates:
Stable Funding
There are three bills that will address the funding impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, HB 1368 (SB
5344) on Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) II funds, SB 5128 on
transportation funds, and HB 1476 on enrollment related funds.
HB 1368 passed the legislature on 2/10 and is on its way to the Governor for signature. This bill releases
the ESSER II funds and will require submission of an update to our 2020-21 school year reopening planby March 1 in order to receive the funds. OSPI is working on a template for this plan update. The bill also requires a plan by June 1 on address the academic and student well-being impacts of COVID-19. OSPI is also developing a template for that submission. HB 1476 was heard in the House Appropriations committee on 2/9. This bill provides enrollment stabilization funding to districts, if the funding exceeds the amount the district will receive under ESSER II. Seattle would receive more funding through the ESSER II funds, and so would not receive these state stabilization dollars. The bill also provides enrollment stabilization for the Learning Assistance Program, Local Effort Assistance, and Enrichment Levy formulas, from which Seattle would benefit. We testified in committee asking that the bill be considered as part of a complete package with ESSER and transportation funds and not supplant the federal funds which are intended for use to address learning loss and mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time of writing, SB 5128 was awaiting a vote in Senate Ways & Means on 2/11. This bill provides funding for district transportation using 70% of previous ridership in 2019-2020, rather than the 2020-21 school year, when calculating funding for the upcoming school year’s transportation. It also allows transportation resources to be used for transporting devices, meals, or meeting other needs during remote learning. Counseling and Social Emotional Supports HB 1208 relating to the Learning Assistance Program (LAP) was amended and passed out of House Education on 12/11. The amended bill includes non-academic supports as allowable uses of LAP funds, such as restorative justice and social emotional learning. We provided written testimony asking for this change, with our partner districts. HB 1444 was heard in House Education on 2/9. The bill creates a temporary, limited school mental health staff certificate for Department of Health licensed or certified mental and behavioral health professionals, for the purpose of providing trauma-informed counseling and supports to students who were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Districts are required to employ one person with either a school counselor certificate or a temporary mental health staff certificate for every 150 students, beginning with the 2021- 22 school year and through July 1, 2025. We provided written testimony with partner districts supporting the intent of the bill but highlighting our concerns about lack of resources and available staff to support implementation. We recommended additional flexibility and funding in order to achieve the goals of the bill. Restorative Justice Two bills are awaiting a vote in committee on 2/12 or 2/15, at the time of writing, HB 1214 (training for school safety staff) and HB 1426 (requiring equity training for professional certificate renewal).
Friday Memo to the Board
Schools & Continuous Improvement
for the week of February 8-12, 2021
Re-Entry Project Update:
An In-Person Re-entry Guide has been developed to assist schools in customizing plans for re-
entry to their school sites, and for schools to share re-entry plans, including site-based details,
with students and families. The Guide has been developed in collaboration with Health Services
and Operations and has been moved through a review and feedback cycle comprised of 30
school leaders and the Directors of Schools. In the Guide you will find:
• protocols and processes foundational to re-entry and are required: health, safety,
operations, instruction, and community-based partnerships. These protocols and
processes have been developed in coordination with multiple Central Office Departments
and anchored to guidance from OSPI, the CDC, and Washington State.
• internal links for District staff and school leaders to access expanded details related to
some protocols or processes. Protocols and processes can be accessed by families and
other members of the learning community on the In-Person Learning Plan site on The
Seattle Schools website.
Specific instructions, guiding questions, recommended and required tasks, as well as templates
for training and communication planning will be sent to school leaders later in February, giving
school leaders the opportunity to study the Guide and become fully familiarized with the health
and safety protocols in preparation for implementation. As more information is determined
through the bargaining process, school leaders will be updated with details and considerations for
protocol implementation at the building level.
