Thanks to Mark Ahlness for sharing that photo of his Arbor Heights Elementary third-grade class, “spontaneously ris(ing) for the moment. Some raise their hands with their new president, some hold their hands over their hearts.” Hours later, media crews were invited to two other West Seattle elementary schools where students were expecting phone calls from Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson, to talk about her experiences in D.C. at The Big Event. We were at both – first, our video from Clarissa Resendez‘s 5th-grade classroom at Highland Park Elementary:

HP principal Ann Gray was on hand for the event too. Minutes after the HP call ended, Dr. Goodloe-Johnson was on the line in Room 18 at Gatewood Elementary, where Jeffrey Case‘s 4th- and 5th-graders had gathered – this video allows you to listen in on their first four minutes of listening, and talking, to the superintendent:

That’s Gatewood principal Rhonda Claytor at right in this next photo, looking on proudly during the interaction:

Dr. Goodloe-Johnson made both phone calls from the offices of the Council of Great City Schools in D.C.; the council is a coalition of more than 60 big-city school districts from around the U.S. Both classes chosen for today’s chats have been working on relevant study units — Ms. Resendez’s Highland Park students have been “studying the role of the President of the United States,” according to info provided by the district communications team, and Mr. Case’s Gatewood students have been “studying … U.S. history and the civil-rights movement.”

All WSB coverage of the 2009 Inauguration — including pre-inauguration reports from West Seattleites in D.C. — is archived here, newest to oldest.