Parents, teachers urge Seattle schools to help halt deportation and bolster safety after local ICE activity

Dozens of parents, teachers and students told the Seattle Public Schools board on Dec. 10 that the district must do more to protect families facing deportation and to address escalating neighborhood violence that is disrupting students’ learning.

“My name is Darlik Calderon and my children are Jafer, Di, and Yam. We came to this country in August 2021 fleeing my country Guatemala because of death threats against me and my children,” one woman said in Spanish during public testimony read aloud at the meeting. She asked the district and Rainier Beach community to “stop the deportation of me and my two children.” (Testimony read by Hania.)

Teachers and school staff described the classroom consequences of immigration enforcement. Tillman Giebel, a fourth‑grade teacher at Dunlap Elementary, said a student who had been attending regularly was denied asylum and had to return to Mexico, leaving a ‘‘vacant desk’’ and a class of visibly upset children. “We mourn for the times Victor’s smile would appear when he learned how to say something in English,” Giebel said. Other teachers described students who have missed weeks of school and families who have self‑deported amid fear of ICE activity.

Parents and advocates also pressed the board on neighborhood safety after multiple shootings at local parks and playfields. Genevieve Walker, a Rainier Valley mother, recounted an incident near South Shore where a child fired shots near families on a playground and said many community members link that violence to recent rezoning decisions and the relocation of interagency programs.

Speakers requested several concrete actions from the district: clearer, translated communications to families about safety protocols; staff training on responding to immigration enforcement and trauma; use of district political and financial resources to connect affected families to legal counsel; and policies to ensure schools alert families to active threats that could affect drop‑off and pick‑up.

Board members thanked speakers for testimony and framed next steps. President Topp acknowledged the concerns and said the board and staff would work with community members and city partners "to figure out how to better support our families and students." Several directors asked staff to return with options for district action, including the possibility of a joint letter or memo clarifying board policy about law enforcement interactions with schools.

The meeting record shows no formal board action was taken that night specific to deportation responses; the public testimony period closed and the board proceeded to consent business and work sessions.

What’s next: Board members asked staff to follow up with the district’s recommended measures and to report back at a future meeting so the board can consider policy or administrative steps.