Seattle Public Schools is committed to providing high-quality learning, no matter the
circumstances. Throughout the district’s response to COVID-19, the health and safety of our
community has been our top priority.Friday Memo to the Board
Teaching and Learning Division
Essential Information for the week of February 8-12, 2021
INTEGRATED CURRICULUM
Ethnic Studies and Black Studies Update
The Department of Integrated Curriculum is supporting the registration of the Black Studies course through direct engagement
with students, families, school leaders, counselors, educators, community members, and community-based organizations. The
current registration of the Black Studies course is 53 students, with 7 students finalizing their semester schedules to join. The
current capacity for Black Studies is 60 students.
The Department of Integrated Curriculum has also been in an ongoing dialogue with Dr. DeLeon Gray regarding the
achievement of safe and welcoming environments, particularly establishing a sense of belonging, for Black students. This week,
the Director of the Department of Integrated Curriculum attended a School Belonging Think Tank with Dr. DeLeon Gray to
discuss resources to support professional learning for Ethnic Studies and Black Education.
The Director of the Department of Integrated Curriculum has also been in collaboration with the Managers and Executive
Directors across the Curriculum, Assessments, and Instruction Division to plan for district-wide alignment and embedding of
Ethnic Studies across content areas. This week, we began to discuss district supports for middle schools working to implement
Ethnic Studies.
CURRICULUM, ASSESSMENT, & INSTRUCTION (CAI)
Outdoor Education Update
Six (6) Outdoor Pilot Program applications from different schools were reviewed by our central office review team this week.
Pathfinder K-8 was recently approved to start four (4) outdoor classes rotating on different days and was approved for another 1st
grade class this week. Remaining school pilot applications are on track for site visits that are being scheduled this month. The
Outdoor Task Force has made some progress in member selection – we have confirmed our community panel review members
and will be scheduling for Task Force participant selection within the next two weeks. Additionally, CAI has hired a policy
intern who was onboarded this week to help with Task Force coordination going forward. Finally, a draft of Task Force phases
and community topics was drafted for facilitator and director review.
Seattle Promise
The Seattle Promise application deadline was February 1. The College and Career Readiness department is excited to share that
2100 seniors have completed the application. That’s more than 50% of the class of 2021 and is a 19% increase from last
year. The chart below shows the number of applications by school. The next Seattle Promise requirement is for students to
submit a FAFSA or WASFA by April 15. Seattle Promise staff will be partnering with school staff to help students with this
process.
School Final 2021 Final 2020
Applicants Applicants
Nathan Hale 162 107
World School 48 47
Franklin 298 238
Roosevelt 155 102
Cleveland 200 182
West Seattle 147 118
Garfield 200 129
Rainier Beach 145 141
Chief Sealth 146 139
Ballard 252 195
Center School 26 36
Interagency 75 99
Ingraham 184 183
Middle College 13 15ATS/South Lake 10 21
Nova 33 22
Total 2100 1768
Ongoing Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction Professional Development
On February 3, 2021, a district-wide “red” job-alike early release day, Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction provided
professional development opportunities for educators across all content areas and grade levels. Curriculum, Assessment, and
Instruction content managers and curriculum specialists have been providing “just in time” learning opportunities for educators
on red early release days since the beginning of the school year and will continue each month until June. Educators can learn
about training opportunities each month on the Remote Learning Playbook site and through our various communication
channels, including the School Leaders Communicator, School Beat, Schoology, and Teams. Learn more about the upcoming
opportunities: CAI Red/Job Alike Professional Development Opportunities.
Session titles include:
• Newsbank training +job alike meetings with grade level
• Science: Focus on using the new MS Teams for student collaborations
• Next Unit Orientation through Pacing Guide (Bio A, Chem A, Chem B, Phys B)
• Science: Teacher Advisory Board
• SBA Interim Reporting System (new this year)
• English Learners: How Can Teachers Partner with Bilingual IAs to Optimize Student Engagement?
