October

13, 2017

Dr. Zavala
723 S Concord St
Seattle, WA 98108

Drs. Nyland, Aramaki, & Aoki

Deputy Superintendent Nielsen
Ms. Scarlett
Mr. Bush
PO Box 34165
Seattle, WA 98124-1165

Greetings,

Thank you to those of you who were able to join us at our community forum last Tuesday,
October 3, 2017. We appreciate your engagement with us on our concerns about the changes
made at Concord this year. This letter outlines the requests of the Concord International
Elementary School Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), which were discussed during the forum.
Our main concerns center in three areas: (1) kindergarten overcrowding and dual-language
classroom reduction, (2) the elimination of dedicated Spanish-language literacy time, and (3)
the elimination of the comprehensive ConcordMarra Farm partnership. The threads that tie
these concerns together are inequity, ineffective communication and lack of engagement with
families.
Dedicated Spanish Literacy Time. Concords dual-language program was developed as an
approach to eliminate the opportunity gap for heritage Spanish-speakers by teaching them
literacy skills in their native language. With Spanish literacy reduced or removed, the dual-
language program loses the equity component it provided and becomes an enrichment
program for English-speaking children. Elimination of specific, dedicated time for Spanish
literacy sends a clear message to families and children alike that biliteracy is not valued or
important. Students are already 3 weeks behind in literacy for this school year, but if Spanish
literacy is not restored now, next year they will be a grade level or more behind. Concord
students must receive Spanish literacy instruction to be prepared for Spanish-language courses
at Denny International Middle School. Denny teachers have confirmed the Concord graduates,
who were taught in the previous approach with dedicated Spanish literacy, have arrived at
Denny well-prepared to succeed. We know the model that has been used by Concord has been
effective in building a solid foundation for biliteracy in our students.



We request that Concord and the district:

1. Facilitate a vote among Concord teaching staff on their preferred curricula, and with
their endorsement, immediately restore dedicated Spanish literacy time equal to English
literacy instructional time for all grades, K-5, by reverting to the curricula created by
teachers and used last year.
2. Fully utilize the newly-created Concord Dual Language Committee to carefully evaluate
the needs of Concord families, children and teachers, using the Racial Equity Analysis
Tool, and to guide the structure of the dual-language program at Concord.
Kindergarten. The overcrowding in our kindergarten classrooms, with simultaneous reduction
of the dual-language program to a single kindergarten classroom, has created new educational
and racial inequities at Concord, previously unrecognized due to the failure to use the Racial
Equity Analysis Tool or to partner with families. The districts commitment to equitable access
in SPS Policy No. 0030, even when this means differentiating resource allocation, demands
immediate redress of this situation. Obviously, equitable access to high-quality education and
support is impossible in kindergarten classes with more than 25 students in a high-poverty
school, and especially in a dual-language program. Since at least 2010, the state-mandated class
size limit for kindergarten classrooms has been 17, and voters lowered that class size limit to 15
for high-poverty schools like Concord.1,2,3
As discussed above, the dual language program was developed at Concord to enhance the
equity of educational engagement and eliminate the opportunity gap. Concord currently has
many kindergarten students on the waitlist for the dual-language program. Denying these
students access to Spanish-language education, while keeping classroom sizes nearly double
the legal limit at a high-poverty school, all but guarantees an inequitable education and
reinforcement, not elimination, of the opportunity gap for these students.
We request that Concord:
1. Take immediate steps to move kindergarten classrooms closer toward the limit of 15
students and eliminate the waitlist for the Dual Language program by creating 2 dual-
language classrooms and a traditional (English-only) K classroom.
Solid GroundMarra Farm Partnership. The decade-long partnership with Solid Ground at
nearby Marra Farm provided Concord students with integrated environmental, science, cooking
and nutrition education at no cost to Concord. Solid Grounds Americorps member at Concord
provided a variety of services to our children that are not replaced by the Breakfast After the
Bell program:
Every student (K-5) received in-class cooking and nutrition education (focused on
healthy eating and cooking skills) for at least 1 hour per week for 6 weeks per year.

1
Laws of 2010, ch. 236 2(3). Retrieved http://www.k12.wa.us/safs/INS/2776/2776-S.SL.pdf
2
Office of Program Research, State of Washington House of Representatives (2014) Summary of Initiative 1351. Retrieved from
http://leg.wa.gov/House/Committees/OPRGeneral/Documents/2014/I-1351Summary.pdf
3
McCleary v. State, 269 P.3d 227, 173 Wash. 2d 477 (2012). Retrieved from http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/843627.opn.pdf.

