Advocacy for Sacajawea, Oct 2024

Dear Sacajawea Families,

We hope this message finds you well. As you know, we issued a survey asking for your input on issues related to the well-resourced school initiative, which has put Sacajawea at risk of closing. At a special member meeting on October 6th, our team presented the results of the survey, and based on those, we aligned on areas in which our community would like to focus advocacy efforts.

Our community voted to advocate for two vital initiatives:

• Keeping Sacajawea Elementary open

• Rebuilding our beloved school

At our PTA board meeting on Tuesday, October 15th, we explained the BEX Levy on the February 2025 ballot and what it means for Sacajawea’s future. Given how much work the district and our school leadership and community have already done to rebuild the school, we intend to advocate for Sacajawea to remain on the BEX Levy list.

There are a few upcoming meetings that our team is closely following as those will determine our future next steps, which include:

• Week of October 21st: The district will release a list of 0-5 school closures. This list will kick off hearings at each school listed to be held by November 20th

• November 19th: School Board votes on BEX levy language

• December 14th OR January 16th: School board votes on a final list of schools to close

Actions you can take to ensure your voice is heard.

• Ask SPS to include the Sacajawea rebuild on the BEX VI Levy

• Ask SPS to show integrity and complete the build they already spent $4M planning

• Invite the Superintendent and School Board Directors to visit Sacajawea (none of them have visited before)

How do I take these actions?

• Copy and paste this general template (feel free to edit!) and email it to the people below.

• Ask for Sacajawea to be placed back on the BEX VI Levy using the levy feedback form.

Who to email?

• Capitol Levy Team: rsasencio@seattleschools.org, rlbest@seattleschools.org

• Seattle City Council Cathy Moore: Cathy.Moore@seattle.gov

• 46th District Washington State Delegate Gerry Pollet: gerry.pollet@leg.wa.gov

• 46th District Washington State Delegate Javier Valdez: javier.valdez@leg.wa.gov

• 46th District Washington State Delegate Darya Farivar: darya.farivar@leg.wa.gov

• Governor candidate Bob Ferguson (lives in Maple Leaf): press@bobferguson.com

• Schools First, a nonprofit that supports the marketing of SPS levies: https://seattleschoolsfirst.org/contact-us/

• Seattle School Board: https://ujoin.co/campaigns/3253/actions/public?action_id=4246 (copy/paste letter above)

• Director 1 - Liza Rankin: liza.rankin@seattleschools.org

• Director 2 - Sarah Clark: sarah.clark@seattleschools.org

• Director 3 - Evan Briggs: Evan.Briggs@seattleschools.org

• Director 4 - Joe Mizrahi: joseph.mizrahi@seattleschools.org

• Director 5 - Michelle Sarju: mrsarju@seattleschools.org

• Director 6 - Gina Topp: Gina.Topp@seattleschools.org

• Director 7 - Brandon Hersey: brandon.hersey@seattleschools.org

• Superintendent Brent Jones: 206-252-0167

If you have any questions or thoughts, email us at advocacy@sacpta.org. We’d love to hear from you. And if you’re passionate about advocating for these important issues, let us know!

Together, we can make a difference!

Thank you for being such an integral part of our community.

Warm regards,

Jane Tunks Demel & Annie Becker
PTA Advocacy Co-Chairs

Potential School Closures within SPS

To our Sacajawea Community:

Yesterday, SPS announced its two proposed options for school closures via its website. We learned the difficult news that Sacajawea Elementary is one of many Seattle schools on the list for potential closures and consolidations. What does this mean for Sacajawea? Below is what we can tell from the website. 

Option A Proposal:

• Sacajawea is closed

• Our zone is broken into two sections

• Top (purple) of our current boundary is rezoned to Hazel Wolf

• Bottom (light green) is rezoned to Olympic View

Option B Proposal:

• Sacajawea stays open; however our boundaries are reduced

• Top dashed area (blue) of our current zone is rezoned to Olympic Hills; Bottom dashed area (light green) is rezoned to Olympic View

• No mention of rebuild

We will send out more information as we learn about the legally mandated community meetings, public comment, and SPS School Board voting timelines. To stay informed, please ensure you are on our PTA email list. Please also reach out to us at chair@sacpta.org if you have information to share or questions. 

