Rainy Day Recess

For those wondering how to keep up with Seattle Public Schools now, a new publication is starting up here!

A Forensic Analysis of SPS with Vivian Van Gelder, Part 1 - Rainy Day Recess In this first installment of our three-part series unpacking Left to Chance: Student Outcomes in Seattle Public Schools (2024), hosts Christie Robertson and Jasmine Pulido sit down with report author ...

New episode!
In 1995, Seattle hired a retired Army general to run its schools.
In just three years, John Stanford reshaped the district — and his ghost still lingers in its policies today.
www.rainydayrecess.org/2230213/epis...

Summer Recap & Big Changes Ahead - Rainy Day Recess Co-hosts Christie, Cherylynne, and Jasmine give updates on some SPS developments over the summer, school board election results, and a big change coming soon to Rainy Day Recess.Summer School Board Me...

Summer/Fall Update with RDR news - www.rainydayrecess.org/2230213/epis...

District 5 (roughly east Seattle) School Board Candidate interviews are out! Check out all 6 candidates - Allycea Weil, Janis White, Julissa Sanchez, Landon Labosky, Vivian Song, and Vivian Van Gelder on rainydayrecess.org.

District 4 (roughly central Seattle) School Board Candidate interviews are out! Check out Laura Marie Rivera, Bill Campbell, and Joe Mizrahi on rainydayrecess.org.

You can find interviews with all District 2 (NW Seattle) Seattle school board candidates now on rainydayrecess.org.

Number of newcomers increasing, but % served in specialized programs has been tanking.

I know, right??

This is amazing.

Bilingual Orientation Centers Slated for Closure This Fall - Rainy Day Recess Seattle Public Schools is quietly eliminating specialized programs for newcomer students - recent immigrants with limited English skills who need intensive support. Teachers at Dunlap Elementary broug...

🎧 NEW EPISODE: Seattle Public Schools is quietly eliminating specialized classrooms for newcomer students. We examine this policy change and speak with teachers and former students about what's being lost.
www.rainydayrecess.org/2230213/epis...

It's very confusing, but I think the stuff is there. It's been moved to 2 different pages for the 2 current ad hoc committees, and the scrolling takes you to the wrong place. But if you scroll up, you should be able to get to the right pages. Let me know if you find something different.

Check out the new Public Records Request portal for Seattle Public Schools! seattleschools.govqa.us/WEBAPP/_rs/(...

School Board - Budget Work Session + Guardrails - Rainy Day Recess In this episode of Rainy Day Recess, we dive into the Seattle Public Schools board’s May 21 special meeting. Hear the latest on the district’s 2025–26 budget proposal, which balances through one-time ...

🎧 New episode: www.rainydayrecess.org/2230213/epis...

We break down how SPS plans to close its $104M deficit — plus the board’s debate over new accountability metrics for the district’s strategic plan.

Get tickets for Garfield’s 2025 spring musical, Footloose - gstage.booktix.com

Student Stories: Quincy Jones Theatre Disrepair - Rainy Day Recess In this student-reported episode, Garfield High School sophomore Rafael Brewer takes us inside the Quincy Jones Performing Arts Center, a space used for theater, music, assemblies, and community event...

Our first student story, by Rafael Brewer - www.rainydayrecess.org/2230213/epis...

4/29/25 30-min webinar This is "4/29/25 30-min webinar" by Edunomics Lab on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

Always interesting things to think about in these Edunomics presentations. vimeo.com/1079889973/6...

School Board Candidates - WSSDA is having candidate training workshops wssda.org/community-me...

Northshore School District

If anybody is interested in seeing the Northshore superintendent search process, their town hall was last night, and they are selecting a superintendent tonight - www.youtube.com/channel/UCtl...

4 races, 17 candidates, 4 primaries. Rdr may need to recruit a elections reporter.

Ho. ly. ...

Check again...!

Thanks for confirming this! I can't believe you got such a straight-forward answer. At least that part is heartening.

Rising tensions over enrollment and school choice in SPS Board Directors Sarah Clark and Joe Mizrahi throw down the gauntlet on SPS enrollment practices

Rising tensions over enrollment and school choice in SPS open.substack.com/pub/rainyday...

Big 3 Final Briefing - Paramount Duty, Deferred - Rainy Day Recess In this final Big 3 Briefing of the 2025 legislative session, we walk through where things landed for education funding in Washington state. We cover what passed around special education, MSOC, and tr...

Rainy Day Recess wraps up the 2025 WA legislative session and breaks down what was funded—and what wasn’t—for public schools.
Special ed, MSOC, transportation, levy lids, and more.
Listen: www.rainydayrecess.org/2230213/epis...
Show notes: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Explaining the Enrollment Plan Enigma - Rainy Day Recess In this episode of Rainy Day Recess, we take a closer look at the Seattle Public Schools April 23 school board meeting, with the major focus on the Enrollment Planning presentation given at the end of...

In which we do our very darndest to decifer the eduspeak for you to get to what really drives school choice decisions in Seattle Public Schools www.rainydayrecess.org/2230213/epis...

Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Webinars, Screen Sharing Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom ...

For those itching for a detailed rundown re: education funding in the final budget, courtesy of WSSDA and WASA. Recorded a few days ago, but only a couple things changed (e.g. apportionment shift in 2050 was removed) tinyurl.com/insession202...

Waitlists in Seattle Public Schools, by Dawson Nichols YouTube video by Rainy Day Recess

What is the deal with waitlists in Seattle Public Schools? Dawson Nichols and many community contributors take on this subject in this video episode of Rainy Day Recess. www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8sK...

Waitlists in Seattle Public Schools, by Dawson Nichols YouTube video by Rainy Day Recess

Omg this video episode of @rainydayrecess.bsky.social has unresolved mysteries & enlightening interviews about the innocuous-seeming topic of waitlists! Enrollment planning muzzled by district lawyers (why??), and its staffers’ identities hidden!? m.youtube.com/watch?v=N8sK...

Great montage from Billion Dollar Bake Sale www.billiondollarbakesalewa.com - www.instagram.com/reel/DISCzJ0...

Hiring a Headhunter - Rainy Day Recess Podcast Co-hosts Christie and Jasmine discuss the April 9th, 2025 school board meeting where the board reviewed proposals from executive search firms and started the process of choosing who will help ...

The 3 superintendent search firm finalists vary in price and community engagement strategies. www.rainydayrecess.org/2230213/epis...