♪♪
-Hi, I'm Carol Rava
and I'm running for Seattle School Board District 7,
which covers the southeast part of the city.
I have a lifelong commitment to improving education.
I started volunteer tutoring in high school,
went on to get my master's in education policy,
and have spent more than 25 years working on issues
of educational quality, access and equity,
both in K-12 and higher education nonprofits.
Improving education for those furthest
from educational justice is my life's work.
This is not just about my own kids,
but I am a parent of three and stepparent to two,
all five of whom attend or attended Seattle Public Schools.
I am running for Seattle School Board
because Seattle schools are not working for too many,
and I know we can do better.
Enrollment has declined by about 10% in the last 5 years,
and worse, the percent of 5-year-olds enrolling
in Seattle public schools has dropped 25%
over the past decade.
The district's own research shows why.
Parents are dissatisfied with academics and safety.
Only 44% of 10th graders are on track for college-level math,
and student safety remains a top concern.
At my son's Garfield High School graduation this spring,
we mourned two classmates who were killed in the past year,
one on the steps of the campus.
I know we can do better.
Every student deserves access to academic excellence,
and every student deserves to feel safe
in and around their schools.
To restore confidence in this city's schools,
we need school board members
who understand the issues of large school districts,
who have overseen large budgets,
who have both leadership and senior management experience.
This is what I bring -- the professional expertise
and decades-long commitment to the issues that matter most.
I will work to create the excellent,
safe schools that this city deserves.
I hope I can earn your vote.
Please find more out about me at electcarolrava.com.
-We deserve a school district that families can trust.
I'm running to hold leadership accountable,
protect equitable, high-achievement programs,
ensure classroom inclusivity,
and support every student's unique needs.
I've seen firsthand how instability
and out-of-touch leadership hurts our kids.
When the district proposed closing dozens of schools,
including where my children attend,
I organized hundreds of families to push back.
I co-founded the Billion Dollar Bake Sale,
an organization dedicated to fully funding
every school statewide,
and developed a detailed data analysis
to better inform legislators and local officials
about how enrollment manipulation has exacerbated
our understaffing crisis.
We are facing real challenges,
from enrollment declines and budget cuts
to a lack of clear answers,
all of which are eroding confidence
that the district is serving our kids.
We need real transparency of the entire district budget,
not only at the individual school level.
Our district must foster authentic community partnerships
and make decisions that better reflect the needs
of all students, regardless of means or ability.
As a public school parent who's been deeply involved
in our community issues for over a decade,
I'm ready to make progress on day one.
I will fight to expand mental-health services,
keep guns out of our schools,
restore equitable advanced learning,
expand access to student-centered programs,
and direct resources to classrooms instead
of bureaucratic district office overspending.
I am deeply invested in my Rainier Beach
and South Seattle community.
Whether it's volunteering at Seattle Children's,
fundraising for the Rainier Valley Food Bank,
or organizing neighborhood kids' clothing swaps,
I will continue to push to ensure
that my community's concerns are heard and supported.
I am proud to be endorsed by the Seattle Education Association,
the 37th, 43rd and 32nd Legislative Democrats,
the Alliance for Gun Responsibility, and more.