Letter-Writing Campaign to School Board and City Council

Dear Sacajawea Community --

The killing of George Floyd has generated worldwide protests on an unprecedented scale, and the choices our city, state, and country make today will deeply impact our children’s lives and safety in the future, especially the lives of our Black children.

We believe our students should have a voice in saying how they want to effect lasting, systemic change. To this end, the Parent Racial Equity Team is organizing student letter-writing campaigns to speak to both the School Board and the Seattle City Council. We encourage you to join us by helping your child write a letter to express their thoughts, concerns, suggestions, and/or demands to our elected officials. These letters will provide an opportunity for students to engage in civil action at a critical time for our society and democracy—an experience we hope will help spark a lifetime of civil action to fight injustice.

Emails to schoolboard@seattleschools.org must be sent by Tuesday, June 9th in order to be read before the last Board meeting of the academic year.

Letters to City Council (whether hand-written or typed, short or long), should be sent to Equity Team member John at jdelfeld@gmail.com by Wednesday, June 17 for presentation at the Council meeting the following Monday. If you need to arrange a pick-up of your child’s letter, please contact John. Letters sent to us may be posted publicly on our website, so if you do not want your child’s letter posted, please specify so in your email.

For emails to the School Board, we suggest a focus on:
SPS immediately severing ties with SPD, as Minneapolis and Portland have already done; SPS implementing restorative justice programs in every school, including training, funding for alternative suspension placements, more counselors and support staff, and connections to outside support services; and SPS transparently holding police and schools accountable for abusive behavior towards students, especially Black students.

For letters to City Council, we suggest a focus on:
Police accountability and transparency; demilitarization of the Seattle Police Department; a ban on the use of tear gas and "less than lethal" projectiles for crowd control; improved de-escalation training; a ban on chokeholds; and the reduction of police funding in order to provide more safety net services.

We hope this campaign provides a hands-on learning experience in civic engagement and civil rights and allows our students a chance to express their concerns and take control of their shared future.

In solidarity,
The Sacajawea PTA and Parent Racial Equity Team

Black Lives Matter

Dear Sacajawea Community --

The violence and social turmoil of the past week are heavy on our minds, and it is clear that racial equity is as important as ever in our school, community, and country. As a PTA, we are unwavering in our resolve for racial equity and in our support for all our families.

 There is much more that can and will be said, but as a PTA we will double-down on our commitment to equity, and importantly, toward undoing racism. We must all work collectively to foster an anti-racism environment and to raise anti-racist children.

We also know that our community members are not all experiencing this moment in the same way. If you need extra support of any kind, please reach out to a member of our racial equity team (equity@sacpta.org) for whatever you might need.

 To our families of color, particularly our black families we say: You are seen, you are heard, and you are loved.

To our white families we say: Understanding privilege, discussing whiteness and racial bias may be uncomfortable, but it is necessary work. We welcome these conversations as we strive together against racial injustice and racism. 

There is more we can do as a PTA and a community, and we will continue our commitment to anti-racism at Sacajawea. For now, the Parent Racial Equity Team has gathered together some resources to help parents talk to their kids about the protests and racism. These articles will provide a place to start:

• How to talk to your children about protests and racism:

  • https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/01/health/protests-racism-talk-to-children-wellness/index.html

• Talking to children after racial incidents::

  • https://www.gse.upenn.edu/news/talking-children-after-racial-incidents

• Talking to kids about racism in the media:

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHMrJUZ7t6Y&app=desktop

• A great list of additional resources:

  • https://centerracialjustice.org/resources/resources-for-talking-about-race-racism-and-racialized-violence-with-kids 

 In solidarity,

The Sacajawea PTA and Parent Racial Equity Team

Online Cultural Events, Week of 4/13/2020

Here are a collection of online cultural events that our Equity team produced. Check them out!

• Visit the Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival website to learn about Japanese culture. Click on the Culture Access tab to choose a category at http://www.cherryblossomfest.org/

• The Seattle Center Festál podcast, “Yes, and…” shares stories and honest conversation about race and identity at http://www.yesandpodcast.libsyn.com/

• Our Big Neighborhood – Movin’ Around the World: Virtual from Northwest Folklife is happening at http://www.nwfolklife.org/maw-virtual/

• Tacoma Arts Live presents all-ages virtual plays, starting with ”Nihonjin Face,” by Janet Hayakawa and Tere Martinez. View released chapters at https://tacomaartslive.org/video

Upcoming Community Events, 1/9/20

Here’s a collection of upcoming community events curated by our Racial Equity Team.

1. Queer Parent Networking Dinner. Jan 9 from 5:30pm–7:30pm at Hillman City Collaboratory. Free. https://www.nwnetwork.org/events/2017/1/12/queer-parent-networking-dinner

2. Shawn Wong and Tara Fickle: Aiiieeeee! An Anthology of Asian American Writers. Jan 9 at 7:00pm at Elliott Bay Book Company. Free. https://www.elliottbaybook.com/event/shawn-wong-tara-fickle

3. 'Pushout': Second Screening and Community Conversation. Jan 10 at 5:30pm at Emerald City Bible Fellowship. Free. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pushout-second-screening-and-community-conversation-tickets-88197379737

4. Jaleesa Johnston Artist Talk. Jan 10 from 7:00pm-8:00pm at Wa Na Wari. Free. https://www.wanawari.org/jaleesa-johnston.html

5. A Celebration of South Asian Resilience. Jan 11 from 11:30am–4:30pm at MOHAI. $22 museum admission, 14 and under free. https://mohai.org/event/a-celebration-of-south-asian-resilience/

6. Viet Thanh and Ellison Nguyen: Chicken of the Sea. Jan 11 at 2:00 pm at Elliott Bay Book Company. Free. https://www.elliottbaybook.com/event/viet-thanh-nguyen-ellison-nguyen-especially-younger-readers

7. Dreaming in American. Jan 11 at 7:00pm at Elliott Bay Book Company. $15. https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4472464

8. Brighter Future: To be heard To be seen To be free. Through Jan 11 at ARTS at King Street Station (top floor). Free. https://www.seattle.gov/arts/programs/arts-at-king-street-station

9. Jewish Storytelling. Jan 12 from 2:00pm–3:30pm at Kol HaNeshamah. Free. https://khnseattle.org/education/education/

10. Pre-King Day: “King in the Wilderness” Film Screening. Jan 12 from 4:00pm–5:00pm at NAAM. $7/$5 museum admission. https://www.naamnw.org/event/pre-king-day-king-in-the-wilderness-film-screening

11. More Dumplings, Please! Jan 13 from 4:00pm–5:30pm at Kingsgate Library. 8 and up, free RSVP. https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/events/5de6ed3008fcc45b0072f014

Holiday Giving Wreath, 2019

It is our tradition at Sacajawea to reach out during the holiday season to those in our school community who may need extra assistance in making special holiday wishes come true.

If you would like some help in providing a gift for your child(ren), please fill out a Holiday Giving Wreath form, which were sent home with all students today and are also available in the office. Please return to the office no later than Friday, November 15th. All requests are kept confidential.

If you would like to give a gift, please visit our Giving Wreath in the upstairs hallway outside of the office beginning November 22nd and sign up to give a gift! For more information, please contact Doreen Norman dnorman@seattleschools.org Main Office: 206-252-5550