September Newsletter
Greetings community,
I hope this note finds you as well as can be in this moment. Like many of you, our WA-BLOC team is carrying a mix of grief, rage, and hope. We just concluded our 10th consecutive Freedom Schools summer program (!!) serving more than 65 K–5 students in Seattle’s Rainier Beach neighborhood, and we’re launching feet-first into our school year programming at five Seattle Public Schools.
The WA-BLOC team at our recent staff retreat
As one of the voices behind these monthly newsletters, I (Laura) wanted to start with a personal note: I will be going on maternity leave starting 10/1 and returning in late January. As I prepare for some time away from WA-BLOC to care for my growing family, I’m reflecting on how lucky and grateful I am to be part of something as special as the WA-BLOC team and this work—for a whole decade. (Dang, has it really been 10 years?!)
We say it often and we mean it: WA-BLOC and our work are truly community-led. So many of you have been part of this journey with us—whether teaching in hot summer classrooms, marching in the streets with young people, donating snacks, sitting in circle, or supporting in countless other ways to nurture and empower South End youth. I want to say thank you for continuing to stand with us.
In times like these—amid ongoing violence targeting our communities and the persistence of state-sanctioned harm amid rising fascism—it’s hard to think of anything that could matter more than this work. We will keep building spaces of joy, care, and connection, trusting in the power of our communities to grow stronger together.
-Laura Wright, Finance and Development Director
In this newsletter you’ll find:
Introducing our 2025-26 School Partnerships
Announcing Diverse Healers Initiative and Important Dates!
Staff Updates
King County Employee Giving Program Kicks Off
Community Events and Resources
Introducing our 2025-26 School Partnerships!
September means back to school, and we’re excited to continue building with some incredible school communities!
This year, we’re deepening our multi-year partnerships with John Muir, Lowell, Wing Luke, and Emerson Elementary Schools—and launching a brand new partnership with Thurgood Marshall Elementary!
At each of these schools, WA-BLOC Restorative Justice Coordinators work alongside students, teachers, and administrators to co-create restorative cultures and systems that center joy, belonging, and connection—while moving away from punitive and exclusionary discipline practices.
Here’s how one school counselor describes Restorative Practices and working with WA-BLOC:
"Restorative Practices allow students to have a space outside of where conflicts mainly occur (like the classroom) to safely process their emotions, and have autonomy in what happens next. Having an on-site WA-BLOC RJ Practitioner brings consistency in response when navigating a conflict, and helps students to build strategies they can practice and independently use when conflicts inevitably happen again. When so much is happening in the school system, having additional support helps us be proactive on what student needs are, and give us room to support proactively rather than reactively. Especially in our community where there are so many triggers and reactions that connect to generational trauma or hardships, for students’ thoughts and feelings to be acknowledged in the moment is the most critical way for them to feel cared for and safe to engage in their learning."
Lowell Elementary School Principal Chelsea Dziedzic says:
“This work with WA-BLOC has been deeply culturally and linguistically responsive. It’s created trusted, caring relationships between students and adults who reflect and honor their identities. Students are learning to resolve conflicts, communicate openly, and take responsibility for their actions—all within a safe and nurturing framework.”
Earlier this year we were one of seven organizations selected to participate in King County Initiative Best Starts for Kids, Centering Diverse Healers for Youth Well-Being.
Through this partnership, WA-BLOC is excited to launch two programs to support recruitment and retention for queer, Black, and brown healers serving our public school communities!
Healers’ Collective: A paid cohort series aimed at nurturing a sense of belonging and fostering collaborative learning among school-based social workers, restorative justice (RJ) practitioners, counselors, and other healers – who are otherwise spread across our heavily-siloed school system.
Restorative Justice Fellowship Program: A paid fellowship program that creates a career pathway for queer, Black, and Brown college-aged young adults who are passionate about liberatory education, youth mental health, and restorative practices in school settings. Each fellow will gain valuable hands-on experience as Restorative Justice Practitioners at our partner school and facilitate healing and restorative support for K-12 youth.
Staff Updates
The new school year is bringing fresh energy and growing capacity to serve our school communities! We’re especially excited to welcome Beth Girma as one of our new Restorative Justice Coordinators. Beth has worked with WA-BLOC for the past two summers as a Freedom Schools educator, and we’re thrilled to have her join the team full-time. You’ll learn more about Beth and their role in next month’s newsletter!
We also want to share a big transition: at the close of the 2024–25 school year, we said goodbye to one of our longest-serving staff members and community pillars, Sierra Parsons. Sierra first joined WA-BLOC in 2018 as a recent college graduate teaching at Freedom Schools, and over the past seven years her joy, determination, and vision have touched every corner of our work.
