Community & Family Resources

Building Excellence Capital Levy (BEX V)

Seattle voters should have received ballots for the February 12 election. Seattle Public Schools has two measures on the ballot. Prop. 1, the Educational Programs and Operations levy, and Prop. 2, the Building Excellence V capital levy. These two levies replace existing levies and fund critical day-to-day school operations, salaries, Special Education programs, athletics, safety improvements and construction of new schools, including a new building for Viewlands Elementary.

Want to learn more about Props. 1 and 2? Visit www.seattleschools.org/levies 

Please vote. Ballots are due by Feb. 12.

Neighborhood Street Fund Viewlands Sidewalk Information

Visit this Website.

Sign-up for the 2 upcoming meetings and voting times.

Broadview Branch Seattle Public Library
Thursday, January 31
6:00 – 7:30 pm
12755 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133

Lake City Community Center
Tuesday, February 5
6:30 – 8:00 pm
12531 28th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98125

Click on the Projects Map Link, double click the map to enlarge the area on 3rd Ave. N.W. across from ViewlandsSchool in the N.W. Broadview District 5 area of Seattle, then click on the Red Marker showing our project.

Can’t make it to a meeting? 

No sweat! We are excited to introduce an online scoring option this cycle. A link to rank projects online will be available on our website January 28 – February 22. We will send you an email again once online scoring opens.

3 Tips for participating in this phase:

 

  • Plan ahead: if you will be joining a community meeting, plan accordingly to arrive no later than the meeting start time. 
  • Do your research: in-depth project proposals will be available on our website January 28. Get to know the projects proposed in your district prior to attending a meeting or ranking online. 
  • Share: invite friends, family, and neighbors to participate, even if they reside in a different district.

Reading & Research on Race & Social Justice

VEPTSA recently held a Community Talk on Race and Social Justice presented by author and speaker Tierra Johnson. Tierra lead a discussion with the group about the history of injustice in specific cases that have formed the national perception.
Tierra realizes that people may want quick answers for how to speak with our children about race but the hard truth is we must FIRST equip ourselves to to so. These resources she suggests are intended to present evidence and information to allow one to study deeper and to look at what we have been presented historically with a critical eye. The challenge is to find the holes in our history and begin to fill them up with truth. Her challenge is to read these books, the ones that resonate the most with you are the one that should be on your shelf in your home. All of these titles should be required reading in our high schools but they are not. Ask yourself why? Tierra challenges all to look at the work cited in the books and find other authors and books referenced. Research them. When looking at the Youtube videos and documentaries listed, search for others concerning the same top of a point you want to expand on.

Tierra states that her presentations are never about making people believe the information she is giving. It is to make people think and look at it more closely. There are no quick answer on how to speak to our kids about the racial problem we have, the answer is to better educate ourselves so that we may guide our children accordingly. The great part is that we can take them on the journey with us and get them involved as well.
Suggested Reading:
  • They came before Columbus – Dr. Ivan Van Sertima
  • Civilization or Barbarism – Cheik Anta Diop
  • The Myth of Race: The Troubling Persistence of an Unscientific Idea – Robert Sussman
  • A People’s History of the United States – Howard Zinn
  • At the Dark End of the Street – Danielle McGuire
  • White like me – Tim Wise
  • Warriors Don’t Cry – Melba Patillo Beals
  • The New Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of Colorblindness – Michelle Alexander
Videos:
 

RULER: Promoting Emotional Literacy

RULER is a social-emotional literacy curriculum developed by Yale University’s Center for Emotional Intelligence. Early Learning spearheaded the adoption of this curriculum, which is now in use at 50 Seattle Public Schools including Viewlands Elementary. In order to manage one’s emotions to successfully negotiate life experiences, whether at school, work or home, RULER promotes:
Recognizing Understanding Labeling Expressing Regulating

More Info at SPS.org

RULER Overview Brochure

Anchor Tools Overview Handout

RULER Skills for Families

How to Practice RULER at Home

Advocating for Gun Violence Prevention Measures

Adopted by the Viewlands Elementary PTSA (VEPTSA) on  May 8, 2018
Whereas, since the December 2012 mass shooting in Sandy Hook Elementary School, there have been more than 1,600 mass shootings in America, with at least 1,829 people killed and 6,447 wounded as of February 2018 (reference), and more than 400 people have been shot in over 200 school shootings (reference); and
Whereas, the National PTA has advocated for a variety of measures to address gun violence, including mental health education, early intervention, prevention and access to school and community-based mental health personnel and services, measures to educate students, educators and community members on firearm safety and violence prevention, as well as laws and regulations in the areas of gun safety and violence prevention; and Whereas, we believe that every child deserves to learn in an environment that is safe and to have the opportunity to grow into a happy and healthy adult. Therefore, be it resolved that the VEPTSA joins the National PTA (reference) in its demands that Washington State and federal governments adopt legislation to accomplish the following policy goals:
  • Require universal background checks and a license to purchase a firearm.
  • Re-enact a federal ban on the sale and possession of military-style assault weapons.
  • Lift any ban on research that studies the causes and effects of gun violence.
Therefore, be it further resolved that the  VEPTSA also supports laws and regulations that would accomplish the following:
  • Increase the Federal minimum purchase age to 21 for all long-guns (rifles), which is the current federal minimum age for handguns.
  • Require firearm safety training prior to the purchase of a firearm.
  • Develop a state registry that allows one to voluntarily opt-out of the ability to purchase a firearm.
  • Restrict non-Washington state residents from purchasing any firearms in Washington state.
 

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