Let’s remember that Sacajawea’s potential closure or adjusted boundaries will greatly impact our students. Please center your children when you discuss closures and consolidations. This is a very big and scary issue for many of our learners and our community as a whole. We also ask that we give our teaching staff grace as they’re also being significantly impacted by these proposed changes. 

In solidarity,

Heather Platisha & Tiffany Elliott

Co-chairs, Sacajawea Elementary PTA

Welcome to 2024-2025

Versión en español

Hello Sacajaweans!

It is our pleasure to welcome new and returning families to another year at Sacajawea Elementary on behalf of the PTA. We are excited to be back to school, and we look forward to connecting with you and your families. 

The Sacajawea Elementary School PTA is a small-yet-mighty organization that works to help support our school, educators, administration, and most importantly, our students. Throughout the year, we host community events, work to promote equity, and raise money to support our school. We also send a weekly newsletter with school news, a note from Principal Fisk, our school calendar, and more.

One of Sacajawea's great strengths is the broad participation and involvement of our parent community. As kids return to school, we, as your PTA, will work to support you and your families as much as possible this year with consistent communication and community-building events. We are planning even more fun events this year and can always use an extra hand—please let us know if you are able to get involved.  

If you’re looking for an easy way to meet fellow parents and see all that we do, please attend our monthly PTA meetings. They’re a welcoming, productive, and fun way to get involved. We meet monthly, and our first meeting is Tuesday, September 10th, at 7:00 pm at school (and on Zoom). This year, we will meet in person once a quarter and on Zoom for the other months. 

Please be in touch with us as the school year gets underway. We’re here to help, and you’ll find contact details below. To ensure you receive all of our PTA updates throughout the year, please subscribe to our email list: sacpta.org/subscribe. You can also visit our website (sacpta.org) throughout the year for up-to-date info on school and PTA events. Lastly, join our Facebook group (sacpta.org/facebook) for more discussion on life at Sacajawea. 

Thank you all for making this school such a special place! At Sacajawea, we truly do all SHINE.

 Sincerely,

Heather Platisha, PTA Co-Chair

Tiffany Elliott, PTA Co-Chair

chair@sacpta.org

Versión en español

¡Hola Sacajaweans!

Es un placer darle la bienvenida a nuestras familias nuevas y que regresan a otro año en la escuela primaria Sacajawea. Estamos emocionados de volver a la escuela y esperamos conectarnos con ustedes y sus familias.

La PTA de Sacajawea es una organización pequeña pero poderosa que trabaja para ayudar y apoyar a nuestra escuela, facultad, administración y, lo más importante, a nuestros estudiantes. Durante todo el año, organizamos eventos comunitarios, trabajamos para promover la equidad y recaudamos fondos para apoyar a nuestra escuela. También enviamos un boletín semanal con noticias de la escuela, nota del director del Sr. Fisk, calendario escolar y más.

Una de las grandes fortalezas de Sacajawea es la participación de nuestra comunidad de padres. A medida que los niños regresen a la escuela nosotros, como su PTA, trabajaremos para apoyarlos a ustedes y a sus familias tanto como sea posible este año con una comunicación constante y eventos de construcción de la comunidad. Estamos planeando eventos aún más divertidos este año, y siempre podemos usar una mano extra. Háganos saber si puede participar. ¡Ahora es un buen momento, mientras sus hijos todavía están emocionados por su participación!

Si está buscando una manera fácil de conocer a otros padres e involucrarse, por favor asista a nuestras reuniones mensuales de la junta de la PTA. Son una forma acogedora, productiva y divertida de participar. Nos reunimos mensualmente y nuestra primera reunión es el martes 10 de septiembre a las 7:00 pm en la escuela. Este año, nos reuniremos en persona una vez por trimestre y por Zoom los demás meses.