• English Learners: Exploring collaboration to design learning for all
• English Learners: Providing access through interpretation and Translation
• English Learners: Monitor Language Development with Achievement Level Descriptors
• Secondary Remote Math Learning Ideas – Using Problem Strings (Part 2)
• Making Student Thinking Visible During Remote Learning (Part 2)
• CCC Live Webinar: Teaching Writing in a Remote Setting - What We've Learned About What Works
• Teams for Education: Part 1- Secondary Teachers
• Career and Technical Education (CTE) Job-Alike
• Early Learning Job Alike
• K-12 Physical Education Specialists Job Alike
Elementary School Implementation of Microsoft Teams for Education: Starting this month, K-8, middle, and high schools
will begin the transition to Microsoft Teams for Education. We are excited to announce that Teams for Education will be
available for elementary schools in April. Training for elementary educators will take place on the April 7 early release
Wednesday, followed by additional optional PD offerings until the end of the school year. We are recommending that all schools
transition to Teams for Education this year before it is a requirement in the 2021-22 school year. It is expected that entire school
buildings will transition at the same time to ensure continuity of learning and collaboration (i.e., all educators in a school
building will be trained and move over to Teams for Education at the same time).
Science Instructional Materials Adoption, Full Implementation 2021-22: We are excited to welcome our last cohort of 30
schools to the Elementary Science Instructional Materials Adoption. This is the final step to ensure all SPS elementary schools
will transition to the new materials by the 2021-22 school year. Robust professional development sessions are being provided to
elementary educators this school year and summer.
Independent Learning Suggestions for Power, Network, and Learning Platform Outages: In the event of a power outage,
network outage, or other situation that results in technology not being available, our intent is that learning will continue,
particularly in the core academic areas. CAI has developed a comprehensive list of suggested independent learning opportunities
for our students, including students with IEPs and students who may not have access to technology or other resources during a
power or network outage. They are examples of independent learning activities that can take place at home. These resources
were provided to school leaders, educators, and families to help supplement any learning plans a school may already have in
place in the event of a network outage.
For additional information, please contact Dr. Keisha Scarlett at kdscarlett@seattleschools.org.Friday Memo to the Board
Office of African American Male Achievement
for the week of February 8-12, 2021
Happy Black History Month! Our office wants you to remember we celebrate Black History
Month because historically school systems across America have intentionally disregarded the
contributions of non-white Americans, and Black Americans more specifically; and this will
continue unless you/we across the district do something different! Friday, February 12th our
office is launching its second edition of the AAMA Newsletter. Additionally, our office was
challenged by young kings through COSEBOC engagement to infuse the following in every
facet of school learning: incorporate African and American African contributions and history;
center community connectedness; intentionally hire more adult Black males and females as
educators and administrator; when you cannot hire Black educators ensure to hire White
educators who love Black Boys and Teens, that possess both Anti-racist and culturally
competent attitudes and approaches. As an office we remain excited about our mission and
vision as it is relative to the wisdom provided by kings.
Student Leadership Council is continuing to plan the expansion process. Representation is
critical across secondary schools in our district. The kings have been involved in an array of
systemic change lifts. As examples, they have shared their voice on equity in the Isolation and
Restraint work group; Tiered Fidelity Inventory (discipline) We continue to stand firm against
the language of this RCW, because many times people weaponize the word “fear” to harm black
boys, and teenagers. The language must be distinct in these policies and state laws. The talk
brought clarity and a sharp direction. We do not need restraint practices, but rather, we need de-
escalation and mediation practices. We need to focus on building relationship currency that
deters violent behaviors.
This has been a strong week of strengthening partnerships, establishing pathways for the
expansion of culturally responsive mentoring virtually. Additionally, through partnership
engagement we are planning and drafting future family engagement opportunities. Registration
for the 2nd half of KOSE cohorts is officially open. Here are the remaining cohort dates for both
middle and high school groups.
• February 23 – March 25, 2021
• April 20 – May 20, 2021
AAMA is launching our Listen and Learn forum in February 2021 to continue to listen to Black
families as we reconstruct our educational system to celebrate the brilliance and excellence of
Black boys and teens.