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All 2nd and 3rd graders received outdoor garden and cooking education in the spring at
Marra Farms for 1 hour per week for 6 weeks per year. Students learned about the
farm-to-food connection, the farm system and 2nd and 3rd grade science topics. Students
also maintained a class garden (preparing the soil, selecting seeds, planting seeds and
nurturing the plants).
Students in afterschool CLC programming received either weekly cooking club in the
classroom or Marra Farm field trips in the spring for 1.5 hours per week over 12 weeks.
Students attending City Years Spring Break Camp received enrichment activities on
cooking and nutrition.
Coordination and organization of Market/Farm-to-Table Night at Concord, which is
supported through partnerships with PCC, Seattle Public Utilities and other partners
Research has shown myriad benefits, both academic and health, for elementary school science
programs that integrate gardening as described above.4 Students have significantly higher
science achievement test scores and have more positive attitudes toward learning. Students
also eat more fruits and vegetables and engage in moderate outdoor exercise. This additional
outdoor time with physical activity is especially important for children at Concord, who have
fewer minutes of recess than many of the more affluent schools in the Seattle Public School
system. Students also experience more positive emotions and increased cooperative skills when
gardening is a part of the science curriculum. While the new Breakfast After the Bell program
provides excellent services to Concord students, it does not replace the above integration of
science with Marra Farm.
It is important to us to maintain the relationship between Marra Farm and Concord as we
determine how Solid Ground can be reintegrated at Concord. We want our children to be able
to visit the farm without further burdening our already overworked teachers with an additional
workload, though we also recognize the importance of the district requirement for field trip
lesson plans to show the connection between the trip and students coursework.
We request that Concord:

1. Allow teachers to use the Solid Ground/Marra Farm lesson plans (created by Phoenica
Zhang of Solid Ground) to meet field trip requirements.
2. Make every effort to reestablish the full partnership with Marra Farm, by drafting a
Letter of Intention for Solid Ground indicating our desire and availability should a
programming vacancy become available.

Seattle Public Schools (SPS) claims that it is the moral and ethical responsibility and a top
priority for Seattle Public Schools to provide Equity Access and Opportunity for every
student, and to eliminate racial inequity in our educational and administrative system.5
Further, in the SPS Policy Number 0030, Ensuring Educational and Racial Equity, the
district commits to provide every student with equitable access to a high-quality

4
Denver Urban Gardens (n.d.) Benefits of School-Based Community Gardens A compilation of research findings. Retrieved from
http://gardens.slowfoodusa.org/contents/sdownload/3591/file/Benefits-of-School-Gardens-Denver-Urban-Gardens.pdf
5
Seattle Public Schools (n.d.). Racial Equity Analysis Tool. Retrieved from
https://www.seattleschools.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_543/File/District/Departments/equity_race/racial_equity_analysis_tool.pdf

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curriculum, support, facilities and other educational resources, even when this means
differentiating resource allocation, and that all applicable new policies, programs,
decisions and procedures will be developed using a racial equity analysis tool.6 This tool
requires that stakeholders (including families and community members) be engaged in the
process of gathering, reviewing and analyzing data to determine the consequences of
proposed changes at a school. The dramatic changes swiftly implemented at Concord this
year, without so much as notification to the families, clearly were not in compliance with
the 2012 SPS Policy No. 0030 on equity.
We request that Concord:
1. Make decisions in compliance with SPS Policy No. 0030, including completion of the SPS
Racial Equity Analysis Tool for considered changes to the curriculum, programming,
schedule or activities at Concord.
2. Provide clear, effective and complete communication with Concord families about
changes under consideration and the process for family engagement, feedback and
participation in those decisions.
3. Create accessible, family-friendly processes for involvement in decision-making at
Concord, which includes providing clear descriptions of opportunities, background
information and translation/interpretation into participants preferred language(s) to
avoid tokenism of family representatives, and to enable meaningful participation in
decision-making processes.
We are here to support the children of Concord, our children. We are ready and able to help
build effective partnerships with the administration of Concord and SPS to support equity,
eliminate the opportunity gap and improve the experience of children and families. Many of us
have signed up for the newly-established or renewed committees at Concord, and are open to
additional ways of working together to address these issues and improve our school. We also
stand in strong support for the rights of Concord teaching staff, as well as the special needs
they may have as they serve our community. We recognize the many ways Concord staff is
called upon to do more and specialized work with fewer resources than their peers.
We will host another community forum to discuss progress on the above requests on
November 9, 2017, 6:00 8:00pm. We invite you all to attend this important meeting to
continue to build our constructive collaboration on these critical issues for our children and
teachers.

Sincerely,

The Concord International Elementary School PTA Board

6
Seattle Public Schools (2012, Aug 5). Ensuring Educational and Racial Equity. Policy Number 0030. Retrieved from
https://www.seattleschools.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_543/File/District/Departments/equity_race/sps0030_ensuring_educational_racial_e
quity.pdf

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