Announcer: Seattle School Board.
The Seattle School Board
adopts the policies that govern
Seattle Public Schools.
The board provides direction
for the educational program.
The seven directors represent
different areas of the city.
Directors are nonpartisan
and serve four-year terms.
Just three
of the seven district seats
are up for election this year.
Now, just for the primary,
only those who live
in each school board district
are eligible to vote
for candidates in that district.
The top two vote-getters
in each district will advance
to the general election.
At the general election,
all voters in Seattle
will have the opportunity
to vote for one candidate
from each district.
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A thriving and just society owes equal opportunity to all,
and that cannot be achieved without quality,
inclusive education.
I know this firsthand as a child of immigrants
who came to the United States with literally nothing,
just $500 in their pockets.
From my beginnings as
an "English as a second language" student
whose hearing disability was identified by a teacher,
I received a quality public education
and I'm the first woman in my family to graduate from college.
Public education transformed my life.
I'm a private-sector professional
with over 15 years of experience in finance and operations
and have a Master's in Business Administration
from Harvard Business School.
For more than 25 years, I've had deep civic engagement
with volunteer work and youth programs,
particularly ones in immigrant communities.
Of most importance to me,
I'm a mother of four children, current and future
Seattle Public School students.
In my capacity, serving on
the superintendent's Parent Advisory Council
and as a PTSA president, I've spent many hours
advocating in partnership with other parents and stakeholders
in local and state forums.
And as I attended more and more school-board meetings,
I realized there was an opportunity for me
to better serve our community.
I bring a diverse background,
finance and management expertise,
and a genuine desire to work collaboratively
for greater opportunity and outcomes.
Among my priorities as director
are making real progress on real inclusion,
establishing mental health as an essential service of schools,
supporting working families with transportation,
and committing to good governance and decision-making
through authentic community engagement
and leveraging my financial and operational skills.
I seek to help our community recover
from the pandemic and become stronger than ever.
I'm proud to be endorsed by the 36th District Democrats,
State Senator Reuven Carlyle, former School Board Directors
Eden Mack and Kay Smith-Blum,
and other community and education leaders
in Seattle and Washington State.
I'd be honored to have your support and vote.
Thank you.
♪♪
Hi. My name is Laura Marie Rivera.
As a mother and a lifelong learner and an educator myself,
I can tell you that I truly believe
in the power of education.
A quality public education
is the greatest gift we can give our children.
It opens up the door for a brighter future
and gives our students the skills they need to succeed.
We owe this to them and to our society as a whole.
As an educator, it is always my goal
to get my students to success.
Now, I know that success may look different for each student,
but they all have so much potential.
Whether I'm teaching a kindergartner
how to write the number five
or a teenager how to do a time step,
it's all about breaking it down
into manageable pieces.
"Down, around, across,"
or, "Stamp, hop, step, flap ball change."
See? And you can't help but smile when you get it right.
This is the success that I want all of our students to have --
a quality education
and the best prospects for their future.
This includes opening up the options
for more technical schools and opportunities
with our local businesses, innovators, and the arts.
All services must be delivered equitably
and effectively, 100 percent inclusive, and center
on each individual student's needs.
Educational justice may be the most important
issue of our time.
Without solving this public crisis,
we cannot give our students their best shot
at the American dream.
Just like teaching in the classroom,
we need to break down these systems into manageable pieces
and create a structure that can work for all.
As a family with special challenges,
we have learned how difficult it can be to navigate the system
and advocate for your child.
I would like to use my experiences as a parent,
a teacher, and a member of our community
to advocate for all of our children.
This attention to our students means graduation and success.
If I'm elected as a Seattle School Board Director,
I pledge to listen and to learn
and to make the best possible choices for our students.
I'm Laura Marie Rivera,
and I would be proud to have your vote.
My name is Erin Dury,
and I was recently appointed to the Seattle School Board
to ensure our schools truly serve all students.
I am a changemaker with a proven track record
of system change through centering community voice.
I'm a proud single mom and, until my appointment,
served as a regional PTSA leader
representing Northwest Seattle and a classroom volunteer.
I've dedicated my career to children
and families, leading a statewide
court-appointed special advocate program
to advocate for youth and child welfare,
and a Seattle help line supporting vulnerable families.
Now, as a consultant, I help nonprofits break down
racially based structures and barriers.
My goal is to build a citywide educational community
with a commitment to transparency
and continuous communication.
We must listen carefully to the voices of youth
and families in order to create educational programs
that serve individual learning and growth needs.
Together, we can ensure that every student leaves
Seattle Public Schools confident in their value and abilities.
With your support, I will continue to center
our educational priorities and policies
to focus on making education accessible
and targeted to all students,
particularly Black and brown students,
students furthest from Educational Justice,
students with disability, and LGBTQ youth
who have been systematically marginalized.
As a school district and city,
we must protect and uplift those most at risk
falling through the cracks
while reforming structures that marginalize or exclude.
In an innovative city like Seattle,
I know we can do better and do right
by the students from all walks of life
and lived experience.
Thank you.