By Julie-C

Omari & School Board Director Brandon Hersey discuss the unique challenges of remote learning, especially for students of color and students in underfunded schools.

Back-to-school season is a time of year typically marked by hopeful enthusiasm and fresh beginnings for young people and their families citywide. However this summer was one like no other- with the ongoing pandemic not only posing entirely new demands for safe schooling, but also resurfacing a whole host of long-standing inequities in systems ranging from health to education. What lessons can be learned from Seattle’s first week back to school?

In this interview, Converge’s Omari Salisbury sits down with one Seattle School Board Director to hear what challenges youth and families are facing, to learn what resources are being put in place, and to ask what it will take to ensure the success of Seattle’s most vulnerable students in the 2020/2021 school year. 

Brandon Hersey is a Federal Way elementary school teacher who is currently serving as the Seattle School Board Director for District 7, which encompasses the historically under-resourced South End. Though he is more than familiar with SPS’s infamous and long-standing inability to close its racial and socioeconomic gaps in access and achievement, he is optimistic about the steps the district is taking to mitigate the unique challenges of remote learning. 

First, mental health and wellness is being given special focus this year. Hersey reports that teachers are being given “socio emotional education training” to deliver informational resources that support youth and families bearing the mental toll of being cooped up. Teachers are also getting professional development  delivering technology access support to help families get connected. Though Hersey admits that investments in such resources to help families succeed could have been made by SPS prior to the global pandemic- he hopes these additions to this year’s curriculum will help smoothen the transition to remote learning and provide the language for youth and families to ask for help when they need it moving forward. 

Another area of urgent focus for the district is providing technology access and support. “We are making sure every child has a device and support in managing it,” Hersey says. SPS will be establishing technology help centers which will feature informational resources and  video training guides in five languages, as well as access to in-person technology support with real-time translation services. SPS is also distributing hot spots and coupons for broadband to families without access. For connectivity and parent engagement, Software such as Seesaw and Schoology - which have syllabus and assignments attached for each student - have been built into SPS’s remote learning platform. 

Finally, Hersey notes that the district has the legal obligation to accommodate the learning needs of all SPS students. Teachers should be reaching out to students with special needs in the next month to create individual plans and schedules. 

However despite these efforts, Hersey admits that having resources available does not mean they will actually reach nor be utilized by those in most need. 

While the SPS website is full of links to free services ranging from therapy to home meal delivery, there is no direct route to holistically supporting students facing houselessness, abusive home situations, and other challenging circumstances. It is on teachers to help students and families navigate what is available, and the results can vary wildly based on capacity. But many in the community are stepping up to help bridge gaps. Hersey points to the Rainier Beach Drive Through BBQ as an example of this. Students and families were able to pull up and pick up a plate along with their registration information and other resources. “That’s what going above and beyond looks like. In this time specifically we have to band together.” 

This togetherness, plus a lot of self and community advocacy is the only guaranteed route to preventing people from falling through the cracks of a broken system. “Seattle Public Schools is a racist institution built on so many years and decades of inadequately serving Black and Brown families. From my perspective the only way to fix that is to make noise. Let us know about it. Because that in and of itself is the opportunity to get what you need,” Hersey emphasizes.

He encourages any families struggling with the new realities of schooling to reach out to their principals, PTAs, and any other ears within reach for support. He even offers his own advocacy directly for those who contact him via email. Whether SPS can ensure that youth and families furthest from education justice are reached is yet to be seen. But if you or someone you know is having trouble getting the information and support you need for your SPS District 7 student, you can email Brandon Hersey at Bbrandonhersey@seattleschools.org.