Time is flying by and FREEDOM SCHOOLS is HERE. While things look a little different this summer, our team is as mighty as ever! It is our pleasure to introduce the star studded team bringing the joy of learning  to Rainier Beach students & families…

Dear Community,

Happy June and Happy Pride! This month I’ve been reflecting on the ways we come together in moments of collective joy. Around the city you may have taken part in or seen gatherings for Juneteenth, Pride, and/or the World Cup. In a world with so much suffering and injustice it feels holy and necessary to take part in celebrations much more vast than ourselves, especially in ways that subvert the systems that might seek to undermine the purity of these events (read: corporations, all of the isms, etc.). And I don’t know if it’s summer or all this collective energy I’ve been witnessing, but I’ve also been dancing more lately, and I’m especially fascinated by group movement and how that can bring us together. 

I have been feeling so much anticipation this month, and all the progress we’ve made since last fall has become visible and tangible! For those of you who are no longer following the traditional school calendar, I hope you’re still able to connect with the joy that younger you felt as summer approached. It can be a magical time, the end of the school year, the start of summer. 

As we look ahead to June I highly recommend directing your attention to the vibrant energy of kids around you– all the excitement and impending freedom they’re feeling– and if not youth in your community, it’s a beautiful time to tend to your inner child. What kind of summer play did they love? What can you explore this summer to bring out their joy? How can we access that carefree energy that’s still inside of us? 

Stay tuned for more information about our Give Big Campaign, 2025 Annual Report, Freedom Schools, and more. Take care and happy exploring, y’all! 

In this newsletter:

• 2025 Annual Report

• Give Big Thank You

• Community Events & Resources

In this newsletter:

• RJ School Partner Update 

• Give Big to Freedom Schools 2026

• Happy Birthday Septima!

• Big Hearted Adventures

• Community Events & Resources

In this newsletter:

• Save the date for Give BIG!

• RJ School Partner Update 

• GenerationYou - Seeking Volunteers

• Circle Up, Listen to the moment: 

• Local Spotlight*** New Segment*** 

• Community Events & Resources

In this newsletter:

• We’re Hiring for Freedom Schools Summer 2026! 

• In Case You Missed It 

  • Meet the Fellows

  • Healers Collective Update

• Community Events & Resources 

Our first EVER cohort of Fellows started this month and they’re quickly immersing themselves in partner school communities!

We know the work of building restorative practices in schools is to be led by many hands and hearts, and this year WA-BLOC is overjoyed to expand our network of RJ practitioners through the Restorative Justice Fellowship Program!

We are in a new year and there is beauty in starting anew. But if you’re struggling to generate a sense of newness when the horrors we are witnessing are painfully not new, please know you are not alone. I read a poem this week (I turn to poems most often when the days are still short and when the world doesn’t make enough sense) and it was about tending to something, or each other, over many seasons, and the truth we can find in repetition, returning to something over and over again. How we can know and love one another more deeply, in a way that is very powerful and threatens forces of oppression. By tending to one another repeatedly, seeing each other through the daily and yearly struggles, we can find a calm amidst the horrors. And I think there is a sense of renewal in that. Thank you for returning alongside us. 

In this newsletter:

• Support the General Strike

• Restorative Justice Fellowship +Meet the Fellows! 

• Nashville Circle Keeper Reflection

• Giving Tuesday Update 

• Community Events & Resources 

This collection of work preserves the oral histories from Black Restorative Justice practitioners and Circle-keepers in Seattle—leaders who have fought to create healing-centered schools instead of punitive discipline systems.

We are keeping in short and sweet so keep reading for updates on Junior Circle Keeper Academy programming, Giving Tuesday, and some community events. Stay safe and warm, y’all!

In this newsletter:

• Junior Circle Keeper Academy 

• 6 Days until Giving Tuesday! 

• Community Events & Resources:

My colleagues who were able to participate in this gathering last year shared that the experience was transformative to who they were as keepers, practitioners, and humans. They shared that they learned to truly embody what it means to “sit in your own chair/process.” I wondered what that would mean or look like for me: would I come out of this stronger in my convictions and ability to speak my mind? I wanted to see who I could become!

Junior Circle Keeper Academy happens at a magical intersection of WA-BLOC’s core passions and expertise: community building, restorative collaboration, and student leadership/empowerment.

We wanted to give you a glimpse at the moments that make up JCKA through the eyes of our RJ coordinators and the incredible growth they’re witnessing with students…

In this newsletter:

• Re-introducing Beth 

• Diverse Healers now accepting applications

• Giving Tuesday

• King County Employee Giving Program

• Community Events & Resources

Beth Girma is our newest Restorative Justice Coordinator! Beth is an invaluable two summer member of WA-BLOC’s Freedom Schools and a dear friend to many in the organization. They bring a vibrant and wholehearted approach to youth and liberatory work and truly leave a trail of joy wherever they go. This school year we are lucky to have Beth at John Muir Elementary (as well as a couple other partner schools). This month she has begun building community with students (read: throwing down in games of kindergarten tag at recess), supporting teachers in circle keeping, and facilitating Junior Circle Keeper Academy.

In this newsletter you will find:

• Introducing our 2025-26 School Partnerships 

• Announcing Diverse Healers Initiative and Important Dates!

• Staff Updates

• King County Employee Giving Program Kicks Off

• Community Events and Resources

In this newsletter you will find:

• 10 years of WA-BLOC Freedom Schools: Yobach’s story 

• Literature that Liberates!  

• Reminder to visit SPL for WA-BLOC’s Oral History exhibit “Circle Up!”

• ICYMI: Meet our summer Freedom Schools team and support scholar transportation!

• Community Events & Resources

This summer marks 10 years of WA-BLOC Freedom Schools Summer Program!

Check out this beautiful reflection by Yobachinia (Yobach!), who was part of Freedom Schools at Rainier Beach High School in 2015-16 and has been with the program ever since.

In this newsletter you will find:

• Circle Up Event Recap and Invitation to SPL exhibit!

• Meet our Freedom Schools Educators!

• Spring Campaign - Help us continue raising funds for bus transportation this summer!

In this newsletter you will find:

• You’re Invited! Oral History Event and Exhibition April 26th at El Centro de la Raza!

• Protecting In-School Supports for Queer and Trans Youth

• Call to Action

• Literature that Liberates

• Community Events and Resources