Dear Seattle School Board Members, Superintendent Juneau, and Seattle ...

Dear Seattle School Board Members, Superintendent Juneau, and Seattle Public Schools Leadership,

We are concerned parents, family members, educators, community members, faith leaders, and allies of the Seattle Public Schools community.

The global pandemic has created unthinkable challenges. We extend our sincere appreciation to each of you for your incredibly hard work on behalf of the students, teachers, staff, and families of SPS. Our paramount concern, in solidarity with the SEA, is the health and safety of the whole school community. We believe this must remain the top priority.

We also believe that attention must also be paid to a recent error made by the Superintendent's Office and Seattle School Board. On February 10th, the Seattle School Board adopted the school calendar motion setting the dates for the next two school years. Unfortunately, despite the work of a committee created "to address equity and evaluate inclusive considerations related to religious and cultural observances and practices in developing student and work calendars," there remains a conflict between Rosh Hashanah, one of the holiest and most important dates on the Jewish calendar, and the first day of Kindergarten. This is a recurring recent pattern in which the district ignores the needs of marginalized communities - and this same problem happened in 2018. Additionally, in 2019, in guidance from SPS, Muslim students were asked not to fast during state scheduled standardized testing which happened during Ramadan. In response to a public outcry from parents, teachers, and religious leaders, the district assured it would do better in the future. And here we are again.

We call on the leadership of Seattle Public Schools to remedy this error. School leadership must take more deliberate and explicit action to consider culturally significant dates when planning and bargaining the annual school calendars and schedules for major events such as school start dates (including kindergarten), exams, and other important educational occasions.

We understand that our request to devote energy and attention to cultural and religious accommodation may not be welcomed at this moment. However, culturally insensitive calendaring does not exist in a vacuum. It impacts children and families. Furthermore, serious issues of bias, discrimimation, and violence do not manifest out of thin air. They are built on microaggressions, repeated missteps, and the messages that are sent through them. Therefore, we believe it is important to raise awareness of this most recent problem now. If we do not do so and at the time these problems happen, who will?

These problematic scheduling scenarios created for minority faith students demand that they choose between their identities - a demand that is rarely, if ever, made of other families and students. Ignoring students' holy days sends a hurtful message to staff, faculty, parents, and children that they do not matter. And it sends an equally dangerous message to everyone else that the cultures and traditions of minority students lack value. If our education system aspires to educate the whole child and create equity we should not ask students and families to make these choices.

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We recognize it may not be possible to accommodate the needs of all the diverse communities that make up Seattle Schools every time. However, in attempting to prevent issues such as these from arising in the first place, diverse community voices must be involved in the process of reviewing and vetting school calendar proposals.

We respectfully ask that you: 1. Revisit the school calendars for the 21-22 and 22-23 school years and recommend reviewing them again for conflicts with culturally significant dates.

2. Add the first day of kindergarten to the list of important school days to which special attention is paid.

3. Commit to establish and regularly update a comprehensive annual list of culturally significant dates that the district must take into consideration when developing school calendar proposals.

4. Create a specific process during planning and collective bargaining for the review of schedules against culturally significant dates.

5. Agree to vet proposed schedules through a community advisory panel within or outside of the SEA and SPS infrastructure that includes leaders from various racial/ethnic/faith communities to flag potential date conflicts and areas in need of sensitivity and consideration.

6. Ensure conflicts are made known to the school district leadership and that all reasonable efforts are made to avoid them. In this way, when unavoidable conflicts arise, they happen out of genuine unavoidable necessity, and not merely out of ignorance or expedience.

Our communities look forward to working with you to more effectively implement culturally sensitive considerations when planning and bargaining the annual school calendars and schedules for major events. This effort will help realize our shared goal of ensuring our school communities are a place of belonging and acceptance for all students and families. Please let us know when we can meet to find a path forward together.

Sincerely,

Elected Leaders Seattle City Councilmember Tammy Morales Seattle City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant State Representative Roger Goodman State Representative Gerry Pollet State Senator Reuven Carlyle

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State Senator Bob Hasegawa State Senator Rebecca Saldana

Civic Leaders Charlotte Amoureux, Board Member, 43rd LD Democrats Joanna Braden, Precinct Committee Officer, 36th District Ilana Kennedy, Director of Education, Holocaust Center for Humanity Randy Kessler, Executive Director, StandWithUs Northwest Nina Martinez, Board Chair, Latino Civic Alliance Michelle Peters, PTA Co-President Dee Simon, Baral Family Executive Director Ann Sonnen, Bryant PTSA Co-President Brooke Van Eyk, SPS PTA Board Member

Faith Leaders on Behalf of Organizations Samia El-Moslimany, Cherry Street Mosque formerly the Islamic School of Seattle Rev. Bianca Davis-Lovelace, Washington Poor People's Campaign Aneelah Afzali, Executive Director of MAPS-AMEN (American Muslim Empowerment Network); and Board Member of Faith Action Network Roberta Mander Maghouin, Interfaith Chaplain Pastor Chelsea Globe, Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Washington Pastor Darla DeFrance, Columbia City Church of Hope Pastor Jermell Witherspoon , Liberation United Church of Christ Stephanie Raymond, Pastor, Our Lady of the Earth and Sky Nancy B. Greer, President & CEO, Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum, Kavana Rabbi Ted Falcon, PhD, Paths to Awakening Rev. Aaron Monts, United Church Rev. Priscilla Paris-Austin, Immanuel Lutheran Church (ELCA) Seattle Rev. Neal Sharpe, Valley & Mountain UMC Rev. Nancy Reid-McKee, Northlake Unitarian Universalist Church Rev. Katie M Ladd, The Well Rev. Dr. Timothy Phillips, Seattle First Baptist Church Chava Mirel, Temple De Hirsch Sinai Elise DeGooyer & Rev. Paul Benz, Co-Directors, Faith Action Network Yael Yanich, Seattle Rosh Chodesh Women Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell, Queen Anne Baptist Church Rabbi Benjamin Hassan, Sephardic Bikur Holim Congregation Rabbi Jill Borodin, Congregation Beth Shalom Rabbi Jacob Herber, Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation Rabbi Ruth A. Zlotnick, Temple Beth Am Rabbi Sydney Danziger, Temple B'nai Torah, Temple B'nai Torah, Bellevue WA

