Founded 1909 Weekly News and Highlights August 21, 2026
Next Zoom Only Meeting on August 26
Wednesday, August 26 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM Zoom Only
Blue City Blues Podcast Hosts Sandeep Kaushik and David Hyde in Conversation with Andrew Lewis
Blue City Blues is a podcast that's about what's broken, what's working and what comes next in America's blue cities. Hosts David Hyde and Sandeep Kaushik bring on a smart guest each episode to dig into urban politics, governance and culture. Clear-eyed conversation for people who care about blue cities and are skeptical of easy orthodoxies. Blue cities, we argue, represent an urban archipelago which is shaping America's future.
As we enter the busy fall season, we hope you take some time to sign up to be a greeter for an upcoming club lunch meeting. Member Joanne Miller is assisting us this year, and we have several different specific roles and needs!
Get 40% off tickets to the upcoming PNB season opener of Serenade thanks to club member Josh Lieberman. Use the link below and the choose “Board Friend” option for the discount:
Meet Our New International Service Committee Chair!
Seattle Rotary has a new Chair of the International Service Committee, Dr. Helary Rakete-Yakub!
Helary joined Seattle Rotary earlier this summer and has been loving our service club! Currently, she works in public service, where she focuses on policy, program implementation, and cross-agency collaboration across the state of Washington. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science/Political Psychology, and her academic and professional background has long been centered around public service, international issues, and bringing people together around shared goals.
Helary has a strong passion for international service and is excited to build on Seattle Rotary’s long history of meaningful projects and partnerships around the world. In her new role, she hopes to support the work already underway, learn from the tremendous experience within the committee, and create more opportunities for members to engage in international service.
Seattle Rotary at the Table: Building a Coalition for Children's Literacy
Today, representing the Seattle Rotary Education Committee, I had the privilege of participating in an important meeting at Dearborn Park International Elementary School, facilitated by our partner and grantee Roy Chang, Founder and Executive Director of School Connect WA.
The central purpose of the meeting was to present Seattle City Council President Joy Hollingsworth with a vision for a stronger community coalition committed to improving literacy and math proficiency among Seattle’s elementary school children.
What was originally scheduled as a 45–50-minute meeting grew into an hour and forty minutes of lively and thoughtful discussion—a reflection of both the urgency of the problem and the genuine commitment of everyone at the table.
Roy opened the conversation with a very powerful presentation about the academic gaps facing many Seattle children and the importance of intervening early. School Connect WA works specifically with elementary students who are furthest from educational opportunity, providing research-based, high-dosage tutoring in literacy and mathematics. Its programs bring together schools, nonprofits, businesses, faith communities, volunteers, and other community partners to help children reach grade-level expectations.
Our discussion focused not simply on individual programs, but on a larger question: How can Seattle build a coordinated community response to ensure that every child has the opportunity to become a confident reader and learner?
We talked about strengthening collaboration among the Seattle City Council, Seattle Public Schools and education leaders, community nonprofits, philanthropic and business partners, and Seattle Rotary. No single organization can solve the literacy challenge alone. But together, we can bring resources, volunteers, expertise, advocacy, and public attention to children who need them most.
I left the meeting inspired—and very proud that Seattle Rotary has a place at this table. Education has always been central to Rotary’s commitment to service. Helping children acquire the fundamental skills of reading, writing, and mathematics is not only an educational investment; it is an investment in the future strength and well-being of our entire community.
When schools, government, nonprofits, businesses, and civic organizations work together, we can give more Seattle children the opportunity not simply to catch up, but to thrive.
Past president Jon Bridge introduced Ben Shuldiner who joined the Seattle School District as its Superintendent in February. Ben previously served as the Superintendent of Lansing School District since 2021. He is a past lecturer at Hunter College, City University in NYC and was a member of the New York City Board of Education.
Superintendent Shuldiner gave a very candid presentation and assessment: a district that is one of the top ranking urban school districts that ranks high for students in the 3rd Grade but then drops by 8th Grade and also a district that has a $72 million deficit that could be insolvent in under a year. He announced that they have already cut $50 million from the district’s budget.
Some statistics he shared:
· Seattle is ranked #8 among the largest school districts in the West for English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency but 24th for students on free/reduced lunch and Black, Hispanic and Asian students have lower performing scores; “we are not serving certain students,” he said.
