dearest education: will u be my valentine?

NOTE: There will be a public hearing on the proposed renewal of the Families & Education Levy on Thurs, Feb. 17 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. Or if going to a council meeting is not your idea of a hot Thursday night, you can send an email in support of the Levy to your fav City Councilmember. Get their email info by clicking here.

Friends,
OK, so here’s the thing: in Seattle we have a dropout crisis. A full third of Seattle students can't graduate after four years of high school. You read right, ONE THIRD. It’s a crisis. And this is why I’m dedicating this Valentine’s Day to education.

The language for the upcoming Family & Education Levy is currently under review by the City Council and we need an approach that is laser-focused on the kids most at risk of dropping out. As a community, we must be clear and consistent that all students in Seattle should be able to graduate from high school ready for college & career. Here’s how I see this issue:

1. Students who drop out of school are eight times more likely to be incarcerated and three times more likely to be unemployed than those who do graduate.
   
2. The levy can stop the cycle of poverty for these students and their families by ensuring that more resources are being targeted to keep students on track to graduate and to get students who are most at risk of dropping out back on track to graduate.
   
3. Knowing that the Seattle Public School district is experiencing a significant budget shortfall, it would be strategic to ensure that schools can access levy funds to pay for non-profit organizations to bring targeted resources to their sites in order to reduce the number of dropouts that their school generates. I think it is critical that non-profit partners are performance driven organizations: that they evaluate their success, and that they are able to leverage levy dollars with funds that they bring to the table.
   
4. One such organization, City Year, targets their efforts on curbing the dropout rate in Seattle. They have a clear and measurable mission – to reduce the number of students in Seattle who show one or more of the early warning indicators of dropping out of school by 25% in the next five years. They bring federal Americorps dollars to our district, their corps members cannot replace teachers or instructional assistants and they will leverage every levy dollar three to one.
   

As noted by Councilmember Burgess in a recent newsletter in support of education, the Levy proposal would collect $231 million in Seattle property taxes over the next seven years, a cost of $124 bucks to the homeowner with an assessed value of about $460k. While this represents an increase from the previous Levy and will be an added burden to property owners, many of us believe it’s a burden our community is willing to assume if it means strong education for all Seattle’s children and everything that goes along with it: a strong economy, an equitable society, a fair justice system, safe streets. The upcoming levy gives our city an incredible opportunity to give a chance to thousands of young people at risk of becoming another statistic.

Come on, be a romantic and join me in a little Valentine’s Day support of a renewed levy that integrates performance-based contracts geared towards leveraging tax dollars and education success. Then consider dropping a note to Council so we can have an impact where it’s needed most – on the young people who, absent intervention, will drop out of school.

Will you be an education valentine with me?

XOX,
Jessie
education valentine & City Year board member

PS: I’m putting together a table for City Year’s upcoming Ripples of Hope gala on April 27th. I’d love to have you join me. Tix are $125. Details are here. Drop me a line if you have an interest!