Weekly Wrap-Up

SESEC will be hosting a Facebook Chat with Seattle Public Schools Early Learning and Admissions on Tuesday, March 29 from 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. Do you have questions about Kindergarten? Wonder how to enroll into a Seattle Public School? Want to know how to help prepare your child for school? Post your questions on the event page and we will do our best to get them answered! For families needing translations support or other accomodations please let us know; email us at [email protected] and we’ll see what we can do.

Yesterday, we hosted a Mayor’s Community Conversation with Vietnamese Friendship Association in preparation for the Mayor’s Education Summit on April 30. Thank you to Watercress Bistro for making the wonderful food and thank you to everyone who came! It was wonderful to see how packed the room was. If you weren’t able to make it or would simply like to revisit what we talked about, we have posted pictures of the chart paper on our March Meeting blog post.

The Seattle School Board voted to continue three Seattle Preschool Program classrooms and expand to several more. Two of the continuing classrooms are in SE Seattle at Van Asselt and Original Van Asselt. Thank you to our partners and everyone who supported the effort! Keep an eye out for a blog post outlining how the school board members voted.

Community Announcements

Each year SHA awards several $1000 scholarships to SHA youth 17-21 who will be attending post-secondary school in the fall. Scholarships are only for young people who are living in SHA-supported housing (Public Housing, Housing Choice Voucher, Tax Credit, etc.). The scholarships can be applied to tuition and/or expenses associated with a two year college, four year college, or a trade school, based on the interest and plans of the recipient. Although there is a basic GPA requirement, the focus is not around giving scholarships only to those with the highest grades or test scores, meaning that this scholarship is a great fit for youth who might otherwise have a hard time finding funds to help them attend school. Due March 31st.

Tiny Trees’ John C. Little Park – Othello Light Rail Station & Rainier Valley Preschool still has space! They are seeking families who would like to enroll their children at this location! Please spread the word and share with families in the community. Financial assistance is available. Click here for more information.

Congressman Adam Smith’s Renton, Washington District Office is looking for interns to join them for the summer session. Current college students will be given preference, but recent graduates are also welcome to apply. Interns may earn college credit depending on their institution. There are full-time and part-time programs. See the application here.

United Way of King County’s Fuel Your Future Campaign has launched a Breakfast Challenge in schools all over south King County to encourage schools and school districts to challenge each other to feed more students. See more about the Fuel Your Future campaign here.

Puget Sound ESD is collecting community input as they plan for the future. Here is a 5-10 min survey and more details, please consider giving input.

Submit your questions to the Seattle Time’s Education Lab before Monday’s deadline and tell them what you want to know.

Upcoming Events

Rainier Beach Classroom to Job Placement/Entrepreneurship Summit
When: Monday, 28 March | 6.30 p.m. – 9.30 p.m.
Where: Rainier Beach Community Center, 8825 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118
What: The Classroom to Job Placement/Entrepreneurship Summit presented by RBAC. Dwane Chapelle, the newly appointed Director of Seattle’s Department of Early Learning, will be a keynote speaker.  The Summit will be the place to do this crucial coalition-building work while also providing you and your organization with ready access to applicants for jobs, job training, early education sign ups, effective learning and support programs for youth, translation and advocacy for non-English speaking students and families, and much, much more. Please contact Nate at [email protected] with any questions.

FREE Workshop for API Students: APIASF Jump Start College Tour
When: Saturday, 19 March | 9.00 a.m. – 3.00 p.m. (Registration at 8.15 a.m.)
Where: UW Bothell, 18115 Campus Way NE, Bothell, WA 98011
What: The JSCT is a FREE college, career, and financial planning workshop for high school students and parents. See APIASF Jump Start College Tour for more information.

SPS Neighbor to Neighbor Conversations
When: Tuesday, 22 March | 6.00 p.m. – 7.30 p.m.
Where: Mount Zion Baptist Church Parlor, 1634 19th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122
What: Strengthening family and community engagement is one of our main goals for the district as reflected in our 2013-2018 Strategic Plan. Our newly created Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N) program is designed to foster trust, two-way communication, and collaboration among each and every family, community member and stakeholder in Seattle Public Schools. The N2N program will also help the district to listen to every family including our SPS families of color. The N2N discussions for this year will focus on the African – American Male Scholars Initiative.