Ann Dornfeld
Reporter
About
Ann is a reporter on KUOW's Investigations Team. Previously, she covered education stories for KUOW for a decade, with a focus on investigations into racial and socioeconomic inequities.
Her ongoing series exposing Seattle Public Schools’ lenient discipline of staff who abused students has won investigative reporting awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Radio Television Digital News Association, and the Education Writers Association. She was also lauded for her years of work covering disparities in the amount of recess and P.E. time students received in low-income schools.
Previously, Ann worked at Alaska Public Radio Network, in Anchorage, and KLCC, in Eugene, Oregon. Her freelance work, focusing on science and environmental issues, has appeared on national outlets including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Marketplace and The World.
Ann’s marine and underwater photography has appeared in the American Museum of Natural History and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
She lives with her husband and two children in South Seattle.
Location: Seattle
Languages Spoken: English
Pronouns: she/her
Professional Affiliations: Member, Investigative Reporters and Editors
Stories
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City could tear down dangerous vacant buildings under Seattle Mayor Harrell's emergency proposal
The city of Seattle would be allowed to demolish unsafe vacant buildings to prevent them from catching fire under emergency legislation proposed by Mayor Bruce Harrell.
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Could a return of workers to downtown offices rescue Seattle’s ailing budget?
Suburban workers returning to Seattle offices would boost payroll, business & occupancy and sales tax revenues, analysts say – and help pay the city’s rising costs due primarily to inflation.
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This law said teachers could hurt kids to 'correct' them in Washington. One boy shared his story to change that
The law, changed this legislative session, said teachers could hurt students to “correct” them as long as the violence was “reasonable and moderate” and caused only “transient pain or minor temporary marks.”
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Former student sues Seattle Schools after teacher punched him in the face
Seattle Public Schools faces a lawsuit from a 2018 incident in which a math teacher at Meany Middle School punched an eighth-grader in the face in front of the entire class.
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Family sues Seattle nonprofit over shooting at violence prevention meeting
The family of a young man shot dead at a Seattle violence prevention program meeting in 2021 has filed suit against the nonprofit organizers.
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Two former Garfield High School athletic coaches accused of sexually assaulting student
A former volunteer weight-training coach at the Seattle high school faces felony charges for allegedly serially raping a female student athlete. Separately, the former girls' basketball head coach was fired in 2022 following allegations of sexual misconduct involving the same student.
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Too many King County sexual assaults are pleaded down to lesser crimes, advocates say
Advocates for sexual assault survivors say King County is letting too many defendants plead guilty to lesser charges - often, to non-sex-crimes.
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Tukwila School District faces fiscal crisis; state steps in
The state education department has stepped in to help Tukwila School District avoid insolvency. The 2,700-student district south of Seattle ended its fiscal year with a negative fund balance and faces an estimated budget shortfall as large as $4.5 million.
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King County says its contractor failed to pay $1.1 million to child care providers in subsidy program
Fawsia Diriye, a child care provider in Kent, has been waiting on $1,400 from King County to cover some of her clients’ monthly bills. The payments are part of the Best Starts for Kids levy that King County voters approved in 2021. Diriye is among 330 childcare providers the county said were missing payments for the children they serve.
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Viral teen car theft trend has some Seattle 'Kia Boys' facing adult consequences
One teenager's charges for allegedly stealing cars using a simple trick popularized on TikTok technique raises questions about how to handle the flood of recent youth car theft cases - especially when they land in adult court.