State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal has endorsed King County Proposition 1, joined by local King County superintendents, as well as teachers across the region who support King County Prop. 1. "Arts, science and heritage education is vital for students at every level. They shouldn't only be available for those who can afford it,...

Originally published by The Stranger. Photo Courtesy of Langston Hughes Performance Arts Institute By Isiah Anderson, Jr., Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute I am the oldest of three; we were raised by a single mother. I never had the opportunity to attend a paid dance school or professional acting classes, but I loved to dance and be around...

​Originally published by The Stranger.​ ​By Rich Smith It's no surprise that the backdoor virgins in sensible shoes who sit on the Seattle Times Editorial Board would encourage their readers to reject Proposition 1, a minuscule albeit regressive sales tax that will raise money for arts, science, and cultural heritage education and enrichment. But i...

Originally published by The Seattle Times. ​​By Calvin J. Watts, Kent Public School Superintendent​ For a student, school trips are the most exciting days of the year. Even as adults, we remember the anticipation of showing up at school with a packed lunch and a permission slip, looking forward to a trip to the aquarium or the museum. If you were o...

​Photo by Joe Veyera, Queen Anne & Magnolia News Leaders from regional organizations throughout King Countygathered at Seattle Children's Museum today to announce reduced-price and free family access programs that they plan to offer if voters pass Access for All - King County Proposition 1. Prop. 1, which will appear on the August 1 primary bal...

​Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo From The Stranger: "This is a small tax that will send low-income kids to see plays, museums, and baby giraffes. It's also a tax for arts and science programs in schools. Arts and science and schools and giraffes are good ... Vote Approved." A full list of endorsements for Yes on Prop. 1 can be foun...

Today the Access for All: YES on King County Proposition 1 campaign announced the endorsement of Bill Nye and released two new campaign ads featuring The Science Guy, who got his start in Seattle. The ads, which can be viewed here and here, will begin on digital today, June 22, and will air on television in July. An advocate for science education, ...

Today a group of community leaders, educators and organizations from throughout King County gathered at El Centro de la Raza on Tuesday to launch the Access for All: YES on Proposition 1! Campaign, which will appear on the August primary ballot. Access for All would increase funding for arts, science and heritage education and access for King Count...

​In August, King County voters will have the chance to boost funding for arts, science and heritage education and access.Today the King County Council voted 7-2 to place Access for All on the August 2017 ballot. "I'm incredibly grateful the county council is sending this important issue to voters," said Manuel Cawaling, executive director of Youth ...

Originally published in the Kent Reporter. The Woodland Park Zoo just completed a five-month-long partnership with Kent Elementary School to provide students with hands-on science education, teaching students about conservation and local wildlife. The program – called Ready, Set, Discover – could be expanded to more schools through Access for All, ...

Today a group of science and history education organizations gathered at the Seattle Aquarium to urge the King County Council's support for Access for All, a ballot initiative proposed by King County Executive Dow Constantine that would provide increased funding for arts, science and heritage education for King County students. The proposal, now be...

Leaders of King County's arts, science and heritage organizations today praised introduction of the "Access For All" levy package by Executive Dow Constantine to the King County Council. If passed by Council and approved by voters, the levy will raise dedicated funding to expand educational opportunities and local investments in programs, performan...

Originally published in The Stranger.At last count, about 3,000 people sleep on the streets of Seattle every night. Thousands more live in transitional or insecure housing, while others couch surf or sleep in cars. Anyone with two eyes, a heart, and a view of a tent city wants to do something about our housing crisis, which only grows more vexing c...

Originally aired on NPR.

Originally aired on NPR. We know lots of facts about dyslexia: It's the most common reading disorder. It changes the way millions of people read and process information. But we know much less about how it feels to people who have it. How it shapes your self-image, your confidence and how people see and react to you. And so I reached out to some rea...

Originally published in HeadLINES, the official blog of Alonzo King LINES Ballet. From the LINES website: "The Discovery Project addresses ways to use dance to bridge gaps created by diversity of experience, perspective, culture, and socioeconomic background." I love that as a faculty we are able to bridge some of those gaps in large part because w...

Originally published in Crosscut. In the aftermath of the tragic "Ghost Ship" fire, which swept through a warehouse-turned-underground-arts-space in Oakland, California, killing 36 people, Seattle's arts community is wondering if that could happen here. After all, many blame Oakland's fierce rental market for forcing artists out of legal spaces and...

Originally published in The Seattle Times. As soon as I heard the sharp clicketyclack of my teacher's tap shoes on the floor, I was smitten. People look joyful when tap dancing for a reason. Dancing boosts energy. Add in the satisfying, rhythmic clicking sound that amplifies when people dance together, and even the least coordinated dancers will su...

Originally published in The Seattle Times. Never before has an American symphony orchestra given the homeless equal billing with Charles Ives and Ludwig van Beethoven. But this week, homelessness takes center stage in Benaroya Hall during a performance of Ives' "New England Holidays" (aka "Holidays" Symphony), as part of a Seattle Symphony initiati...