This article is one of a series of articles produced by Word in Black through support provided by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Word In Black is a collaborative of 10 Black-owned media outlets across the country.
By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Last week, a Seattle community had purpose to celebrate as Seattle Public Schools (SPS) broke ground on the new Rainier Beach High School project, which is being touted as being one of most green and state-of-the-art schools in the country.
“This is an exciting moment,” says Rainier Beach High School Principal Ivory Brooks. “These are exciting times for the Rainier Beach High School community, with us being under construction to bring about this new state of the art institution and to continue to provide our community’s students with an educational environment that produces excellence and will be the crown jewel of this community.”
Co-designed by the architecture firm Moody Nolan, the top Black architecture firm in the country, the new Rainier Beach High School is a collaboration between the city of Seattle, Seattle Public Schools and the Rainier Beach community that shows a commitment to Rainier Beach and the families that live in Southeast Seattle.
Racial inequalities, gentrification, classroom bias, yes, it is the same story. But what is not told is the resiliency of a community who believed in their children.
“I want to express gratitude to all of you who have come together to make this project happen,” said Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Brent Jones. “We know that this just didn’t happen overnight, we know that this has been many years of advocacy, of heavy lifting, of showing up at board meetings, showing up in council meetings, showing up in places to really make sure that this endeavor was going to be manifested.”
Former NBA All-Star and Rainier Beach Alumni Jamal Crawford says that while the project “has been a long time coming,” it is a testament to the members of the community who pushed for the project, who stuck together and would not give up on their desire to have a first-class school in their neighborhood.
“A lot of people gave a lot of sacrifice, commitment, a lot of discipline, a lot of togetherness for our community and that is what is important about this,” said Crawford. “This is something the community can share. It is something that will be here long after we are gone and you know that you played a small part to helping to move this forward.”
While many people are touting the groundbreaking of a new building for Rainier Beach, the pathway to get there was not easy. Which makes this story even more compelling.
In 2008 news of the school possibly closing galvanized a core group of community organizers, parents and neighbors. They organized to communicate the school’s strengths and leveraged their roles to form a joint administration/community advisory committee. With an influx of resources from the community and a new principal, the community rallied around the safety and education of the children of this resilient community.
“Just in terms of the community coming together eight years ago to voice their concerns over the fact that the school had not been on the list to be remodeled and being able to support their voices and finally having this wonderful event with the groundbreaking is a testament to the commitment of the current students at Rainier Beach High school for the future students of Rainier Beach High school and Southeast Seattle,” says Brooks.
“This is a long time coming, a long time coming,” says Virginia Patu, a community service advocate and daughter of former Seattle School Board member Betty Patu. “Thank God for my mother Betty Patu who said, ‘Virginia you need to get the community involved’ and I said, ‘Yes I will get the community involved so that they can help fight for this new building and by the grace of God here we are.’”
The money to rebuild Rainier Beach High School came from the voter approved Building Excellence Funds (BEX V Levy), and city officials are happy that a portion of the $1.4 billion levy fund will be used to enhance the educational opportunities for families in Southeast Seattle.
“We are excited about taxpayer dollars at work where it matters most,” says Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell. “What I mean by that is Rainier Beach and this side of town it is said has been historically underrepresented. Well, the fact of the matter, it is the result of years and years of under investment, so when we make investments in schools like this using the Building Excellence funds we are producing outstanding scholars, athletes, and community activists.
“Our children have to be safe, educated, they have to be empowered, they need mentorship, they need to be loved, this capital investment is symbolic about what is great about this city,” added Harrell.
Today, nearly 750 students are enrolled at Rainier Beach, which won a national award for its improvement efforts in 2016. And while not every data point is one that traditional reform advocates would tout, one statistic is hard to ignore is that in 2017, 89 percent of Rainier Beach students graduated in four years — which is higher than SPS and state averages.
“This isn’t just a Rainier Beach community project this is a citywide project that our city can be proud of,” said Jones. “This is a proud moment for us to really show our city what it’s like to have a green building, a building that is innovative, and a building that’s really going to be a beacon of pride for this city.”
