Ann Dornfeld
Reporter
About
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.
Her ongoing series exposing Seattle Public Schools’ lenient discipline of staff who abused students has won investigative reporting awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Radio Television Digital News Association, and the Education Writers Association. She was also lauded for her years of work covering disparities in the amount of recess and P.E. time students received in low-income schools.
Previously, Ann worked at Alaska Public Radio Network in Anchorage, and KLCC in Eugene, Oregon. Her freelance work, focusing on science and environmental issues, has appeared on national outlets including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Marketplace and The World.
Ann’s marine and underwater photography has appeared in the American Museum of Natural History and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
She lives with her husband and two children in South Seattle.
Location: Seattle
Languages Spoken: English
Pronouns: she/her
Professional Affiliations: Member, Investigative Reporters and Editors
Stories
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Education
Bringing black teachers to Seattle classrooms, if only for an hour
In Seattle Public Schools, the adult at the front of the classroom is usually a white woman — even though 53 percent of students in the district are children of color.
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Education
Students pay 'rent' or lose their desks at this elementary school
Kent School District officials are looking into a money-management curriculum at a Covington elementary school that requires students to “rent” their desks and “buy” bathroom passes using classroom currency.
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Education
Seattle Schools suggests Muslim children skip Ramadan fasting to boost test scores
Some Muslims are taking issue with a Seattle school’s request that families consider adjusting their observance of Ramadan to boost children’s standardized test scores.
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Education
Sex ed: Should it be a requirement in Washington state?
When Aren Wright was a freshman at Olympia High School, she asked her health teacher about dental dams and safe sex for lesbians.
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Education
Ravioli in a warm fridge ... and other violations at Seattle school cafeterias
Ravioli sitting in a malfunctioning refrigerator …
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Education
Seattle school year extended by 5 days because of snow
The last day of school will now be June 27 in Seattle — five days later than planned to make up for snow days this month.
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Education
What is the point of mid-winter break?
A week-long school vacation in February — just weeks after the holiday break — is unheard of in most parts of the country. But it's become standard for more affluent districts in Washington state in recent years.
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Education
Why so many snow days? And how will schools make them up?
Kim Malcolm talks with KUOW education reporter Ann Dornfeld about how Seattle Public Schools decides to suspend operations due to weather, and what options the district has for making up for snow days.
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Education
Seattle schools need fewer cops, more counselors, students say
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Education
Here's why many Seattle Public Schools special education students stayed home this week