AAMA is committed to the long journey of dismantling a legacy of systemic racism. We invite
Black families to participate and collectively envision what an educational environment looks
like for Black boys and teens to thrive. Your voice will help build the office's intentional, long-
term plan. Some of the questions discussed at the forums include:1. What does a safe and nurturing learning environment look like for Black boys and teens? And are these reflected in your experience with your child’s school? 2. Which of your child’s teachers have been your favorite? And why? What skills and knowledge do all educators need to support the learning and development of Black boys and teens? 3. What does it look like when your child is excited to learn and share their brilliance? What must be present for this to happen at school? 4. What rituals, routines, and practices would you like to see in the SPS school environment that honors students’ cultural strengths and celebrates their Blackness and identity? 5. Does your child feel safe at school? What policies or rules would help your child feel safer? 6. Are there in- or out-of-school programs that are helping your child thrive? In what ways do you see these programs or spaces having a positive impact? 7. What has been the best and most difficult part of remote learning? And what must be in place for you to send your child back to school? 8. What are the most important things for educators and school systems to know about building a strong relationship with you and your family? These forums are focused on the voices of Black families in SPS. AAMA will publish and share the findings with our larger community, including professional development for staff, later this year.
Friday Memo to the Board
Student Support Services
for the week of February 8-12, 2021
Chief Concie Pedroza:
Last week wrapped up our sessions for families furthest from educational justice for special education with our
BIPOC meeting Tuesday, February 2nd. We will begin our third sessions after Spring Break. The Special
Education department will be hosting at the end of the month a DHH community event.
The Advanced Learning department will continue their community engagement with Advanced Learning, we
will be presenting tonight to the Native Education PAC group tonight. I look forward to learning from our
community members.
The Department of Student Services Support came together to continue our learning around anti-racism this
week using the book “So You Want to Talk About Race”. It was a tough conversation as we highlighted
chapter 6 on the School-to-Prison Pipeline and where it shows up in schools, in our departments and how we
interrupt that in our processes, policies and procedures. Each department has been lifting tremendous work, and
we continue to push against business as usual practices to advance racial equity practices. Furthermore, we
question ourselves as to how we hold our staff and ourselves accountable.
Admissions:
The admissions department has processed over 2,100 school choice applications; which is considerably lower
from the 3,400 processed applications this same time last year. Possible contributing factors for this variance:
the pandemic, the extension of the open enrollment period to four weeks versus previously two weeks and
allowing families to take more time to review their choice options or the transportation decision to halt bussing
to most option schools. We do anticipate choice applications to increase over the next few weeks. The team has
processed over 2,700 new student applications for the 2021-22 school year as of today, with 2,200 of them for
kindergarten.
Athletics:
Seattle Public Schools’ high school athletic programming will begin February 22, 2021. All sports will operate
following guidance and protocol from the Governor’s Office, Department of Health, and school district.
Additional information will be released closer to Season 1’s February 22nd start date. The memo and FAQs have
been sent to School Directors, Cabinet, School Leaders and Athletics staff.
To respond to the question from Director Rivera-Smith and Director Harris regarding fans at events:
Q: Will fans be able to watch events?
A: In an abundance of caution we are considering no fans at practices or contest at this time, however we
will continue to explore options and update accordingly.
Our goal is to assure adherence to the protocols with the students and staff. Additionally, as Athletics practices
and games are in different indoor and outdoor spaces, we are working with staff to ensure site supervisors are
available. As we are launching additional processes, staff will not have the ability to monitor fans to stay 6 feet
apart, wear masks, etc. and we are obligated to minimize creating spreader events due to our ability to manage
the fans. We will monitor our processes carefully and will review options, at a later date; after health protocols
are systematized in our program.Friday Memo to the Board
Operations for Feb. 8-12, 2021
Facilities
• View Ridge Elementary: The Maintenance crew is working to completely refinish the gym floor at View Ridge.
The Laborers have shifted furniture and equipment that needs to be temporarily moved out of the way and
carefully measured the existing layout. Physical Education teacher Jennifer Shaw has generously shared her time
to clarify the needs for floor markings to align with current pedagogy. Sanding has begun and when it is perfectly
smooth, it will be sealed, and then coated. When complete, this activity is projected to extend the life of the floor
by 40 years.
