Carol Rava, D7 Seattle School Board Candidate

Rainy Day Recess Episode 54

October 6, 2025

Christie Robertson: Welcome to Rainy Day Recess, where we study and discuss Seattle Public Schools. And welcome back to our 2025 Seattle School Board Candidate series. 

Today we bring you the two candidates from District 7, which covers South Seattle. We covered D2, D4, and D5 before the primary, and we will re-air the two finalists for each of those districts. It's important to note that in the general election, every Seattle voter will have all four of these districts on their ballot. 

This is our interview with Carol Rava. Be sure to listen to our interview with Jen LaVallee, which is also in your feed. We'll give you a quick preview of that interview at the end of this episode.

Transcripts and all previous episodes are available at rainydayrecess.org. 

Christie Robertson: ​ Hello, Rainy Day Recess listeners. This is Christie Robertson.

Cherylynne Crowther: And this is Cherylynne Crowther.

Christie Robertson: And today we are here with Carol Rava. So, thank you for running for School Board, Carol, and welcome to Rainy Day Recess.

Carol Rava: Thank you.

Lightning Round

Christie Robertson: We are going to start with a lightning round. This section is meant to help listeners get to know you quickly, and we'll ask a mix of quick-answer and yes/no questions. Keep your answers very brief.

So first, what are your name and pronouns?

Carol Rava: Carol Rava and she/her.

Christie Robertson: And Carol, how do you describe "what you do"?

Carol Rava: I manage a grant making team at a national philanthropy – Ascendium, that works to support low income learners in attaining a post-secondary or workforce credential that puts them on a path to upward mobility.

Christie Robertson: What director district are you running for and what neighborhoods does it encompass?

Carol Rava: District 7, and that's Southeast Seattle, east of I5 and south of, sort of, Jackson.

Cherylynne Crowther: Okay, next some background questions. Answer yes or no where possible. Add a short explanation if something needs context. Have you attended a school board meeting?

Carol Rava: Yes, I've attended many school board meetings. From 2008 to 2010, I was the Executive Director of Strategic Planning at Seattle Public Schools. I was a direct report to the superintendent. 

Cherylynne Crowther: Have you testified at a board meeting?

Carol Rava: Yes, as a district leader.

Cherylynne Crowther: Have you testified in the state legislature?

Carol Rava: No.

Cherylynne Crowther: Where'd you go to school as a child?

Carol Rava: I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and I went to Flynn Park Elementary School, which both of my parents went to.

Cherylynne Crowther: Do you have, or have you had kids in Seattle Public Schools?

Carol Rava: Yes. I have three children. All attended Seattle Public Schools: John Muir, Thurgood Marshall, Washington, and Garfield. My youngest just graduated from Garfield. 

And I have two stepchildren who also have attended Seattle Public Schools: Jane Adams, Lowell, Washington, the Center School, and Franklin. My stepdaughter is a junior at Franklin and she's doing Running Start.

Cherylynne Crowther: Have you worked in education?

Carol Rava: Yes. I have my Master's in Education Policy and have worked in education for almost 30 years, working on issues of educational quality, access, and equity for a variety of both K-12 and higher education nonprofits.

Cherylynne Crowther: And have you ever been in a union?

Carol Rava: No, I have not.

Cherylynne Crowther: Have you ever been on a board?

Carol Rava: Yes, I served as treasurer of the John Muir PTA and president of the Powerful Schools board, which is a nonprofit that no longer exists, but worked with a collection of Southeast Seattle public schools. And I have been a senior leader in multiple nonprofits, where I've reported to and worked directly with many boards.

Cherylynne Crowther: And have you ever worked with a large budget?

Carol Rava: Yes. I currently oversee a $150 million grant-making budget and have previously had primary budgetary responsibility for organizations or teams with budgets ranging from a small PTA budget of $30,000 to another grant making budget of $40 million. I also am completing a certificate in K-12 Finance from Georgetown University right now.

Christie Robertson: Now for some quick takes. These are rapid-fire questions, so keep your answers short and to the point.

