Family Newsletter

The start of this school year placed a spotlight on the strength of our school community. Over the first few days, our focus was on helping students establish a sense of rootedness and connection with their peers and staff, setting students up with the resources they need for a strong start. We paid particular attention to community building activities in every classroom space, to help students feel safe, comfortable, and known.

As these activities were happening, many in our community grieved the loss of a beloved student - a senior who was involved in our music program and softball team. I want to extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and everyone who knew them during this difficult time.

I am thankful for the many community and mental health resources that poured into school this week. If you observe your scholar in distress, please reach out to our counseling department to access support. Our team is ready to support.

We hope you have a restful and restorative weekend.

Principal Jeff Lam

Assistant Principal Jacklyn Cable

Assistant Principal Laura Roesener

Admin Intern Joseph Mingo

• 9/18 | Club fair for students during lunch
• 9/25 | PTSA Meeting
• 10/12 | Homecoming dance
• 12/18 | Multicultural night!

We have a packet of paperwork for all families to complete at the start of the school year. You can access all Start of School paperwork using this link You will be able to access forms in our district's most popular languages. We will also provide a hard copy of all documents to students in advisory. You can return hard copies of documents to the main office.

Please note: the Student Verification Form will be available for parents via The Source Sept. 4-30. The online Student Data Verification form includes the Emergency Release Form and the Student Health Information Form

Cleveland has an outstanding Ultimate Frisbee team, and your scholar is invited to join. Reach out to Ash Escobar (ash@allgirleverything.org) if you are interested in playing. The season has already started but she can share with you information about how to get started. Note: Ultimate is considered a Seattle club sport and is not part of our CHS Athletics program.

Thank you to the Cleveland Alumni Association for purchasing school supplies for our community! Our PTSA will be supporting us with distribution, and we will provide more information about this soon. If you are in need of a backback or other basic supplies, please reach out to Amy Hashiguchi (athashiguchi@seattleschools.org) or Jamil Harding (jtharding@seattleschools.org).

Your scholar received a start of school packet today during their advisory. Please take a look at the paperwork and find the forms that are labeled "return to school," and return to the main office by October 1. Please also log in to the Source to complete the "Data Verification" information (this confirms your address, contact information, and emergency contact information).

Click here to learn more about Cleveland athletics opportunities, contact information, athletics registration, and game schedules.

If your student is interested in getting a locker, please reach out to Assistant Principal Laura Roesener at ljroesener@seattleschools.org

Through our partnership with Joon, your student is eligible to receive free online therapy, available right now. You can get started by clicking here.

Joon allows you to match your student with a therapist based on identity, area of expertise, and even temperament (high or low energy). If you believe this service may be helpful for your student, we encourage you to give this service a try, at no cost to you.

We are introducing a school-wide cell phone policy that establishes the expectation that cell phones are silenced and stored away during instructional time (note: teachers may allow cell phone use for educational purposes if specified and indicated by the cell phone poster in their class).

The evidence base on the impact of smart phones on (student and adult) mental health, attention-span, and cognitive ability continues to mount, with some studies suggesting that the mere presence of a smart phone can have a negative impact on our learning capacity. The purpose of this policy is to support student focus during academic time and promote mental health.

We will pair our cell phone policy with intentional instruction for students on the impact of smart phones on their ability to focus and mental health, along with increased opportunities for students to establish in-person community and connection with one another. We will also continue to offer throughout this school year

We are excited to share the policy with our whole community soon and invite your feedback on it later this month.

Class Schedules on the Source

Official Schedules for 9th grader will be printed at orientation. Grades 10-12 will receive their printed schedule in advisory class. Students may also access their schedules via The Source on Tuesday, September, September 3rd.

It would be helpful for students to check now and confirm that they know their sign in information. For students new to SPS who don’t have student logins to the Source or the Student Portal yet, parents can set up their Source account in the meantime to view their student’s schedule.