• Eckstein Middle: The Grounds crew is working on dead tree clean up along the slope at Eckstein. They also are
cleaning up a lot of debris from past storm damage. Further discussion and review will determine if and when the
fallen logs can be removed. At times, Facilities decides to leave logs in the area to decompose. The slop remains
an uncultivated section of the landscape, which provides excellent natural green space and helps to buffer noise
from the athletic field.
Nutrition Services (NS)
• Mid-Winter Break Meal Service: The week of Feb. 15-19, all meal sites will be closed on the holiday, Feb. 15.
There will be no meals by bus Feb. 15-19. Also, the following sites will be closed that week:
o Bryant Elementary
o Olympic View Elementary
o Hawthorne Elementary
o TOPS K-8
o Aki Kurose Middle School
o Northgate Elementary
o Roxhill Elementary
• Menu Change: Effective Feb. 11, take and bake meals are unavailable for the foreseeable future due to
supply chain issues.
• A Reason to Celebrate: NS was featured on a Feb. 7 West Seattle blog and will be featured on the National
USDA Nutrition Social Media for its amazing efforts at the Denny International Middle School and Chief Sealth
International High School meal site. The distribution site is being recognized as the largest meal distribution site
in Washington state, serving approximately 23,733 meals last month. NS also is being recognized for its
partnering efforts with Amazon delivery drivers, who pick up one-week meal boxes for approximately 5,000
district students and deliver them to families in need throughout Seattle. A commercial featuring the district’s
meal delivery partnership with Amazon: https://youtu.be/8NJ3tzrtyS4Friday Memo to the Board
Equity, Partnerships & Engagement (EPE)
For the Week of February 8-12, 2021
EPE Division
Department of Racial Equity Advancement (DREA)
• DREA is continuing to serve the Partnership Committee in developing and disseminating
the application for New Racial Equity Teams across Seattle Public Schools. This week, the
application has been finalized and DREA is supporting the Partnership Committee in
sending it to educators and staff across Seattle Public Schools.
• DREA continues to support the COBC—the Central Office Black Caucus. This Black-led,
interdepartmental employee resource group will support Seattle Public Schools in
analyzing and advising for Workforce Equity, offering staff resources and insights on key
policy, program, and/or project development; and supporting professional learning at
Central Office.
Stakeholder Engagement (SE)
• Equity and Race Advisory Committee (ERAC) | Third ERAC session of the academic
year was held Monday, February 8. The group session covered some near-term areas of
focus including advisory cohesion, developing a coherent policy agenda and the planning
of their virtual retreat.Friday Memo to the Board
Office of Public Affairs
Essential Information for the week of 02/05/21 - 02/11/2021
Goal 1: Media Relations
• KCPQ – 2/9/21 “Govts, school districts and community prepare for winter weather”
https://www.q13fox.com/video/899186
• KIRO -- 2/5/21 “As Seattle Public Schools delay reopening plans, other schools share what works”
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/seattle-public-schools-delay-reopening-plans-other-schools-share-what-
works/5RJ3EIYEWJB47JVNJIMZEEDCPM/?_website=cmg-tv-10090
• KING – 2/5/21 “SPS won't hit March 1 goal to return to in-person learning”
https://www.king5.com/article/news/education/seattle-public-schools-delay-classroom-learning/281-
763f8e40-1c24-410f-ac20-1c98525ec5ab
• KIRO – 2/4/21 “SPS return to in-person learning at start of March likely delayed”
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/sps-return-in-person-learning-start-march-likely-
delayed/QB7GNK62DBDKXLTABLHC3X2J5M/?_website=cmg-tv-10090
Goal 2&3: District Messaging – Outbound Communications, Customer Service
• The Customer Affairs Dept partnered with DoTs to launch a desktop icon and single sign-on for Let's Talk!
to support collaboration throughout the central office. Since the COVID-19 school closures began on
March 12th, 2020, Let's Talk! has received 18,514 dialogues, and 4,092 of those have come in via
phone/voicemail.
• The communications team continues to support the Office of AAMA to promote the Office’s Listen and
Learn forum through the following methods: Mailed postcards directly to families’ homes; Posters put up
in community; Feature story on website; Events on district calendar; Phone call and email announcing the
event on Jan. 27; Reminder phone call and email one week before each event; Email to community partners
from Chief Bush and Dr. Williams asking to share message; Events featured in community partner
newsletter; Multiple messages to School Leaders in SLC.
