Jane Tunks Demel
@janedemel.bsky.social
Ex-Seattle Hall Pass, K-12 education advocate, flawed blend of sweet and tart
Reposted by Jane Tunks Demel
The Stranger got one endorsement really wrong this year. As @lisarivera.bsky.social points out, they should have endorsed Sarah Clark for school board. Rivera, herself endorsed by the Stranger when she was on the board and a 2020 delegate for Bernie Sanders to the DNC, makes an excellent case:
Guest Rant: The Stranger Got It Wrong About Sarah Clark
Former Seattle School Board Director Lisa Rivera says we got the candidate in her old seat all wrong.
www.thestranger.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:45 AM
The Stranger got one endorsement really wrong this year. As @lisarivera.bsky.social points out, they should have endorsed Sarah Clark for school board. Rivera, herself endorsed by the Stranger when she was on the board and a 2020 delegate for Bernie Sanders to the DNC, makes an excellent case:
Reposted by Jane Tunks Demel
Sarah Clark, Joe Mizrahi, and Vivian Song lead in their Seattle School Board races, while Carol Rava and Jen LaVallee are tied
Though many voters are still undecided about their 2025 choices to oversee the state's largest school district, three of the candidates have leads in their respective…
Though many voters are still undecided about their 2025 choices to oversee the state's largest school district, three of the candidates have leads in their respective…
Sarah Clark, Joe Mizrahi, and Vivian Song lead in their Seattle School Board races, while Carol Rava and Jen LaVallee are tied
Though many voters are still undecided about their 2025 choices to oversee the state's largest school district, three of the candidates have leads in their respective races ranging from six to thirty-two points. For Position #7, neither hopeful has an advantage.
www.nwprogressive.org
November 2, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Sarah Clark, Joe Mizrahi, and Vivian Song lead in their Seattle School Board races, while Carol Rava and Jen LaVallee are tied
Though many voters are still undecided about their 2025 choices to oversee the state's largest school district, three of the candidates have leads in their respective…
Though many voters are still undecided about their 2025 choices to oversee the state's largest school district, three of the candidates have leads in their respective…
Sarah Clark is leading by 6 points in the Seattle School Board race, and for good reason. She has a proven track record that Seattle needs right now. 🧵
We’re up by 6 points! Thank you to @nwprogressive.org for polling the school board races and showing we’re leading going into Election Day. But many voters are still undecided. Please give me your vote - and get your ballots to a dropbox by 8PM on Tuesday! www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2025/...
November 2, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Sarah Clark is leading by 6 points in the Seattle School Board race, and for good reason. She has a proven track record that Seattle needs right now. 🧵
Reposted by Jane Tunks Demel
We’re up by 6 points! Thank you to @nwprogressive.org for polling the school board races and showing we’re leading going into Election Day. But many voters are still undecided. Please give me your vote - and get your ballots to a dropbox by 8PM on Tuesday! www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2025/...
November 2, 2025 at 10:43 PM
We’re up by 6 points! Thank you to @nwprogressive.org for polling the school board races and showing we’re leading going into Election Day. But many voters are still undecided. Please give me your vote - and get your ballots to a dropbox by 8PM on Tuesday! www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2025/...
Reposted by Jane Tunks Demel
You could read a lot of recommendations from various sources, and some of them might even be right. But you should trust the parents who were in the fight, who know this district inside and out, who know all the stories the media never covered...and vote for Clark, Mizrahi, Song, and LaVallee.
October 19, 2025 at 11:29 PM
You could read a lot of recommendations from various sources, and some of them might even be right. But you should trust the parents who were in the fight, who know this district inside and out, who know all the stories the media never covered...and vote for Clark, Mizrahi, Song, and LaVallee.
Reposted by Jane Tunks Demel
The Stranger hasn’t really covered SPS in years. They don’t regularly come to school board meetings or interview caregivers or follow the impactful issues affecting Seattle kids and families. Vote for Sarah Clark for School board!!! She’s *ON THE BOARD NOW* and doing great for students and our city!
FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS VOTE EXCLUSIVELY THE STRANGER BALLOT.
Vote for Clark over Smith for School Board. Clark has stuck her neck out over and over again publicly in a way that has over and over changed SPS policy. She knows the issues, has an excellent head start, and is a former SPS student.
Vote for Clark over Smith for School Board. Clark has stuck her neck out over and over again publicly in a way that has over and over changed SPS policy. She knows the issues, has an excellent head start, and is a former SPS student.
October 18, 2025 at 3:29 AM
The Stranger hasn’t really covered SPS in years. They don’t regularly come to school board meetings or interview caregivers or follow the impactful issues affecting Seattle kids and families. Vote for Sarah Clark for School board!!! She’s *ON THE BOARD NOW* and doing great for students and our city!
I guess this means the Stranger prefers a Microsoft employee over an employee of the Chamber of Commerce? Let's remember which employer spent millions lobbying against the wealth tax. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
October 18, 2025 at 12:13 AM
I guess this means the Stranger prefers a Microsoft employee over an employee of the Chamber of Commerce? Let's remember which employer spent millions lobbying against the wealth tax. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
Reposted by Jane Tunks Demel
We need the Stranger to be good on public education. We need them to understand it, care about it, cover it, and make sensible, trusted recommendations about it.
Right now, they don't.
Vote for Clark, Mizrahi, Song, and LaVallee. And urge the Stranger to start taking SPS seriously. /end
Right now, they don't.
Vote for Clark, Mizrahi, Song, and LaVallee. And urge the Stranger to start taking SPS seriously. /end
October 17, 2025 at 10:53 PM
We need the Stranger to be good on public education. We need them to understand it, care about it, cover it, and make sensible, trusted recommendations about it.
Right now, they don't.
Vote for Clark, Mizrahi, Song, and LaVallee. And urge the Stranger to start taking SPS seriously. /end
Right now, they don't.
Vote for Clark, Mizrahi, Song, and LaVallee. And urge the Stranger to start taking SPS seriously. /end
Reposted by Jane Tunks Demel
FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS VOTE EXCLUSIVELY THE STRANGER BALLOT.
Vote for Clark over Smith for School Board. Clark has stuck her neck out over and over again publicly in a way that has over and over changed SPS policy. She knows the issues, has an excellent head start, and is a former SPS student.
Vote for Clark over Smith for School Board. Clark has stuck her neck out over and over again publicly in a way that has over and over changed SPS policy. She knows the issues, has an excellent head start, and is a former SPS student.
October 17, 2025 at 10:46 PM
FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS VOTE EXCLUSIVELY THE STRANGER BALLOT.
Vote for Clark over Smith for School Board. Clark has stuck her neck out over and over again publicly in a way that has over and over changed SPS policy. She knows the issues, has an excellent head start, and is a former SPS student.
Vote for Clark over Smith for School Board. Clark has stuck her neck out over and over again publicly in a way that has over and over changed SPS policy. She knows the issues, has an excellent head start, and is a former SPS student.
Reposted by Jane Tunks Demel
@thebethocracy.bsky.social Here's a spreadsheet that show every high school already has 30-minute lunch. docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
September 17, 2025 at 11:33 PM
@thebethocracy.bsky.social Here's a spreadsheet that show every high school already has 30-minute lunch. docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Reposted by Jane Tunks Demel
All the high schools ALREADY had 30 minute lunches when they had one lunch. No change. This is an obnoxious red herring.
September 17, 2025 at 11:30 PM
All the high schools ALREADY had 30 minute lunches when they had one lunch. No change. This is an obnoxious red herring.
Reposted by Jane Tunks Demel
I stand in support of students and families walking out today in protest. District administrators need to stop the split lunch proposal. Major operational changes like these need community discussion and board approval. 1/
September 15, 2025 at 6:21 PM
I stand in support of students and families walking out today in protest. District administrators need to stop the split lunch proposal. Major operational changes like these need community discussion and board approval. 1/
Seattle Public Schools gives the same runaround for public record requests.
