A jury has awarded $8 million in a lawsuit over a 2018 incident at Capitol Hill’s Meany Middle School in which a student was injured after he was punched in the face by his math teacher as shocked classmates looked on.
Lawyers for Zakaria Sheikhibrahim told jurors the now 21-year-old suffered a brain injury and continues to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. They also alleged the district violated non-discrimination laws. Continue reading
Just last year, the district was considering closing several campuses including Capitol Hill’s Stevens Elementary
Shuldiner
The Seattle School Board has approved a finalist to lead the city’s public schools.
Ben Shuldiner is currently superintendent of the Lansing School District in Michigan. Wednesday’s board meeting authorized the beginning of contract negotiations to finalize the hire.
Leading Lansing’s public schools since 2021, Shuldiner was part of a shift in the typical search for public officials as the board conducted a confidential process hoped to attract a stronger pool of applicants. Continue reading
The Northwest School’s rooftop sports field above Pike and Bellevue (Image: Northwest School)
The city has announced $4.7 million Building Decarbonization Grants for 2025 including funding for work at Capitol Hill’s Northwest School.
“These grants will cover design or retrofits to reduce climate pollution and help buildings reach Building Emissions Performance Standard targets,” the Summit Ave private middle and high school said in a statement on the grant. Continue reading
The Egyptian (Image: CHS)
The screen at The Egyptian hopefully won’t stay dark much longer.
A spokesperson for Seattle Central College that owns the 110-year-old former Masonic Temple building the movie theater calls home says the Capitol Hill school is currently “reviewing applications for short-term rentals and long-term leases of the Egyptian.” Continue reading
(Image: SIFF)
A plot twist in local cinema Seattle moviegoers had seen coming has been made official. Thursday, SIFF announced it will not be reopening its run in Capitol Hill’s Egyptian Theatre.
“For many months we prioritized finding a path to reopen this beloved venue. SIFF is currently prioritizing financial and operational sustainability above all else so the organization can continue the expansive programming offered at our additional three venues: SIFF Cinema Downtown, SIFF Cinema Uptown, and the SIFF Film Center,” SIFF executive director Tom Mara said in a statement. Continue reading
SPD increased its presence outside Garfield following the June 2024 murder (Image: CHS)
The Seattle School Board has rejected a plan supported by Mayor Bruce Harrell and his police chief to return a uniformed Seattle Police Department officer to the Garfield High School campus citing concerns over disproportionate policing and the district’s failure to implement community recommendations in its proposal.
“I cannot vote yes on this package. The trust has been ruined,” board member Michelle Sarju said during the Wednesday night session. “You all have broken my trust over and over and over again.”
Wednesday night’s decision on a “a School Engagement Officer” at Garfield follows more than a year of debate over the proposal following the 2024 campus parking lot murder of student Amarr Murphy-Paine.
The return of an assigned campus police officer would roll back a Black Lives Matter-era reform. Previously known as community resource officers, the program was dropped by the district in the summer of 2020 during the height of Black Lives Matter protests against police killings when the school board suspended a partnership with SPD that provided five armed officers with rotations and placements across Seattle’s public schools. Continue reading
(Image: Seattle Central)
By Matt Dowell
Families with high schoolers seeking a collegiate head start have an option back in the neighborhood for the start of the 2025-2026 school year. Middle College High School, which offers Seattle Public School system students a tuition-free college education as part of their four-year high school program, has relocated to Seattle Central’s campus after a year in Rainier Beach.
At Middle College High School, classes of around twenty students spend their 9th and 10th grade years earning high school credits. In their 11th and 12th grade years, they enroll in Seattle College’s Running Start program where they begin earning college credits and potentially an Associates Degree while they finish high school. Though any SPS student can attend MCHS, their primary aim is to “increase the college success of students that are the first in their families to attend college, those impacted by systemic racism and/or those impacted by poverty.” Continue reading
The Seattle School Board has delayed a vote that could bring return a Seattle Police officer assigned to Garfield High School.
The board has been lined up Wednesday to decide on a proposed School Engagement Officer pilot program hoped to support “safety, not discipline” as officials have worked to address concerns about gun violence and gang activity around the 23rd Ave campus. Continue reading
(Image: Garfield High School)
After a summer of community discussions, the families and students of Garfield High School are hoping to make their voices heard this week as the Seattle School Board considers a proposal to post a uniformed and armed Seattle Police Department officer every school day at the 23rd Ave campus.
Officials are hoping revisions made to the proposed School Engagement Officer pilot program based on community feedback will help make sure the program addresses concerns over school-specific training for the officers and better guidance that ensures the officers are placed “supporting safety, not discipline.”
The board is set to vote on the pilot program after public testimony Wednesday night.
“In the potential pilot program, a School Engagement Officer (SEO) is a Seattle Police Department officer assigned to schools. The role is focused on safety, not discipline,” Principal Tarance Hart wrote in a message to families, saying that the potential Garfield officer would “maintain a visible presence on campus, build positive relationships with students, staff, and families, assist with emergency preparedness and school safety procedures,” and “serve as a liaison with local law enforcement when outside issues affect the school.” Continue reading
(Image: @ezells_chicken/@
Students at Garfield High School have more on their minds than the potential restoration of a campus cop program.
They’re thinking about lunch and the daily midday rush of gathering with your besties for 30 minutes of downtime and brain fuel.
Monday, Garfield kids will be part of a district-wide protest of a decision this school year that has ripped some of that friend time apart. It’s about more than running across the street to the infamously busy lunch line at Ezell’s.
“Seattle Public Schools sent an e-mail to families about the new two lunch schedule,” an update from the @onelunchsps social media account about the planned Monday lunchtime protest reads. “It ignores everything students have been saying.” Continue reading