• Feature story: Early Literacy Screener and Dyslexia
https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/early_literacy_screener_and_dyslexia
• Feature story: Power or Tech Outage Plan
https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/power_or_tech_outage_plan
• Feature story: Weather Response
https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/weather_response
• Feature story: Interim Superintendent Update, also sent direct communication to all staff
https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/superintendent_search
• Feature story: Kingmakers Extended
https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/kingmakers_extended
• Feature story: Students Reflect on Black History Month
https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/students_reflect_on_black_history_mo
nth
• Feature story: Dr. Cooley Senior Research Associate
https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/dr_cooley_senior_research_associate
• Feature story: Bargaining Update
• https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/bargaining_update
• Feature story: Virtual Town Hall with Denise Juneau
https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/virtual_town_hall_with_denise_juneau
• SPS TV produced two videos this last week: Black History Month Conversation with the AAMA SLC
https://vimeo.com/508566046 and KingMakers Extended https://vimeo.com/476204684/2146fa0393
• Developed a Return to In-Person Learning Survey update for the In-Person Learning Plan in collaboration
with enrollment and research and evaluation.• Sent targeted Thurs. letter to PreK-1/Intensive Service Pathway to families and staff. Topics included
second survey, timing of return in the context of bargaining, and additional information about the HVAC
system.
• Reminders to families about mid-winter break and meal sites during break (email and translated phone
calls). Reminder to all families and staff about weather response and outage plan in advance of Thurs. and
Friday potential snow. Lifted the comms weather alert team twice this last week.
• Developed and will deliver open enrollment reminder for all families on 1/12/2021, highlighting option
school transportation discussions and date to change school placement.
• In November, SPS launched search and YouTube pre-roll ads to generate awareness around critical SPS
programs and issues. On January 4, SPS launched new ads centered on kindergarten and new student
enrollment. Together these ads are serving 64,146 impressions and driving 6,905 clicks to the landing
pages. The responsive search ads are continuing to drive the most traffic. These ads have driven 4,537
clicks to the site. The top keywords are “Seattle public schools” & SPS enrollment.” The team continues to
optimize key words to improve engagement. For YouTube pre-roll (16 sec. clips) there has been really high
engagement as well. 50% of people that viewed the strategic plan/awareness videos watched to the end. For
enrollment, we are holding at just over 30%. Industry standard is 15%. These are very cost-effective ways
to drive families and staff towards content they are looking for and to build general awareness of the
district’s strategic work. We are closing out the strategic plan tactics on Feb. 15 but will continue a focus
on enrollment, family supports during COVID, and in-person learning progress through the end of March.
• The web team:
o Held a WordPress and an accessibility workshop and continues to create training materials for new
website platform
o Continues to prepare the SPS public sites for future migration;17,000 files.
o Collaborated with our Design Firm Domain7 to synthesize engagement feedback with families and
others who utilize our websites to plan the future Information Architecture and navigation for our
public sites
o Web team published:
District IV candidate questionnaire responses and videos
http://www.seattleschools.org/director_appointment
Approved 2021-21 School Year Dates
https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/school_calendar
Power and Tech Outage Plan and Independent Learning Activities
https://www.seattleschools.org/district/calendars/news/what_s_new/power_or_tech_outage
_plan
Intent to Return In-Person Learning Survey Results
https://www.seattleschools.org/resources#planFriday Memo to the Board
Department of Technology Services
for the week of February 8 – 12, 2021
Continued Family Support
SPS is ever so grateful for the support we continue to receive from community partners, especially
when it comes to technology-related needs during these challenging times. In partnership with
Amazon, the Department of Technology Services has access to "Right Now Needs Funds" provided by
the Alliance for Education. These funds are available and designed to directly benefit students and
families with internet accessibility challenges and other basic needs. SPS Digital Equity Program
Manager, Aisha Bomani, will be working directly with school leaders to help facilitate funds
distribution.You can also read