Who is an educational leader you admire?

Carol Rava: Yeah. I had to think about this, because there are many. And I picked Jeanette Jones, who was known as Mrs. Jones. For decades she was a long time administrator at Washington Middle School where my three children went. And she was instrumental in not only creating an incredible culture at Washington, but also in showing students that they all have the ability to be great even when they make mistakes. 

Many students got to know her when they were serving detention, including my own son, who spent much time in detention, but she believed in every child in that school. And when she died six years ago, the outpouring of former students was reflective of that. So I pick Mrs. Jones.

Christie Robertson: Who is a school board director you're looking forward to working with?

Carol Rava: There only are three school board directors that we know will be serving after the election, and I'm looking forward to working with Gina Topp. She has demonstrated really solid leadership abilities in her first year plus, and also I think a true willingness to learn. I appreciate how she runs meetings. So I'm looking forward to working with her.

Christie Robertson: What's one education policy you strongly support?

Carol Rava: I support aligning the district’s central office resources to student needs, meaning that the structure of how the district works with schools should center students, and resources should be clearly aligned to those priorities as well. Whether students need extra support or extra challenges, we should be able to see that how the people are organized and how dollars flow are aligned to both extra support and extra challenge.

Christie Robertson: And do you see the school board role more as a trustee with a duty to the institution or as an elected representative role that's accountable to voters?

Carol Rava: By state law, the school board has a fiduciary responsibility to the district and has to ensure financial stability. But all of the resources that the board stewards are public money, so by meeting the requirements of the law, board members are also demonstrating their accountability to taxpayers and voters. And beyond that, yes, I believe that school board members are conduits from the community to the district.

Christie Robertson: And if you're elected, what's one thing you'd change about the school board immediately?

Carol Rava: Well, I think I'm in good company this year with my response here, but I would end the use of the Student Outcomes Focused Governance model and restore key oversight committees, including the Finance and Audit committees.

Cherylynne Crowther: And lastly, one lightning round question that you would add for other candidates.

Carol Rava: “Would you support a district-wide policy on student cell phone use?”

Cherylynne Crowther: And what's your answer to that question?

Carol Rava: Yes.

Main Interview Questions

Christie Robertson: So great, let's move on to the main interview questions. These focus on institutional change and the role of the school board. You'll have up to two minutes to answer each one, but don't feel like you have to use all the time. Ready to begin?

Carol Rava: Yes.

Christie Robertson: Great.

Cherylynne Crowther: Okay. What does a school board director actually do?

Carol Rava: I think the school board sets direction for the district and ensures alignment of resources, actions, and policies towards that direction. And specifically, the school board must approve the budget, hire, fire, and support the superintendent, and set policies that will help guide the district and provide what would in other arenas be called, like, legal and regulatory guidance for the district.

Christie Robertson: And what should the board focus on most when it comes to finding the next superintendent?

Carol Rava: Well, I've read what the search firm has summarized from all of their community meetings and conversations with parents and staff and sort of the broader community in Seattle. And I agree with what has emerged, which is we needed an experienced leader, one with a vision, but also with a track record of successfully leading and implementing change in a district.

And a proven collaborator. I think that's incredibly important. If you look at any of the research, effective school districts are ones where superintendents and school boards work together. So when I say a collaborator, yes, absolutely with the community, but also one who has a track record of having a highly functioning relationship with their prior school boards.

And finally, that they are committed to engagement with the district, but also to action. The school district needs input, but it also needs to move forward.

Cherylynne Crowther: What do you think is the right balance between centralized control versus school board decision making?

Carol Rava: Centralized control versus school-based decision making. I think this is a perennial question in Seattle, at least over the last few decades. I think the biggest thing here is that the city deserves consistency in quality. The quality and the offerings of a school should not be based on where that school is. Families should feel like wherever they live, they can attend a school and know that the district is committed to super high quality. 

With site-based decision management, the central office has to hold schools accountable for academic excellence and safety. If there's only site-based decision making without accountability, then you can have very inconsistent results. And that's not equitable. And we absolutely need equity.

