Seattle students heading back to classes with new safety plan

SEATTLE — Students are heading back to Seattle Public Schools with a new safety plan from the city and district, but parents still have many questions about what that will look like.

It’s a pilot program for six middle schools and five high schools with the highest rates of violence inside and outside. And it comes just three months after the deadly shooting at Garfield High School.

“There’s no joy about going back to school,” Alicia Spanswick said about her two children at Garfield.

“Is that rooted in fear?” reporter Linzi Sheldon asked.

“I believe so,” Spanswick said.

As co-president of the Garfield PTSA, she’s been pushing to make school safer.

“You’ve been waiting all summer-- what did you think when you first heard about this plan?” Sheldon asked.

“You know, I felt like there’s still so many unanswered questions,” Spanswick said.

That plan was rolled out Aug. 22 by Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Brent Jones, and other community leaders.

“What’s going to be different for that Garfield student in that first week?” Sheldon asked the mayor.

“What will be different is you’ll see more of the community that you see around here surrounding the schools,” Seattle Deputy Mayor Tiffany Washington responded. “It’s not new. It’s just been underfunded.”

That funding includes $5.6 million for 42 new positions, mental health counselors and care coordinators, managed by Public Health- Seattle & King County.

“I hesitate to say that those would get filled in this school year,” Spanswick said.

She wants to know how soon students will feel the impact.

“The average wait time to get one-on-one counseling in person in the area is two to four months… that’s what we’ve experienced,” she said. “You might get somebody who has availability, but they have availability at 10 a.m. on a Tuesday when (your child is) in school and they’re on the other side of town.”

She’s also skeptical about $4.25 million to be shared among new violence intervention specialists, expanding safe passage programs and case management, and a new resource fund to help students and families at highest risk of gun violence.

“I’m all for that,” she said. “But I want to know how you’re actually going to implement this… how much is actually going to end up in (that resource fund)?”

The city said at five high schools, Seattle Police officers will patrol before and after school and during lunch as staffing allows.

Those schools are Rainier Beach, Garfield, Chief Sealth International, Franklin, and Ingraham.

“I know SPD is incredibly challenged right now with their own staffing,” parent Ina Percival said. “How is this going to work and when is this going to work?”

Percival’s daughter is a sophomore at Garfield. Two more of her kids will head there next year.

She said having a regular set of officers that kids get to know is essential.

“Build some trust, rapport, demonstrate that they are fair, and they’re open to listening, and that it’s a partnership with community,” she said.

She wants to see free gun safes and locks available at fire departments and traffic interventions at Garfield. Percival also wants to hear how SPS will check in with families, teachers, and kids.

“We must include the young people’s voices in this conversation,” she said. “Both in terms of how well it’s working for them, as well as what haven’t we tried yet?”

It’s something Spanswick echoes: how will SPS track and report progress?

“If we don’t have some way of measuring impact, we won’t get this money again,” she said. “These are all very big overarching plans. And what these kids really need is just the little day to day, feel like they matter.”

SPS said it will also hire an executive director to oversee safety this year, though it’s unclear how long that will take.

KIRO 7 asked the district multiple times to sit down for an interview and answer these questions from parents.

SPS said Dr. Jones did not have the time available and instead provided a statement that said, in part, “The district is working hard to fill roles for the new school year as soon as possible.”

KIRO 7 will continue to follow parents’ concerns and questions as this plan rolls out and will be asking SPS to respond to them this fall.

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