Tag Archives: Rainier Beach High School

News

Fourth-Annual National BLM at School Week of Action Kicks Off With Calls for Local Accountability

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by Ari Robin McKenna

Trigger Warning: this article includes descriptions of incidents in which racist language is used.

In a student-lead briefing on Monday, Jan. 25 on Zoom, educators, parents, youth in the NAACP Youth Coalition, and members of the press convened to kick off the Black Lives Matter (BLM) at School Week of Action in Seattle. Now a national movement four years running, it all began here in the South End in 2016 when John Muir Elementary School (JMES) had to temporarily cancel plans for an assembly meant to bolster the morale of Black students. After word spread via Breitbart News Network that teachers at the district-sponsored event would be wearing Black Lives Matter t-shirts, organizers received hate mail and a bomb threat, causing them to temporarily cancel the assembly. Then, in an impressive display of Seattle solidarity with JMES, over 3,000 educators district-wide showed up to work donning “Black Lives Matter” shirts, and a movement was born.

Continue reading Fourth-Annual National BLM at School Week of Action Kicks Off With Calls for Local Accountability →
News

With the School Year Approaching, Serious Barriers to Education Persist Among South Seattle Students

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by Carolyn Bick

Rainier Beach High School freshman Fatima Kabba says it’s really hard for her to learn from home, even with a good internet connection.

“Sometimes, it’s pretty hard, because you can’t find, like, a quiet space to do your work,” Kabba said. “And sometimes there’s other people with different classes, and sometimes you might share the same room with your siblings, so it might be hard for you to concentrate. If we did have online classes, imagine having seven siblings, each one [on] a device — and you’re probably in separate rooms, but you’re going to hear their noises.”

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News

New COVID-19 Testing Site to Open at Rainier Beach High School

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by Carolyn Bick

South Seattle will see a third free, walk-up novel coronavirus testing site at Rainier Beach High School, starting on Friday, Aug. 7.

Joined by Public Health – Seattle & King County Director Patty Hayes and Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins in a press conference on July 31, Mayor Jenny Durkan announced that the new testing site will replace the one that opened in April at the Atlantic City Boat Ramp. 

The test will be free, neither citizenship nor insurance is required. While pre-registration also isn’t required, it is encouraged. The site will be open from 9:30 am. – 5 :30 p.m., and will be accessible for those with disabilities.

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Community

Rainier Beach Community Pays Tribute to Conner Dassa-Holland

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by Ari Robin McKenna and Makayla Miles

When Conner Dassa-Holland was in middle school at Orca K–8, his English teacher there, Donte Felder, would often present students with two questions:

“What is your story? What is your future?”

Years later, Donte would run into Conner from time to time in South Seattle, where they both lived. Usually, after getting an earful of Conner’s recent achievements, he would ask Conner what had become a predictable question:

“What is your story? What is your future?”

Responses varied over the years. Having spent both 7th and 8th grade in Donte’s English classrooms, Conner was ready with a variety of off-the-cuff answers over the years.

Donte remembers their final exchange:

“What is your story? What is your future?”

“Change the world. Our systems are wrong.”

“How?”

“I’ll figure that out later, but one step at a time.”

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News

Seattle’s First Walk-Up Coronavirus Testing Site to Open in Rainier Beach

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by Carolyn Bick

Starting tomorrow, the city will see its first walk-up novel coronavirus testing site at the Atlantic City Boat Ramp across from Rainier Beach High School in South Seattle.

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Community, News

I-976 Could Harm Free Orca Card Program Championed by South Seattle Students

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by Carolyn Bick

The November sun in Seattle doesn’t stretch its lazy rays above the horizon until after 7 a.m. –– and that’s only if it’s not blotted out by grey rainclouds, as is so common in the Pacific Northwest’s autumn. And it’s in that sometimes-rainy dark that students travel to school, piling onto buses and trains that, currently, are free transportation sources for them.

But that could change, if Initiative 976 takes effect. Continue reading I-976 Could Harm Free Orca Card Program Championed by South Seattle Students →

Social Justice

On First Day of School, Seattle Students Walk Out Demanding Equal Education

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by Naomi Ishisaka

Chanting “Say it loud, say it clear, equal education here,” students from Rainier Beach High School led a walkout on the first day of school.

Around 60 students from different schools including Rainier Beach rallied at the Rainier Beach Community Center on Wednesday to protest inequalities in education funding, inadequate school funding in general and disparities in educational access for Black and Latinx students.

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Photo Essay

Rainier Beach High School Celebrates Winter Sports

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by Susan Fried

The line for hotdogs, outside the Rainier Beach High School gym moved quickly as officers and employees from the Seattle Police department worked like a well-oiled machine distributing beverages, chips, and hotdogs to the students and members of the RBHS basketball as they celebrated placing in the Washington State High school basketball tournament. Foor was provided by Rainier Beach: A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth, an initiative that uses a community-led, place-based approach to reducing violence that affects youth in the Rainier Beach neighborhood. The school held a Winter Sports Barbecue to honor the teams achievement and celebrate winter sports at the school. Students played some pick up basketball and enjoyed music and live radio shout outs from a DJ provided by KUBE 93.3.

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Community

Emerald Uncovered: Jerrell Davis, aka Rell Be Free

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Our second episode of Emerald Uncovered takes us to the “Soufend” of Seattle, home to Emcee, Educator, and Activist Jerrell Davis, aka Rell Be Free. Recently selected as one of Seattle’s Most Influential People of 2018, Jerrell seeks to shine a light on the incredible work being done by community organizers, youth, elders, and educators in the city. Brought to you by Indie Genius Media.

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