I'm pleasantly surprised to find myself optimistic that Seattle Public Schools are headed in the right direction

I'm pleasantly surprised to find myself optimistic that Seattle Public Schools are headed in the right direction

I ask humbly for your help. What else is happening that I should know about in our schools? Can you give me more reason to be hopeful, more stories about the progress our district is making? Can you tell me more about the teachers meeting with inmates, or about something that gives you hope for the future?

And if not that, are there more areas we need to shine a light on? What else is happening that also needs to change?

Thank you for your thoughts and your optimism as we look ahead, and thank you for doing what you do in important times like these. It’s going to be a good year.

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Let's start each school day with an acknowledgment of the Indigenous people's land we occupy

Let's start each school day with an acknowledgment of the Indigenous people's land we occupy

The practice of land acknowledgment dates back centuries (at least) among indigenous communities, and is more common in the mainstream in Australia, New Zealand and Canada than in the U.S., but it is a growing movement here as well.

The idea is that before an event — whether it’s a school day, a sporting event, a meeting or even a family meal — you take a moment to name, thank and consider the people whose displacement allows you to be where you are. Whose historical trauma makes it possible for you to thrive as you do in the place you live?

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