Goal: Develop an exceptional system of education, workforce training and human services that meets the needs of residents young and old

1. Investing in Southeast Seattle’s Children and Families – City will invest more than $35 million in Southeast Seattle over seven years to meet the educational needs of students and help close the achievement gap. For the first time ever, Families and Education Levy investments will be targeted to Southeast Seattle in order to have the greatest impact on academic achievement. Specific Levy investments include:

Early Learning (nearly $2 million per year invested in Southeast Seattle )

• High-quality preschool for 400 low-income four-year-olds in Southeast Seattle to prepare them for kindergarten and improve their long-term school success.
• Teacher training for preschool and child care teachers.
• Home visits to families with toddlers in Southeast Seattle to build literacy skills.
• Increased compensation for preschool staff who work with low-income children.

Family Support and Involvement (more than $500,000 invested per year in Southeast Seattle)

• Social Workers in elementary and K-8 schools to support achievement among high-need students.
• Programs to help families in Southeast Seattle to be more involved in their children’s education.

After-School Programs (more than $1 million invested per year in Southeast Seattle)

• After-School programs to improve academic achievement at elementary and middle schools in Southeast Seattle.

High-Risk Youth (nearly $300,000 invested per year in Southeast Seattle)

• Case managers will link youth in Southeast Seattle to culturally-appropriate services to ensure academic achievement.

 

2. Support community driven educational projects – City has funded various efforts to develop leadership, information or educational workshops for residents in Southeast Seattle (Department of Neighborhoods and Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs):

Successful Students of South Seattle – Provided $14,000 to motivate parents and community members to donate time at Emerson Elementary School. The volunteers will help students, teachers with large class loads, and assist in supervision of activities on and around the school campus.

Scholastic Information Technology Education Scholarship – Provided $14,300 to empower and equip youth in the practical use and application of technology in their scholastic efforts. Special effort will be made to reach African-American and other youth of color who may not have access to this new technology.

Liberation Poetry Project – Provided $5,500 to design and implement an instructional curriculum which uses creative writing as a tool for examining and breaking down oppression.

Undoing Racism and Understanding Immigration – Provided $7,500 to develop a project to organize an Undoing Racism training program and to host an immigration forum.

Mien Youth and Community Empowerment – Provided $13,000 to train 10 Mien youth in leadership skills, public speaking, and general race and social justice issues. Youth will be responsible for organizing and implementing three race and social justice workshops for youth and adult community members and developing an analysis of surveys completed by workshop participants.

Refugee Voices Project – Provided $12,309 to provide leadership, storytelling, and public speaking training to immigrant and refugee students enrolled in Cleveland High School’s Global Academy. The project also includes a group summit and an evening community event.

 

3. Invest in pre-apprenticeship training for Rainier Valley residents – City has committed $2 million for a ‘pre-apprenticeship training program with Seattle Jobs Initiative through the Rainier Valley Community Development Fund. (Office of Economic Development)