SPS says it will respond to parent concerns about Rainier View Elementary principal

After years of parent and staff complaints about a “toxic” and “unsafe” environment at Rainier View Elementary School, Seattle Public Schools said on Friday that it planned to hold a community meeting to talk to families and field a school climate survey.

But some parents, staff and community members want an investigation of the school and its principal, Anitra Pinchback-Jones. They are also asking for Pinchback-Jones’ removal.

“I am disappointed that it’s taken them two weeks to have any sort of response to our concerns,” said Hardeep Dang, a parent who spoke at a March 6 school board meeting about the issues at Rainier View Elementary. Dang’s older son has had four teachers this academic year, and she wants to transfer her children from the school, she said.

Some parents and staff described the environment at the 200-student school as “oppressive” and “traumatic,” where teachers are afraid to speak up or question Pinchback-Jones because they fear retaliation, according to legal documents, emails, public testimony and interviews. 

They said high staff turnover has forced noninstructional staff to regularly fill in as substitutes, reducing the amount of time they spend on their own work. Teacher evaluations were used to punish staff who questioned the principal, current and former staff said.

The Seattle Education Association has filed several unfair labor practices against the district, alleging that Pinchback-Jones retaliated against staff members for engaging in union activity.

Pinchback-Jones did not respond to calls for comment Friday.

A letter this week from the Southeast Seattle Schools Fundraising Alliance alleged that students were made to walk in the hallways in silence, couldn’t wear coats when going from the school building to portable classrooms, and could only use the bathroom during recess. The PTSA has been unable to hold meetings in the school building and said that students were suspended without proper documentation, according to the letter, which was part of a public campaign aimed at Superintendent Brent Jones and Director Brandon Hersey, the school board member who represents the area. The campaign was launched to pressure them to look into the yearslong complaints and remove Pinchback-Jones as principal.

The PTSA has filed several complaints over the years, including a May 2023 federal civil rights complaint, alleging harsh discipline policies and practices that fell disproportionately on Black and brown students, discrimination against English learners, religious discrimination, and violations of students’ individual education plans. (The group refiled the complaint in June 2023 with the district’s compliance and investigations department.) The complaint was also filed with the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Friday’s statement from the district was the first public communication about the situation at Rainier View Elementary since the March 6 school board meeting.

The district said that some of the staff and parental complaints were being investigated by the state Public Employment Relations Commission and that it would not comment on them until the commission had finished its work.

“As the case progresses, our priority is Rainier View students’ well-being, ensuring they learn in a healthy, distraction-free environment,” Beverly Redmond, the district’s spokesperson and chief of staff, said in a statement. “We’ll collaborate with families and staff to address issues, maintain a welcoming environment, and keep the joy of learning at the forefront.”

In a separate email to parents on Friday, Redmond said the district planned to take action before the April 8 spring break. Principal Pinchback-Jones is expected to be part of the process. 

Pinchback-Jones is an award-winning principal. She won the Milken Educator Award in 2018-19. The prize is known in education as the “Oscars of Teaching,” according to the Milken Family Foundation. The news release announcing the award cited the school’s test scores and Pinchback-Jones’ “data-driven instructional system.”

In addition to the “family meeting” for parents and caregivers of current students, the district said it will ask families to complete a confidential climate survey and review whether “leaders, educators and staff are interacting with students in appropriate ways.”

But Dang, the parent who spoke at the March 6 meeting, said it was inappropriate for the principal to be included since the complaints were about her leadership. People were still afraid of retaliation and that might prevent them from participating. Dang also noted that the email did not include former staff, students, and families who were also affected.

“Seeing this email and wanting to host a family meeting and ask families for a survey — I think we are kind of beyond that,” Dang said. “We have already spoken. We want action. Plenty of families, plenty of teachers have cited their concerns. We want community action. We don’t want to sit here having more conversations, explaining the same things over and over.”

Redmond said that she and Ricardo Torres, associate superintendent of school and student support services, will help carry out the work. The district expects the steps to be completed by the end of the school year, though it does not have a firm timeline, she said.

Asked why the district’s response did not address the community’s request to remove Pinchback-Jones from the school, Redmond responded: “We are taking a look at practices at the school, and we will follow that information where it leads.”

Jennifer Matter, the president of the Seattle Education Association, said “the school community deserves immediate action and follow through.”

Kayla Seamster, a teacher who left on medical leave this week but does not plan to return next year, said the district’s failure to communicate with those who spoke at the meeting was troubling.

“What we are all asking for is an investigation, and it’s just absolutely insane to me that they are just willing to ignore all of us,” she said. 

School conditions won’t change until Pinchback-Jones is removed, Seamster said.

“My students are in second grade, and they have to be there for three more years,” she said. “Even if I can’t get the outcome I want, I hope I can change the outcome for the rest of their school careers.”