Can Seattle schools do right by their 4,000 homeless students?
Stephan Blanford was the only black person on the Seattle School Board. He decided not to run again this year.
At the end of 2017, KUOW's Race and Equity Team asked him what pressing problem he saw in the city's schools. His answer: 4,000 homeless students.
"It was greatly troubling inside Seattle Public Schools to learn that we have as many homeless students as we do," he said. "My hope is that we figure out a way to wrap our arms around those students and make sure that they and their families find suitable housing."
Asked about progress that he's seen this year, Blanford said he's glad that the board recently invested in more training for teachers to work effectively with students from different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
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Ann Dornfeld
Reporter
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.
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