I encourage people to amplify this. SPD's refusal to answer basic media questions, and their policy of effectively denying all records requests, is outrageous.
Post updated to reflect that SPD told me to file a records request for an answer to my yes/no question: Did a new deputy chief and assistant chief, who each make around $300,000, get $50,000 hiring bonuses for joining the department? publicola.com/2025/08/12/p...
August 13, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Seattle Public Schools gives the same runaround for public record requests.
Reposted by Jane Tunks Demel
We could reject austerity and double down on the winnable fight for a wealth tax in Olympia to fund our schools and other priorities. Or, we could wave the white flag as Liza Rankin proposes, and embrace austerity in public schools. I explain the situation here:
Op-Ed: Closing Seattle Schools Is Still a Bad Idea » The Urbanist
# Last week school board director Liza Rankin wrote a memo to her colleagues suggesting a major new round of austerity for the Seattle Public Schools that could revive a plan to close numerous schools...
www.theurbanist.org
August 8, 2025 at 1:11 AM
We could reject austerity and double down on the winnable fight for a wealth tax in Olympia to fund our schools and other priorities. Or, we could wave the white flag as Liza Rankin proposes, and embrace austerity in public schools. I explain the situation here:
I was pretty darned close.
August 6, 2025 at 4:30 AM
I was pretty darned close.
Reposted by Jane Tunks Demel
School board: Sarah Clark, Joe Mizrahi, and Vivian Song all lead in their races.
August 5, 2025 at 5:51 PM
School board: Sarah Clark, Joe Mizrahi, and Vivian Song all lead in their races.
Reposted by Jane Tunks Demel
I'm going to try and communicate with my Republican colleagues in a new way.
June 26, 2025 at 9:44 PM
I'm going to try and communicate with my Republican colleagues in a new way.
Reposted by Jane Tunks Demel
Here's an old map to visualize by area. Blue circles represent building capacity, the smaller orange circles inside them represent April 2024 enrollment. This is just elementary, I'd have to pull new data for middle/high, and I don't have access to my school account currently.
June 19, 2025 at 1:25 AM
Here's an old map to visualize by area. Blue circles represent building capacity, the smaller orange circles inside them represent April 2024 enrollment. This is just elementary, I'd have to pull new data for middle/high, and I don't have access to my school account currently.
Reposted by Jane Tunks Demel
*opens Bluesky*
OK so let me see if I've gotten this correct: the 43rd LD Democrats have voted to remove Curby's endorsement of a school board candidate because one mayor wants to ban left turns while the other is at SCOTUS overturning rights from Ted Cruz.
OK so let me see if I've gotten this correct: the 43rd LD Democrats have voted to remove Curby's endorsement of a school board candidate because one mayor wants to ban left turns while the other is at SCOTUS overturning rights from Ted Cruz.
June 18, 2025 at 9:19 PM
*opens Bluesky*
OK so let me see if I've gotten this correct: the 43rd LD Democrats have voted to remove Curby's endorsement of a school board candidate because one mayor wants to ban left turns while the other is at SCOTUS overturning rights from Ted Cruz.
OK so let me see if I've gotten this correct: the 43rd LD Democrats have voted to remove Curby's endorsement of a school board candidate because one mayor wants to ban left turns while the other is at SCOTUS overturning rights from Ted Cruz.
Reposted by Jane Tunks Demel
Excellent thread! I support Vivian Song for Seattle school board in case anyone wonders. She is kind, progressive, practical, informed and brilliant.
She also support the more progressive policy for school board—avoiding closures and Walmartification of schools.
She also support the more progressive policy for school board—avoiding closures and Walmartification of schools.
I should explain why this matters. Liza Rankin and her allies want to bring back the mass school closure plan. That requires defeating its strongest and most effective opponents, like @viviansong.bsky.social. But they know voters oppose closures. So they have to change the subject.
I’m not a PCO in the 43rd District Dems. But if I were I’d wonder why people are not fighting for public education and fighting against austerity - and supporting @viviansong.bsky.social is how you do both.
