October: Read our FY24 Annual Report and Welcome our Newest Staff Member!

Written By Laura Wright

The beginning of a new academic year is a busy time for our team. We bring out the circle keeping kits, stock up on pencils, set meetings with administrators, and check off whatever other tasks will help us return to our partners’ school buildings, fully prepared. 

This fall is no different, but amid the hustle and bustle we wanted to pause for a moment of reflection with you. 

In this newsletter you will find:

  • Our FY24 Annual Report

  • Welcome our newest Restorative Justice Coordinator, Jamaica!

  • News Alert: WA-BLOC and King County Employee Giving Program!

  • Community Corner: News, events, and resources

The 2023-2024 school year was full of losses that broke our hearts and filled us with rage. We witnessed the horrific escalation of the ongoing genocide in Palestine, we held communities mourning young people lost to gun violence, we fought (and continue to fight) the city and district budget cuts to mental health supports. But through it all, our students kept us going. Their presence, their questions, their sorrow–all of it. They infused hope into our practice, moved us to action, and strengthened our commitments to our communities. 

We are proud to share our FY24 Annual Report. Last year we grounded ourselves in our systems change strategy for more just and joyful learning spaces for youth. This looked like:

  • Establishing multi-year school partnerships with five elementary/K-8 school partnerships for Restorative Practices programming  and investing in relationships at every level: students, staff, building leaders, and families. 

  • Ensuring that students had safe spaces to not only speak about the injustices they experienced, but to learn about paths to action. 

  • Rededicating ourselves to the core tenets of the 1964 Freedom Schools and creating the “freest” iteration of our summer program yet. 

As we look ahead to a new school year we are committed to deepening joy, collaboration, and rest as a means to building a world we want to live in.

We are really excited to welcome back Jamaica Aytch, who has spent two summers with WA-BLOC as an educator in our Freedom Schools summer program. Supporting viable career pathway opportunities and full-time employment beyond the summer for young leaders has been a dream of ours for a long time!

This school year, Jamaica will play an integral role in WA-BLOC’s new partnership with Garfield High School as the school’s new Restorative Practices Coordinator. Jamaica is a Seattle native, Garfield High School alumni, and soon-to-be graduate of Seattle Central Community College with a degree in Psychology. Jamaica hopes to pursue a career in adolescent mental health services. 

Jamaica graduated from Garfield High School in 2019 and is excited to return to this vibrant community. In his spare time he enjoys reading, writing, and playing some video games. He takes pride in being a life-long learner and looks forward to the challenges ahead.

While WA-BLOC has spent the last four years in elementary and K-8 school spaces, we are excited to once again return to the high school level since that is where it all started for us!

📣 Exciting news alert!

Did you know you can donate to WA-BLOC through workplace giving programs? WA-BLOC is part of this year’s King County Employee Giving Program and we need your help to spread the word! If you (or your friends or family!) work for King County please consider sharing and supporting us through this program! 

💛 If you are a King County Employee you can find us using our KCEGP code: 10287 

⏰ Time is ticking! You have until Nov 22nd to contribute! 

✨This is an incredible chance to support our work partnering with youth and adults to make our school communities joyful, healing, and restorative spaces of high quality learning. We are in a season of immense budget cuts to SPS and in public education as a whole. Donations from individual community members are critical in sustaining our school-based programming that includes:

  • Nurturing school cultures that center around relationships, equity, trust, and community. 

  • Supporting conflict resolution and repair processes.

  • Training staff and students in peacemaking, conflict resolution, and youth leadership.

For other employer giving opportunities, find us on Benevity by searching for our Fiscal Sponsor, RVC. Just enter their EIN in your search bar, you will find us listed under their programs! EIN#: 47-4257834

Partner Events & Educational Resources

Laura Wright
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September Newsletter: Happy Back to School Season!