· This overall good ranking drops by the time these students reach 8th grade; and similar results are seen for Math proficiency from 3rd to 8th Grade
· There is not a single item that will fix this but it is clear what is needed: a high quality teacher in every classroom, mentoring and tutoring
· He announced that their goal is to be in the Top 5 in all categories in five years
· Their graduation rate of 86% looks good on the surface but the real goal needs to be to have students prepared for higher learning; 94 percent is the goal with a focus on “graduation plus,” where students take and pass AP classes for example
· 15,000 students go to private schools in Seattle and another 5,000 go to schools outside the district; and by 8th grade, the district loses 10 percent of their students as families leave for another school after 5th grade; “we want to be the choice of families who are not currently choosing the Seattle School District.”
He concluded with an upbeat message: “we have one of the greatest school systems in the country that we should be proud of; some of our schools are incredible. We need to create schools that parents want to send their children to; high schools are popular; middle school is the issue; and we need financial stability. If we reach the goal of being in the Top 5, we will have the best school system in America.”
Learn about FareStart, their upcoming volunteer opportunities, and participate in a service activity during this "lunch and learn" session! The day will open with a presentation from FareStart CEO Patrick D'Amelio before preparing materials for FareStart students and graduates alongside Volunteer Coordinator Sasha Selden.
FareStart is a current SRSF grant awardee.
This event is capped at 20 participants so please RSVP if you wish to attend no later than Friday, September 11.
In an effort to better inform membership of the health of the club, we will start posting member additions and resignations after each month's club board meeting.
We love to see our Rotary members promoting good works in our community and abroad! If you have a project or fundraiser that you are excited about and would like to promote to your fellow club members, please check in with our Club Director, Mary Goldie, before distributing information or invitations through our email roster. We value the privacy of our members’ contact information and can let you know the appropriate ways to reach out to folks in our club. Thank you!!
Serves to fulfill Rotary's mission of "advancing international understanding, goodwill, and peace." The committee selects projects that positively impact the health, education, and welfare of less advantaged people in other countries, with a particular emphasis on youth. Actively works with clubs in our District and abroad to leverage — via matching grants — the amount of money available for a project. Members get involved through direct knowledge of the project or by volunteering. Prior focuses have included malaria projects in Zambia, Tanzania, and Uganda; microcredit and water projects in India; de-mining projects in Vietnam and Lebanon; AIDS orphan support in South Africa and Ethiopia; education/literacy projects in Nepal, Chile, and Hungary; and more than a decade of wide-ranging projects in Russia.
Sep 18, 2026 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-07:00)
Learn about FareStart, their upcoming volunteer opportunities, and participate in a service activity during this "lunch and learn" session! The day will open with a presentation from FareStart CEO Patrick D'Amelio before preparing materials for FareStart students and graduates alongside Volunteer Coordinator Sasha Selden.
These are club membership (not total years of Rotary membership) anniversaries only
2 Years
Derrek Zietz Andrew Doran
Carmen Best
3 Years
Dave Given
4 Years
Annie Ramirez
8 Years
Arlesia Bailey
9 Years Annie Wakefield
14 Years
Liz McGrath
19 Years
Virginia McKenzie
33 Years
Carl Lucks
35 Years
Dorothy Bullitt
42 Years
Paul Suzman
Get Involved
Meet fellow Rotarians and get involved in service. See below for a list of committees. Email the committee chair by clicking on their name. Or, contact Mary Goldie for more information.
4. Invite your connections to a weekly meeting, and let mary@seattlerotary.org know so they may be introduced.
If you don't already have a LinkedIn profile, CLICK HERE to learn how to get started.
SEATTLE 4 ROTARY AUDIO VISUAL SPONSORS
Video of Seattle 4 Rotary Programs are available online thanks to the generous support of our Seattle Rotary Audio Visual Sponsors.
In addition to supporting our club, becoming a Seattle 4 Rotary Audio Visual Sponsor brings many benefits. To learn more, click here, or contact Mary for more details at mary@seattlerotary.org.
Do You Have Any Musical Instruments to Donate to Students in Need?
Music4Life is a non-profit and project of Rotary District 5030 that distributes musical instruments to public school students in need.
We welcome any gently used musical instruments you wish to donate. They can be delivered directly to these local music stores that are now open: American Music in Phinney Ridge and Kennelly Keys Music in Bellevue, Lynnwood, and Everett.
Please accompany your instrument with the PDF donation form, linked below.
Our Rotary Cares team is ready to listen and to support you. One of the wonderful things about our club is that you have many friends --you just need to reach out to tap into our amazing network of caring people. Please contact our Rotary Cares Committee Chair to let us know how we can help.
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