June 18, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Excellent thread! I support Vivian Song for Seattle school board in case anyone wonders. She is kind, progressive, practical, informed and brilliant.
She also support the more progressive policy for school board—avoiding closures and Walmartification of schools.
She also support the more progressive policy for school board—avoiding closures and Walmartification of schools.
Reposted by Jane Tunks Demel
Wow. This explains how 5 intersecting policies combine to have intersectional harm, sometimes doing the exact opposite of the policy's objective.
Recent SPS advocacy pushed lot sof broad "magic bullet policy" which can backfire badly. Folks in SPS should read this for background. Good job Rebekah.
Recent SPS advocacy pushed lot sof broad "magic bullet policy" which can backfire badly. Folks in SPS should read this for background. Good job Rebekah.
An Analysis of Policies that Disproportionately Harm High-Poverty Students in SE Seattle
By: Rebekah Binns, former SPS teacher, current SE Seattle parent
medium.com
June 5, 2025 at 5:13 AM
Wow. This explains how 5 intersecting policies combine to have intersectional harm, sometimes doing the exact opposite of the policy's objective.
Recent SPS advocacy pushed lot sof broad "magic bullet policy" which can backfire badly. Folks in SPS should read this for background. Good job Rebekah.
Recent SPS advocacy pushed lot sof broad "magic bullet policy" which can backfire badly. Folks in SPS should read this for background. Good job Rebekah.
Reposted by Jane Tunks Demel
This is an excellent, damning criticism of Student Outcomes Focused Governance, the Gates Foundation-backed system rolled out in blue cities that's designed to strip school boards of their oversight and decision-making over schools. Progressives across America have been fighting this for years. 🧵
How did the Seattle School Board lose its way?
Come election time, voters should ask Seattle School Board candidates some hard questions about the dubious "Student Outcomes Focused Governance."
www.seattletimes.com
May 16, 2025 at 11:09 PM
This is an excellent, damning criticism of Student Outcomes Focused Governance, the Gates Foundation-backed system rolled out in blue cities that's designed to strip school boards of their oversight and decision-making over schools. Progressives across America have been fighting this for years. 🧵
Reposted by Jane Tunks Demel
This has been the experience we’ve had as well. Usually it’s because they wait until the last minute to update enrollment, so recall a displaced teacher right before school starts, leaving the new school that hired them in the lurch.
SPS's utmost HR goal is to hire no additional school staff after June. They prefer to wait until October and then move teachers around to different schools as needed, without making any additional hires districtwide. That's why 17 schools today are understaffed by at least 1 teacher.
Rankin: Our hiring cycle is different from other districts, does that have an impact, if yes, make changes? Pritchett: work with SEA on timelines. Lagging timelines can be in part because of placing displaced teachers, that's why move up. Better at filling positions in spring than late summer/fall.
May 15, 2025 at 1:52 AM
This has been the experience we’ve had as well. Usually it’s because they wait until the last minute to update enrollment, so recall a displaced teacher right before school starts, leaving the new school that hired them in the lurch.
That's Carlos del Valle. He is great, but I think the tech intern guardrail should be student-focused: how many students have operational computers on any given day. At my kid's middle school, you can only swap out for a new computer two hours a week (one hour each on Tuesdays and Thursdays).
I missed the head of IT's name, he's great though. Here's some stats.
May 15, 2025 at 1:47 AM
That's Carlos del Valle. He is great, but I think the tech intern guardrail should be student-focused: how many students have operational computers on any given day. At my kid's middle school, you can only swap out for a new computer two hours a week (one hour each on Tuesdays and Thursdays).
More excuses from Sarah Prichett.
Rankin: Our hiring cycle is different from other districts, does that have an impact, if yes, make changes? Pritchett: work with SEA on timelines. Lagging timelines can be in part because of placing displaced teachers, that's why move up. Better at filling positions in spring than late summer/fall.
May 15, 2025 at 1:46 AM
More excuses from Sarah Prichett.