October 9, 2001

Citizens’ Campaign for Commercial-Free Schools

3724 Burke Ave. N.

Seattle WA 98103

October 9, 2001

Mr. Don Nielsen, President
Board of Directors
Seattle Public Schools

Dear Mr. Nielsen:

We, the undersigned educators, join with the Citizens’ Campaign for Commercial-Free Schools in urging you to adopt the strongest possible policy to protect Seattle’s children from commercial influences at school.

Corporate logos used to ‘identify sponsors’ of school programs and activities go beyond mere ‘recognition’ and are themselves a form of advertising to children. As educators, we believe that children in public schools may very well perceive corporate logos as an endorsement of a company or product.

We accept that logos are sometimes part of the packaging of a product itself and are used to identify the contents (such as a Pepsi logo on a can of Pepsi or the logo on a school computer). However, logos that identify a corporate ‘sponsor’ rather than the ‘contents’ of a container are a form of advertising and must be prohibited. An example would be a Starbucks logo on a bookmark that is distributed to children at school.

The 47,000 children in the Seattle Public Schools deserve to be educated in a non-commercial environment. A quid pro quo arrangement that requires children to see advertising – including corporate logos -- at school is a misuse of these public institutions.

We applaud you for protecting the integrity of the learning environment with this long-awaited policy, and trust that you will correctly include logos with other forms of advertising which may not be directed at our children.

Respectfully,

Brita Butler-Wall, Ph.D., former Coordinator
Graduate Programs in TESOL, School of Education
Seattle University

Dr. Diane M. Morrison, Associate Dean for Research
School of Social Work
University of Washington

Dr. Mary Anne Mercer, Lecturer
School of Public Health
University of Washington

Dr. Michael O'Connor, Associate Professor
Counselor Education
Seattle University

Stephen Bezruchka MD, MPH, Affiliate Associate Professor
Department of Health Services
School of Public Health and Community Medicine
University of Washington

Caryn Cline, Member of the Faculty
Library/Media
The Evergreen State College

Kurt Sahl, Doctoral Candidate
College of Education
University of Washington
and Adjunct Faculty, UW teacher education program

David Marshak, Associate Professor
School of Education
Seattle University

Ms. Winnie Chapin Young, Art teacher
Seattle Country Day School

Lotta Gavel Adams, Associate Professor
Department of Scandinavian Studies
University of Washington

Katherine L. Schlick Noe, Ph.D.
Professor and Coordinator of Literacy
School of Education
Seattle University

Sylvia Haven,
30 years teaching in Washington State as a classroom teacher and a librarian
(Edmonds, Shoreline, Seattle School Districts.) Nine years substituting as a
librarian in Shoreline and Seattle

Susan Partnow, M.A.
former teacher and school speech pathologist

Cindy Chang, Lecturer
English Language Programs
University of Washington

Karen Strickland, M.S. Faculty,
Social and Human Services
President, Faculty Senate
Seattle Central Community College

Tom Mage, Instructor
Green River Community College

Katherine Hanson, Affiliate Associate Professor
Dept. of Scandinavian Studies
University of Washington

Chris LaRoche, former high school teacher and
Paraprofessional
Seattle Public Schools

Margit E. McGuire, Ph.D.
School of Education
Seattle University

Bob Markholt, Instructor
Seattle Vocational Institute

Kraig Schwartz, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Sherry L. Tuinstra, Instructor
North Seattle Community College

Vijay Kapur, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Dale L. Chase, Librarian
North Seattle Community College

Jane E. Goforth, Instructor
North Seattle Community College

Edmond Ciok, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Lynne Dodson, President
Seattle Community College Federation of Teachers

Daniel R. Loos, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Joseph Garcia, Instructor
South Seattle Community College

Dick Burton, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Larry Silverman, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Judith Bently, Instructor
South Seattle Community College

Tom Pierce, Instructor
South Seattle Community College

Syd D. Fredrickson, M. Ed., Instructor
Puget Sound Primary School,
Substitute teacher,
Seattle Public Schools

Natalie Konzen, M.A., Instructor
English as a Second Language
Seattle University

Sarah Heller McFarlane, Teacher
Social Studies
Shorewood High School
Shoreline School District

Deborah F. Lawrence, MFA
Artist-in-Residence
Washington State Arts Commission

Cecile Andrews, Ed.D. Visiting Scholar
Stanford University

Prof. Philip L. Bereano
Department of Technical Communication
University of Washington

Ruth Hayes, Member of the faculty
The Evergreen State College

Donald Fels M.Ed, Adjunct Faculty
School of Education
University of Washington

Karen Lacy-Roberts, Teacher
English as a Second Language
Tacoma Community House

Karen Galea, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Beverly Tice Deering, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Michelle Quinn, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Virginia H. Schmidt, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Joanne Elizondo, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Craig Costa, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Kim Rodman, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Rebecca Boon, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Rochelle de la Cruz, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Jane Chu, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Karen Van Genderen, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Sarah Hogan, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Shah Jing-Song, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Jacquie George, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Joanne Wallmark, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Jean Nishi, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Beverly West, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Rebecca Tesdell, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Denise Vaughn, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Verna R. Sison, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Andrew Sapadin, Instructor
Seattle Central Community College

Polly Hankin, Instructor
Edmonds Community College

Patricia Manuel, MS, RD, C
Public health nutritionist
and dietitian

Katie Jennings, Executive Producer, public television
Board Member, Wedgwood Cooperative Preschool
and University Cooperative
Primary School

David B. Woodward, President & CEO
American Cultural Exchange

Beth Burrows, Director
The Edmonds Institute