Tag Archives: Renton School District

News

Renton Student Leaders Raise Awareness of Admin Bullying Them, Educators

by Ari Robin McKenna

In a stunning display of intellectual prowess, courage, and unity, five members of Hazen High School’s Associated Student Body (ASB) gave stirring testimony at the Renton School District board meeting Wednesday, in defense of themselves and two educators they say are being bullied by first-year principal Ashley Landes. Despite being told by a district official in the days leading up to the board meeting that they might “lose their voice” if they spoke up in such a way, the students delivered passionate yet measured assessments on their perspective of events. Their testimony from the center of the auditorium earned raucous applause from the sizable crowd while board members and Renton Superintendent Damien Pattenaude looked on from the performance hall stage.

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Community

Skyway Community Leader Awarded MLK Jr. Medal for Service

by Amanda Ong

For Cherryl Jackson-Williams, becoming involved in community advocacy was second nature. “We call my mother and father the Malcolm X and Martin Luther King combo,” Cherryl said in an interview with the South Seattle Emerald. “My mother is very flower-child … my dad, is like ‘Burn it down if we can’t make it work.’” 

So it could not be more fitting that this year on Nov. 2, King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay awarded Cherryl the Martin Luther King  Medal of Distinguished Service. 

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Community

Free Lunches for Youth All Summer Long at Schools and Community Centers

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by Ben Adlin

At locations across South Seattle and much of the rest of the state this summer, schools and community groups will provide free lunches for young people regardless of their ability to pay. Some sites will offer lunches on all weekdays, while others will have seven-day meal packs available for pickup on a weekly basis.

Lunches will be available to anyone 18 and under, whether or not they’re enrolled at that school. Parents and guardians may also pick up meals on behalf of their children.

The service is part of an expanded federal program that typically provides lunches only in areas where more than half of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. During the pandemic, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) opened eligibility to all areas.

“USDA has said anybody can operate a summer site. You don’t have to qualify with this 50% or more needy children,” said Leanne Eko, director of child nutrition services at the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), which oversees the program in the state. 

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News

One Year After First COVID-19 Outbreak, County Health Officials Cautiously Optimistic

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by Andrew Engelson

Nearly one year after the first outbreak of COVID-19 in King County and the nation, public health officials and King County Executive Dow Constantine say they are cautiously optimistic about the spread of the virus. Effective prevention measures combined with slow but steadily increasing vaccinations have the potential to “put the pandemic in the rear view mirror,” said Public Health Officer Dr. Jeffrey Duchin in an online press briefing on Friday. But concerns remain, including the discovery of two new SARS-CoV-2 strains in the county, and pressure among those tiring of restrictions to let up on prevention strategies such as masking and limits on gatherings.In addition, inequitable access to vaccines remains a concern.

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News

After Learning Details, Families Turn Away From In-Person Learning at Skyway School

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by Ari Robin McKenna

A few weeks ago, many members of the tight-knit staff of Campbell Hill Elementary School convened online. They felt that their community didn’t have enough information to make a fully informed decision about whether or not to send their kids back into school buildings as part of Renton School District’s (RSD) phased return to hybrid learning beginning March 3. Decisions about when and how to return to classroom instruction are especially charged in the Skyway neighborhood, where Campbell Hill is located. It is both historically underinvested in and also has higher rates of COVID-19 infections than more affluent areas of King County. The potential of another COVID-19 spike and the resulting community death toll weigh heavily on the district’s decision to return, as do concerns about upended classes and the “learning drift” of breaking away from the virtual educational experience some teachers have worked so hard to provide.

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News

Skyway Community Rallies to Help Families Left Without Homes After Greentree Apartment Fire

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by Andrew Engelson

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Dec. 23, a fire broke out in the Greentree Apartments in Skyway. Though firefighters from King County Fire District 20 (KCFD20), as well as units from Renton Regional Fire Authority, Tukwila Fire Department, and other units from across the region fought the three-alarm fire, the massive blaze left most of the apartment building damaged. Thankfully there were no fatalities, though KCFD20 reported that one resident was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

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