She has truly worn every hat—running our after-school Homework Center at Rainier Beach High School, building early donor and communications strategies, leading COVID-era Feed the Beach and mutual aid efforts, directing restorative practices programming and strategy, and contributing to advocacy and policy campaigns. Internally, Sierra brought joy and purpose to our team, co-creating equitable staff policies, helping lead our Sustainability Team, and planning staff retreats.
We will miss Sierra, and we are committed to honoring her legacy by carrying forward the work she helped to nurture and grow.
Support WA-BLOC Through Workplace Giving!
If you work for King County, you can donate to WA-BLOC through payroll deductions during the annual giving drive (Sept 29–Nov 14). Every dollar supports our school partnerships across Seattle Public Schools!
King County Employee Giving Program Code: 10287
Not a King County employee? You can give through Benevity by searching for our fiscal sponsor, RVC (EIN: 47-4257834).
Tell your friends and family!
Community Events and Resources
SESEC | Advocacy & Policy Cohort
Applications Due Sept 26th
Want to learn from nonprofit professionals and educators on how to become effective organizers and advocates? Apply to the Advocacy and Policy Cohort (APC), SESEC's flagship workshop series of professional development! Meet our speakers who are experts in navigating the education ecosystem for the 10-week, free program.
More information HERE
LitiArts | Rainier Beach Community Stories
October 8th - Nov 19th Seattle Public Library 9125 Rainier Ave S
Join us this fall for LitiArts’ upcoming Rainier Beach Community Stories circles. In partnership with the Seattle Public Library, this 7-week series blends art, literature, and multimedia to amplify youth voices in sharing community-inspired stories that connect us all.
This program is for BIPOC girls & non-binary youth 8th - 11th grade. | Sign up HERE
Our Streets | The South End Speaks, Our Voices our Vote: Candidate Forum on Safety, Immigration, and Surveillance
Tuesday October 14th| 6-9PM | Rainier Arts Center
This candidate forum is being put on in collaboration with Whose Streets? Our Streets!, ACLU of Washington, The Black Rose Collective, East African Community Services, Puget Sound Sage, Rainier Ave Committee, and Surge Reproductive Justice, with more to come. We have invited candidates in Seattle running to represent us as Mayor, City Council, and City Attorney. Questions during the forum will be sourced from our collaborators and community, focusing on some of the most pressing issues for us right now: Safety, Immigration, and Surveillance. Dinner, Childcare & Translation provided!
Collective Justice | Restorative Justice 101
Thursday October 16th | 6-8PM | 1820 12th Ave Seattle WA
Want to learn how communities can respond to harm with healing and accountability instead of punishment? Collective Justice invites you to our upcoming Restorative Justice 101 Training—a grounding introduction to restorative justice practices. Led by circle facilitators Tyra Edwards and Anthony Wright, this workshop will explore approaches to conflict and harm, introduce tools and skills rooted in trauma-informed practice and offer space to imagine justice that heals instead of punishes.
This training is open to anyone new to RJ, or those looking to revisit and deepen the foundations. Register HERE
Our Powerful Voices | Healing Justice Summit
Sunday, October 19th from 2pm to 7pm | 5513 Cloverdale St Seattle WA 98118
The Summit is an space for BIPOC girls and gender expansive youth, their families, and their broader communities to rest, restore, and re-ground. Amidst so many struggles at home and around the world, the Summit is a time to honor our interconnectedness and tend to our hearts. We’ll have space for folks to connect and share story, experience different healing offerings, and make their own self-care items like herbal medicine and clay masks! We’ll also have childcare and delicious food catered from Native Soul. As always, this event is completely free!
RSVP for good food, good medicine, and good people, HERE.
Space Between | Joy in presence
Thursday October 23rd 2025 | 6-8PM
Lakewood Seward Park Community Center | 4916 S Angeline St Seattle, WA
This gathering invites our community to learn more about our mission, celebrate shared presence, and contribute to sustaining the work we do together. There'll be stories, youth-led mindfulness practices, games, raffle, silent auction, and of course yummy bites and good company.
Therapy Fund Foundation | Aces & Racial Trauma - A conversation on Healing and Equity
November 18th | 11am - 1pm | Virtual
Dr. Nadine Burke Harris pediatrician, author, and national leader on ACEs and Ashley McGirt-Adair, MSW, LICSW trauma therapist, author, and CEO of the Therapy Fund Foundation for a powerful dialogue exploring the intersection of childhood adversity, toxic stress, and racial trauma.This conversation will not only deepen awareness of the links between trauma and health but also equip participants with practical strategies for healing, advocacy, and equity.
Register HERE.
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