For a school district the size of Seattle, it's impossible to support professional development, technology needs, and student support if a hundred buildings pick a hundred different ways of teaching and curriculum. So I believe we need a balance that allows for unique school cultures to thrive but also ensures a level of excellence that students and parents can rely on, and that it's also financially sustainable for the district.

Christie Robertson: What should the board do if the district isn't meeting its goals for students?

Carol Rava: I think first we need to understand. We need to look at the data and disaggregate it. Who is struggling? Where are people struggling? And then look at the inputs. 

Again, we do have some variation in curriculum and different types of supports that different schools offer. So I think we first have to understand who and what is most affected when they're struggling. 

And then we need to use best practices and research to provide the right kind of supports. For instance intensive, one-to-one tutoring. There are numerous studies, what are called random controlled trials, sort of the most well-respected social science studies on one-to-one intensive tutoring to support students who are behind, particularly in math and reading. And Seattle's not using that model. Many districts are. I think that's a great option and something that we should look at. 

But again, I think we have to understand who's struggling where, what are the current supports, and then look at research and best practices. And then align, again, both our people and financial resources around data proven practices.

Cherylynne Crowther: What should the board do when the district isn't meeting community expectations?

Carol Rava: The board serves an interesting role, because they really are a conduit from the community to the district. But the district also has to own community engagement because the school board really doesn't have the staff or the resources to do the kind of community engagement that the district needs. So certainly that has to be a primary responsibility of district staff.

But when the school board understands that the district is not performing in that way, I think the board has to do a few things. 

First, this should be built into the superintendent's contract and annual review expectations. We need to be super clear that community engagement is something that the board will expect the superintendent, as the leader of the district, to ensure the district is doing a good job on. One of the main things the school board can do is hold the superintendent accountable for high quality community engagement.

And when that isn't working, we need to, again, figure out why? Which voices feel like they are not being heard? We can try to capture that information and ensure that the district is paying attention to the populations who feel like their voices aren't being heard. And we can also look at ways to create more opportunities, formal and informal, for feedback.

And there's a small thing – I understand that no one responds to the schoolboard@seattleschools.org email. That literally is, like, an unresponsive box. That's a small thing that the school board can do. 

But, so we need to look at the big things and then also small things.

Christie Robertson: And, finally, what's something you want voters to take away about your approach to being a school board director?

Carol Rava: I am very focused on setting goals and aligning how the district works to those goals, including how the school board works. I think the goals need to be transparent for the whole community, and also they need to reflect the whole community. We are in a place right now where not everyone who attends Seattle Public Schools is reflected in the district's goals. And I think that also explains one of the reasons why our enrollment is declining, and our catchment rate – the percent of five year olds who are choosing to go to Seattle Public Schools. 

We need to have goals that reflect the whole community. We need to hold ourselves accountable for those and make mid-course corrections when we aren't meeting our own goals. And we need to use data and research to inform what we're doing. We absolutely need to hear from the community, but there's a lot of fantastic research in K-12 and we should have that guide our decisions.

So that's what I want folks to know – I'm data driven and I want to ensure that we have goals that reflect the whole community and we hold ourselves accountable for those.

Christie Robertson: Great. Thank you so much for being here today, Carol Rava. We really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with us and with Seattle voters, and good luck with your campaign.

Carol Rava: Thank you. Thank you for hosting this podcast. I super appreciate being on. 

Christie Robertson: Be sure to listen to our interview with the other D7 candidate, Jen LaVallee. 

Jen Levallee: Within our purview, we are able to get an independent audit, as well as to ensure that timelines and budget deliverables are done in a timeframe that allows us to look deeply at the impacts. I've worked hard with so many others across the district to prove that mass closures would hurt students and not save much on the budget. Cutting into classes and more will hurt our future enrollment, and we need board members who will push on creating both more stability and growth, and not just address school-based cuts.

Christie Robertson: Ballots will be mailed on October 15th and must be returned by November 4th. Thanks for listening to Rainy Day Recess.