A Message from Ben Shuldiner

Dear Seattle Public Schools Community,

I am so happy to report that I made it to all 106 schools in my first 100 days. The support from each school and community has been overwhelming. I was able to meet students and educators, principals and parents, and spend time in classrooms, lunchrooms, playgrounds, and hallways. I talked deeply about instruction with teachers and asked students if they felt challenged and supported.

In my travels, I saw wonderful teaching, where students were engaged in thoughtful, hands-on, rigorous work. I witnessed rooms where all the adults—instructional assistants, teachers, volunteers, and interns—were a seamless support network bringing excellent educational practices to the children under their care. I saw school buildings exploding with vibrancy with student art, essays, and projects on the walls. I experienced bright, climate-controlled spaces that seemed destined to be used in exceptional ways by educators and students alike.

But I also saw huge disparities. I saw schools without ceiling tiles. I experienced classrooms that were too hot or too cold. I saw buildings that clearly needed walls to divide classrooms rather than bookcases, sheets, and other makeshift barriers.

Most glaringly, I saw the student experience be trifurcated across the district. Some students seem to have everything: high-quality instruction, small grade-alike class sizes, and a myriad of classroom experiences and specials, all conducted in beautiful spaces. Other students have solid educational experiences with strong instruction, reasonable class sizes, some split-grade classes, and safe, quality buildings. And then we have students experiencing low-quality instruction, large class sizes or an abundance of split classes, few specials or differentiated experiences, all housed in decrepit buildings.

As a district, we must address all these needs. I have been transparent about how great SPS is for most, but not good for some. However, for us to really help those students in need, we will have to be utterly transparent about which schools, classrooms, and even specific adults need help in order to move all our students to success.

I want to be clear: our students are awesome. They are capable, resilient, and deserving of success. What I have seen across the district is that there are places where kids thrive and other places where they don’t. When students struggle, we must examine the systems, supports, and adult practices around them rather than placing blame on children.

Moving forward, we must become more precise and transparent about where support is needed. Too often, we respond broadly to weak districtwide data when the challenge may exist in a specific school, classroom, grade, or circumstance.

I know this level of transparency represents a significant cultural shift for SPS, and I recognize that it may feel uncomfortable at times. Still, we cannot improve outcomes for students if we are unwilling to identify specific challenges and respond directly to them.

This is not about punishment or blame. It is about ensuring that every student, in every classroom, has access to the education they deserve.

Thank you all for believing in SPS. With your help and hard work, SPS truly will be the best urban public school system in the country.

Ben

The Lowell Racial Equity Team and staff honored Katie Mathers, an instructional assistant in the Medically Fragile program, for her incredible 25 years at Lowell on Friday, May 15. Known for her steady, caring, and resilient spirit, Katie is a mentor and inspiration to all. Staff celebrated her milestone with flowers, cake, popcorn, a memory book, and a crystal award, recognizing the lasting impact she’s made on the Lowell community.

Five SPS seniors received an unforgettable surprise: a $40,000 Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship to support their studies in computer science or engineering, along with a paid Amazon internship after their freshman year of college. Representatives from Amazon surprised the students at their schools, leaving many speechless. Congratulations to Alex Wen, Bill Chen, and Salah Kassim of Cleveland STEM High School (pictured above); Alan Yuan from Garfield; and Rumi Ince of Roosevelt High School on this awesome achievement!

Shea Lawson, a 7th grader at Washington Middle School, continues to impress as an award‑winning public speaker and straight‑A student. In March, Shea took the stage at EduTalks at the University of Washington as the only student speaker. She received a standing ovation for her powerful speech, “Access is a Right: Disability Justice in our Schools,” along with special recognition from former Seahawk Doug Baldwin.

Join us in celebrating the 24 SPS schools that received recognition from the Washington State Board of Education for their performance during the 2024–25 school year. Receiving this recognition is no small honor—only 16% of schools statewide earned recognition this year.

I also want you to be on the lookout for this month's episode of First Bell, our TV news broadcast, which features students from Nathan Hale High School and Jane Addams Middle School. Allyson, Ayaan, Jaylen and Macy did an awesome job hosting the show. Be sure to check it out on Wednesday, May 20, at 8 a.m.