Por favor, póngase en contacto con nosotros a medida que avanza el año escolar. Estamos aquí para ayudar y encontrará nuestros datos de contacto a continuación. Y, para asegurarse de recibir todas las actualizaciones de nuestra PTA durante todo el año, suscríbase a nuestra lista de correo electrónico: sacpta.org/subscribe. También puede visitar nuestro sitio web (sacpta.org) durante todo el año para obtener información actualizada sobre los eventos de la escuela y la PTA. Únase a nuestro grupo de Facebook (sacpta.org/facebook) para discusión sobre la vida en Sacajawea.

¡Gracias a todos por hacer de esta escuela un lugar tan especial! En Sacajawea, realmente hacemos todo SHINE.

Atentamente,

Heather Platisha, CoPresidente de la PTA

Tiffany Elliott, CoPresidente de la PTA

chair@sacpta.org

Get Ready for 2024-2025 at Sacajawea

Hello, Sacajaweans!

Another school year is almost upon us, and we hope you’re enjoying the last bits of your summer vacation.

As we roll into Kindergarten JumpStart and the start of the school year, we want to ensure you can stay connected with our school and PTA updates.

Here are a few things to do (or double-check) as we head toward September:

1. Register for our email list for periodic updates and event notices.

2. Join our Facebook group for more discussion on life at Sacajawea.

3. Interested in volunteering? Contact our volunteer coordinator, Charlene Shanahan, for details: cyshanahan@seattleschools.org.

4. Become a PTA member at Sacajawea.

We’re having a back-to-school pizza party event on Tuesday, September 3rd. We'll meet on the upper playground from 5:30pm - 7:00pm, and we'll have (free) pizza and fun. Come have a bite, see old friends, and meet our newest community members, too. Please bring your own water/drink.

Version en español

¡Hola Sacajaweanos!

Se acerca otro año escolar y esperamos que esté disfrutando los últimos momentos de sus vacaciones de verano.

A medida que avanzamos hacia Kindergarten JumpStart y el comienzo del año escolar, queremos asegurarnos de que pueda mantenerse conectado con las actualizaciones de nuestra escuela y la PTA.

Aquí hay algunas cosas que hacer (o verificar dos veces) a medida que nos acercamos a septiembre:

1. Regístrese en nuestra lista de correo electrónico para recibir actualizaciones periódicas y avisos de eventos.

2. Únase a nuestro grupo de Facebook para más debates sobre la vida en Sacajawea.

3. ¿Interesado en ser voluntario? Comuníquese con nuestra coordinadora de voluntarios, Charlene Shanahan, para obtener más detalles: cyshanahan@seattleschools.org.

4. Conviértase en miembro de la PTA de Sacajawea.

Celebraremos una fiesta de pizza de regreso a clases el martes 3 de septiembre. Nos reuniremos en el patio de juegos superior de 5:30 p. m. a 7:00 p. m. y comeremos pizza (gratis) y diversión. Ven a comer algo, ver a viejos amigos y conocer también a los miembros más nuevos de nuestra comunidad. Por favor traiga su propia agua/bebida.

PTA to Purchase Homeroom School Supplies for 2024-2025 School Year

We are thrilled to announce a new initiative by our PTA that will significantly benefit our school community starting in the 2024-25 school year. For the first time, the PTA will purchase all homeroom supplies for students. This means families will no longer need to worry about supply lists over the summer. Instead, parents only need to provide their child with a backpack and a water bottle. This change is designed to ease the financial burden on families and ensure that all students have the necessary supplies for a successful school year.

The PTA allocated funding for these supplies in our budget for the upcoming school year, increasing the importance of our fundraising events, such as the Move-a-thon, Direct Ask, and the Spring Auction. Your contributions during these fundraisers are crucial, as they now help cover the costs of school supplies, ensuring that every student is equipped and ready to learn from day one.

We also want to highlight the ongoing need for volunteers to make this program successful. We are looking for dedicated individuals to assist in various tasks, including finding the best prices for supplies, making bulk purchases, delivering supplies to the school, and organizing them for distribution. The volunteering opportunities are designed to be flexible, allowing parents to contribute in ways that fit their schedules. If you’re interested in helping or have any questions, please get in touch with us at supplies@sacpta.org.