Interagency Success: "From meth to scholarships"

KING 5 News ran a story on Monday about recent Seatttle Public Schools graduate Andres Arano. Andres was, in his own words,  "a high school dropout, a drug dealer, a drug addict, a criminal." Now, however, he is not only graduating from high school, but is also the recipient of $4,500 in scholarships!

We're excited to celebrate the successes of Interagency Academy, the alternative high school from which Andres is graduating. We talked with Interagency Principal Kaaren Andrews a few months ago. Kaaren's vision of success is student-focused: 

We’re successful if we help the kids achieve their goals, whether it’s recovering from drug or alcohol addiction, finding a job, completing high school, applying to college, or finding a way to care for their baby so that they can return to school.

Read the full story to learn more about how Interagency works with students to achieve their own goals.


Also, Kevin Geloff, the Interagency teacher who was instrumental in supporting Andres towards graduation, happens to be a recipient of the Alliance's Phillip B. Swain Excellence in Education Award. Looks like he's still doing great work with students! Kevin, we applaud your continued commitment to Interagency's students!

Impact Day at Sacajawea Elementary

Just received from one of our board members representing Deloitte!

This year, over 160 volunteers reported to the Seattle Public Schools – the largest Deloitte group of volunteers by far. The mission was to beautify the Sacajawea school. Ambitious goals of the day were to refresh mural designs, revamp the drab Boys and Girls Club building, revitalize the landscape, re-paint worn out fences, update game lines and clean up the wetland areas. Teachers were impressed and one even commented, “…I am still amazed at how much was accomplished in one day” Here’s the link to the YouTube video of the work-in-progress development of the large mural refresh. Teachers and students gave Deloitte volunteers a ‘thank you note’ as an expression of appreciation (see below).

Many thanks to Deloitte professionals for your commitment to Seattle's schools!