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Cheryl Berenson, NCJW WA State Policy Advocate, National Council of Jewish Women (WA State) Rivy Poupko Kletenik, Seattle Hebrew Academy Dr. Jasmit Singh, ED, Khalsa Gurmat Center

Individual Faith Leaders Steven Araujo Rabbi David Basior Rabbi Dana Benson Rosemary Blakemore Aryeh Blaut, Rabbi of Jewish Prisoner Services International Jamie Clausen, Clerk The Rev. Shelly Fayette Rabbi Avi Fine Rabbi Allison Flash Rabbi Jodie Futornick Rev. Edmund Griffin Rabbi Ruz Gulko Rick Harlan Rev. John Helmiere Rabbi Bruce Kadden Yohanna Kinberg Reverend Cecilia Kingman Rabbi Charna Klein Rabbi Rachel Kort Lauren Kurland

Rabbi Jason Levine Kalisto Nanen, Community Leader Rabbinical Student, Heather Paul The Rev. Joseph Peters-Mathews Janice Rapp, RScP, RYT Paul V. Roby Rabbi Paula Rose The Rev. Canon Nancy Ross Rabbi Marna Sapsowitz Rabbi Callie Schulman Aaron Scott, Chaplain Rabbi Kate Speizer Rev. Courtney Stange-Tregear Rev. Terri Stewart Gina Weintraub Rabbi Molly Weisel Rabbi Zari Weiss Mollie Wolf The Reverend Angela Ying, Senior Pastor, Bethany United Church of Christ Jason Zions

SPS Employees Meghan Arbuckle K B Jennifer Barringer Katherine Bereson Debbie Bermet Rebekah Binns Sara Brickman Marinda Crum Karly Deno

Kim Dinh Leema Dixon Noah Greenberg Erin Haber Karma Jensen Sarah Johnson Cynthia Kemp Kelly Mazzola Bryelle McGee

Emmy Misner Lisa Olson Patricia Pawelak-Kort Chau Pho Tung Merryl Pohl Dana Stellman Gina Weintraub

SEA Members Michelle Boske Laura Adriance Leslie Aiona

Lindsey Alade Andrea Algiers Jeannie Bastasch

Andrea Bernasconi Julie Black Nicole Blanco

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Shira Brewer Dharma-kaya Buford Colleen Carpenter Erin Carroll Cara Chamberlin Alison Cohon Anne Cotton Heather Cumming Rachel Finley Sarah Fradkin Keara Garcia-Stubbs Sarah Gese Heather Griffin Shel Harris Hannah Hoose Jennifer Hydrick Amanda Jacobs Megan Kahn Kathryn Kelsey Cheryl Kerfeld Stevie Kramer

Rachel Krebs Emily Kugisaki Maureen Lange Linea Lebehn Jessica Levine Rebekkah Madden Danielle Marley Jody McClain Rachel McDonald Jenny Melnick Kate Montini-Vose Rebecca Mostofi Erin Munavu Elisabeth Munger Ashley Myers Connie Olson Laurie Reddy Anya Rifkin Jacqueline Rivera Laura Root Mariah Rosenblum

SPS Incoming Kindergartener Parents

Shayne Adler

John Cole

Aimi Ahmad Shukri

Jenni Conrad

Erin Alexander

Luna Cottrell-Scott

Ashley Alhadeff

Danielle Crystal

Kellie Avendt

Veronica Cull

Jaimie Bardacke

Sarah Dean

Heather Barnett

Kate Debiec

Lindsey Bartley

Jillian Derpack

Corrin Bauer

Rebecca Drieling

Cristina Betancourt

Lindsay Evans

Gabriela Bloom

D Falchuk

Daniel Borden

Michelle Farber

Ruthey Borg Maxwell

Shelly Fayette

Roxanne Bridge

Katie Feldman

Nobu Buckley

Sarah Fradkin

Michele Campbell

Ali Friedman

Zandi Carlson

Levi Fuller

Amethyst Carpenter

Sarah George

Mara Child

Sara Givens

Lauren Ryman Gabriella Sanchez-Stern Claudia Sandler Lauren Schneider Kate Schueler Linda Sinni Nicole Sorensen Annalise Strand Rae Strand Kristina Thorp Naomi Tsai Jessica Turek Jed Walsh Monica Whitford Stuart Willner HuiLing Yang Angeline Zalben Noah Zeichner Carey Zeines Sharon Zweiback

Theresa Glatstein Chelsea Globe Kashina Groves Jenny Gutama Kulas Karl Hedstrom Kristen Heller Erica Hieggelke Leslie Hobbs Allison Hooper Abigail Isquith Daniel Isquith Chavah Israel June Ivers Anita Jeerage Jennifer Jennings-Shaffer Jo Jewett Sarah Johnson Jessica Ju?rez Scruggs Zarby Kakar

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