Class Schedule Changes Priority

Very few class schedule changes can be accommodated/will be made. Changes will be prioritized for Seniors who are missing a class required for graduation, students in the wrong level of a class (ex: Spanish 2A instead of Spanish 1A), and students who have a hole in their schedule (nothing scheduled for a certain class period). We will not be making changes for electives or to request a different teacher. If there is an ERROR on your posted class schedule, please email your counselor directly.

Do not call the front office to inquire about a schedule change. Counselors are not available for 1 on 1 appointments right now with families and students, but will reply to your email as soon as we are able.

If requesting a schedule change for one of the reasons listed above, students are to attend the classes listed on their schedule until they hear back from their counselor and/or a change is made. Due to the volume of requests school counselors receive at this time of year, it may take longer than usual to respond to your question or concern. Thank you for your understanding. We hope you have a great start to the school year.

You can purchase an ASB Activity Card, here.

Cleveland has ample parking in our surrounding neighborhood. Please remind your student to park in the surrounding neighborhood. The staff parking lot is only available for staff, community partners, and visitors. Thank you for your support with keeping our parking lot spaces available!

Cleveland is supported by a remarkable, highly supportive Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA).This past year, PTSA was instrumental in supporting teachers, raising money, supporting school dances and cultural events, and supporting our student programs, and we are thankful for their partnership! Please open the attachment below to read their newsletter and consider joining our PTSA.

Cleveland is proud to offer a robust set of free mental health resources and supports to our students. We partner with Atlantic St. Counseling, Therapeutic Health Services, Joon, and Utopia to offer a wide range of services, including:

• 1:1 in-person therapy with a licensed therapist
• 1:1 online therapy with a licensed therapist
• 1:1 and small group counseling support for LGBTQ youth with Utopia
• Small group counseling with Therapeutic Health Services, with groups focused on a range of specific needs, including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, violence, and more.

If your scholar would be well served by our mental health supports, please encourage them to visit their school counselor in the counseling department, located in Building 2, to get set up.

Are you interested in your child joining free and confidential groups this semester? Cleveland is offering several different groups which will take place on a rotating schedule during the school day starting in March. Filling out this referral form does not guarantee a spot in a group. The results of this survey are confidential and only read by a school counselor or social worker. Please fill out this interest form to see what group options are available.

Mx. Jimenez and Ms. Keegan serve as our Family Co-Design leads, and this work is done in collaboration with like-minded schools and supported by a facilitator from the Family Leadership Design Collaborative. You can learn more about the vision behind Family Co-Design work, here.

Learn more about their work:

Family Co-Design - Tymmony Keegan

I am delighted to share that in addition to piloting a Black Studies course here at Cleveland, I am now a member of Cleveland’s Co-Design Crew! In collaboration with SPS School & Family Partnerships staff, our levy liaisons with the City of Seattle’s Department of Education & Early Learning, and a brilliant facilitator with the Family Leadership Design Collaborative, we are beginning to take on the challenge of redefining relationships and partnerships between school and family. I’m really looking forward to supporting this critical work with Cleveland families and staff.

Youth Co-Design - isaura jiménez guerra

I’m excited to continue working on youth empowerment work through an AIS role focused on youth leadership and organizing. Through our work with co-design, my role is to support young people in identifying the issues that directly impact them so that they can organize and build collective power. I bring to this role my prior experience as a youth organizer and labor organizer and am excited to continue creating space where young folks can build connections and take action. I’m grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with young folks, community members, and our co-design crew.

What is Co-Design?

In short, in co-design, diverse stakeholders come together in order to collectively identify issues or problems of practice, and to design solutions. Co-design is an iterative process made up of cycles in which people:

1. Build relationships & theorize around shared issues
2. Design and develop tools, practices, processes, and other solutions that push beyond the status quo
3. Enact or pilot these solutions and collect data on what happens
4. Analyze & reflect on what was learned, in order to revise theories and designs

If you are interested in being a part of the Cleveland Co-Design Crew or just have questions, please reach out!

• Family Co-Design contact → Tymmony Keegan – tjkeegan@seattleschools.org
• Youth Co-Design contact → isaura jiménez guerra – isjimenez@seattleschools.org