KPLU-FM: Education

Sheila Edwards Lange, the current president of Seattle Central College, stares out her fourth-floor office window at a changing city. From this building on Seattle’s Capitol Hill, she can see the Space Needle, Key Arena, Puget Sound and some mountains off in the distance. But she can also see cranes – symbols of a booming city and all the change that brings with it.

Freshman move-in day at Tacoma’s University of Puget Sound looks like you might expect. Parents study maps under old, shady trees on this 128-year-old campus. Students wear their new keys on lanyards around their necks as they carry bags, pillows and blankets across bright green lawns toward their new dorms. There are hugs, greetings, introductions and a little crying, stifled and otherwise.

Back to school is a time of transitions for families. But for students in Seattle Public Schools, this fall marks a major change for those trying to get their kids out the door each morning. This school year, the start times will finally align with kids’ circadian rhythms.

Native American dropout rates are nearly twice the national average. A new certificate program at the University of Washington aims to improve outcomes for Native American students, by teaching educators better ways to connect with them and their heritage. The courses are designed to help teachers learn how to cultivate more meaningful and effective relationships with Native American students. Part of this is through what’s called community-based teaching, which emphasizes connections with...

Growing up and finding ways to fit in can be hard for any kid, but it gets tougher when your mom or dad, sometimes both, are behind bars. Children who...

The man accused of neglecting to properly monitor lead levels in Tacoma Public Schools says he wants his job back and his name cleared. Ken Wilson was...

Faculty members at Green River College, which has campuses in Auburn, Kent and Enumclaw, are on strike through Wednesday protesting proposed cuts to 11...

Here’s something you might not know: President Barack Obama’s mother graduated from Mercer Island High School. Obama’s sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, is in...

A program credited with lifting the graduation rate and boosting student enrollment at Seattle’s Rainier Beach High School was going to be cut because...

Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish: These are the languages hundreds of students are learning in the Seattle School District. But funding is tight, which...

The Tacoma School District says tests from last year reveal that three additional elementary schools and one other building that houses a Head Start...

Several years ago Delaney Ruston, a doctor who specializes in internal medicine, started to notice that most of the kids coming into her office were...

Drinking fountains are now off limits at two elementary schools in Tacoma after tests revealed high levels of lead in the water. District officials had...

Adults who are thinking about going back to college have more to ponder than whether the time and money they’ve already invested will count toward a...

It can be hard to know when to call 9-1-1. And once you're on the line, it can be even harder to stay calm, cool and collected. Eight-year-old Austin...

Space is tight and you will probably have to find a new home. This is the message the Seattle School District is sending to the before- and after...

Race has been front and center in this year’s presidential election. This week, University of Washington and Bellevue College students are gaining a dee...

There are more than 35,000 public school students who are homeless in Washington state. That’s according to the state Office of Public Instruction.

From the Methow Valley to Seattle and everywhere in between, school districts will be going directly to voters on February 9 to ask them to say “yes” t...

Participation in the academic program many credit with spurring a turnaround at Seattle's long-troubled Rainier Beach High School continues to increase....