Seattle Times: Seattle Schools budget of $556 million would use savings to fund raises, new hires

By Linda Shaw
Costs are going up, and the number of students is going down, but Seattle Public Schools plans to increase its staff by 102 jobs next school year and use $12.6 million of its savings to do so.
It’s a plan that Steve Sundquist, chairman of the School Board’s finance committee, calls unsustainable but responsible. [...]

Campaign Launched to Promote Black Men and Boys’ Achievement

From DiversitySpectrum.com:
On the heels of a growing body of research revealing that the isolation and negative outcomes for African American men and boys is more extreme than previously acknowledged, the Open Society Institute has launched a campaign to promote Black men and boys’ achievement. For example, more than 50% of all African American boys do [...]

Become a Mentor

Who wouldn’t want to make a child smile? There are thousands of children in our neighborhood waiting for someone to put a smile on their faces. You have the opportunity to be that person. Become a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. They are in dire need of responsible role models who can help [...]

First-generation students struggle to find their place in college

By AMY ROLPH
P-I REPORTER
When Carlito Umali takes center stage Sunday at Seattle University’s commencement ceremony, he’s going to talk about community.
And that’s just about all the soon-to-be grad is willing to reveal about his commencement speech. “You want to know more, you’ve got to come out and see,” said SU’s student commencement speaker, a charismatic [...]