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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Police, security staff patrol two Seattle schools after recent area gun violence
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How King County invested in juvenile justice programs, and then checked out
King County launched its Restorative Community Pathways Program in 2021. Its goal is to reduce the number of young people sent into the court system. Instead, it connects youths accused of lower-level crimes with community groups for rehabilitation.
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King County gave millions to ‘No New Youth Jail’ activists to help kids — and then looked away
On a brisk morning last November, Khalid Adams, a 10-time convicted felon, kicked in his ex-girlfriend’s door, prosecutors say, and shot into her Seattle apartment. A teenager inside the apartment shot Adams before he hurt anyone.
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Seattle Schools reaches $1.3 million settlement with family of boy locked outdoors
In 2019, the principal at View Ridge Elementary had a disabled second-grader padlocked in a fenced playground sports court multiple times to prevent him from leaving school.
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Port of Seattle paid fraudsters more than $570,000 due to lax security, audit finds
The port fell for phishing schemes on two occasions in 2021, the Washington State Auditor's Office found, due to weak controls including staff not following protocol.
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Tiny Trees, popular outdoor preschool in Seattle, shuts all locations: Mismanagement alleged
Tiny Trees, a popular chain of eight outdoor preschools based in Seattle-area parks, shocked parents and staff on Sunday with the news that it will close its schools on Friday due to a fiscal crisis brought on by low enrollment.
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Grade schoolers would get 45 minutes of recess under bill in Olympia
Recess would be mandatory at public schools in Washington under a bill before the state Legislature. Senate Bill 5457 would require that elementary students receive at least 45 minutes of play time per day, far more than many elementary students currently receive.
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Ingraham High murder suspect brought weapons to school the previous month, records show
The 14-year-old suspected of fatally shooting a 17-year-old classmate at Seattle’s Ingraham High School in November had brought weapons to school one month earlier, records show.
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Youth program led by convicted sex offender loses county funding after KUOW investigation
A youth program funded by King County program has lost its contract to work with young people at risk of gun violence after a KUOW investigation found its leader had false credentials — and is a convicted sex offender facing a new charge of felony insurance fraud.
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Why is a convicted sex offender with false credentials running a King County-funded youth program?
As Saleem Robinson tells it, he used to run the streets of Chicago. Now he runs a nonprofit in Seattle for vulnerable young people.