Rainy Day Recess

11/19/2025

For The Grade, Christie Robertson looking back on her two years of parent-run education podcasting, and the sustainability and limits of hyperlocal coverage.

With two years, two podcasts, and over 100 episodes under her belt, a Seattle parent describes sustainability issues that have challenged her efforts from the start.

11/12/2025

New Episode: A Forensic Analysis of SPS, Part 1 – The Ghost of John Stanford

In 1995, Seattle hired a retired Army general to run its schools.
In just three years, John Stanford reshaped Seattle Public Schools—introducing market-based reforms, open choice, and site-based management.
Researcher Vivian Van Gelder joins Rainy Day Recess to trace how those reforms still echo through the district today.

Listen and read the full transcript:
https://www.rainydayrecess.org/2230213/episodes/18168203-a-forensic-analysis-of-sps-with-vivian-van-gelder-part-1

📄 Read Vivian’s report Left to Chance on SESEC: sesecwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Left-to-Chance-Report-FINAL.pdf

In this first installment of our three-part series unpacking Left to Chance: Student Outcomes in Seattle Public Schools (2024), hosts Christie Robertson and Jasmine Pulido sit down with report author Vivian Van Gelder to trace thirty years of refo...

09/10/2025

Summer/Fall Update with RDR news -

Co-hosts Christie, Cherylynne, and Jasmine give updates on some SPS developments over the summer, school board election results, and a big change coming soon to Rainy Day Recess.Summer School Board MeetingsJuly 2 School Board MeetingJuly 30 Specia...

07/18/2025

District 5 (roughly east Seattle) School Board Candidate interviews are out! Check out all 6 candidates - Allycea Weil, Janis White, Julissa Sanchez, Landon Labosky, Vivian Song, and Vivian Van Gelder on rainydayrecess.org.

07/16/2025

District 4 (roughly central Seattle) School Board Candidate interviews are out! Check out Laura Marie Rivera, Bill Campbell, and Joe Mizrahi on rainydayrecess.org.

07/14/2025

You can find interviews with all District 2 (NW Seattle) Seattle school board candidates now on rainydayrecess.org.

06/16/2025

🎧 NEW EPISODE: "Bilingual Orientation Centers Slated for Closure This Fall"
Seattle Public Schools is quietly eliminating specialized newcomer classrooms and moving to a model where teachers are spread across multiple schools. We examine this policy change affecting recent immigrants with limited English skills.
We spoke with teachers and former students about what these programs provided and what the changes mean for students and families.
🎧 Listen:

Seattle Public Schools is quietly eliminating specialized programs for newcomer students - recent immigrants with limited English skills who need intensive support. Teachers at Dunlap Elementary brought this story to our attention because they've ...

06/02/2025

🎧 New episode of Rainy Day Recess
School Board – Budget Work Session + Guardrails

In this episode, we break down the May 21 Seattle School Board meeting, where staff unveiled a plan to close the district’s $104 million deficit. We explain how they’re plugging the gap — mostly with one-time fixes and state-level shifts — and why the structural deficit is still very real.

We also cover the board’s debate over new “interim guardrail metrics” for the district’s strategic plan. Are these measures meaningful? Or just another compliance checklist?

📎 Interested in getting involved with the podcast?
See show notes for more details.

Listen here:
https://www.rainydayrecess.org/2230213/episodes/17260222-school-board-budget-work-session-guardrails

Show notes + links:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rc7_X2ZphDI8wub4vIKiSDF14aGmXKwlbaiHFQ02xg0/edit?tab=t.0

In this episode of Rainy Day Recess, we dive into the Seattle Public Schools board’s May 21 special meeting. Hear the latest on the district’s 2025–26 budget proposal, which balances through one-time fixes and new state funding, but leaves the str...

05/23/2025

🎧 New episode of Rainy Day Recess:
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Families Push for Access
https://www.rainydayrecess.org/2230213/episodes/17216317-deaf-and-hard-of-hearing-families-push-for-access

This episode looks at the barriers DHH families face in Seattle Public Schools, from missing interpreters to enrollment policies that misunderstand their needs. We also highlight what families are asking for now, and what’s starting to change.

Featuring Cherylynne Crowther.

In this episode of Rainy Day Recess, Cherylynne Crowther takes the reins to discuss the ongoing exclusion of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (D/HH) families in Seattle Public Schools. After a group of Deaf parents testified about enrollment barriers at t...

05/20/2025

Our first student story, with Rafael Brewer of Garfield High School.

In this student-reported episode, Garfield High School sophomore Rafael Brewer takes us inside the Quincy Jones Performing Arts Center, a space used for theater, music, assemblies, and community events. He shares the importance of the theater, how...

05/10/2025

Important issues being raised around access in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community as families who need ASL interpretation try to participate in the ongoing enrollment discussion.

It is time for everyone to join DHH families and say “saying sorry isn’t enough. We need change. The Safe and Welcoming Environments guardrail means nothing if it does not apply to everyone. Policy 0010 means nothing if not implemented. Policy 0030 means nothing if not implemented. The next Seat...

04/24/2025

What is the deal with waitlists? Dawson Nichols speaks with educators, students, parents, and experts to explore this topic in this video episode of Rainy Day Recess.

Dawson Nichols explores why thousands of Seattle students remain stuck on school waitlists—even when schools have space. This episode featuring voices from p...