Sami West
Online Editor/Reporter
About
Sami West joined KUOW’s web team as an Online Editor/Reporter in 2025.
Before that, she spent over two years covering education at KUOW, reporting extensively on mounting financial challenges in Seattle Public Schools and districts across Washington state. Her coverage also focused on growing concerns about violence in and around schools, teacher shortages, the youth mental health crisis, and the countless ways Covid continues to affect schools and families, among other topics.
Previously, she wrote about education for Chalkbeat in Memphis, Tennessee, and two newspapers in Wisconsin.
A Midwesterner at heart, Sami originally hails from Minnesota and holds degrees in journalism and English from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Languages Spoken: English
Pronouns: she/her
Professional Affiliations: Education Writers Association
Stories
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Washington schools grapple with conflicting policy on trans sports
Transgender student athletes, and the schools they play for in Washington, are facing some new uncertainty, as they face conflicting guidance from state and federal officials.
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Proposal to limit transgender athletes' participation in sports blocked in Washington state
Washington state’s governing body for middle and high school athletics has determined proposed rule changes limiting how transgender students can participate in sports would violate state laws.
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Transgender sports policies at heart of federal complaint from Washington school district
The Kennewick School Board has lodged a federal Title IX complaint against Washington state officials. At issue: the state’s current policies that allow transgender students to compete on sports teams consistent with their gender identity.
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Politics and change: Why Seattle Public Schools' superintendent is stepping down
When Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Brent Jones announced he’s leaving the district this fall, he said the decision came from a desire to spend time with family.
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Washington schools chief blasts 'cruel chaos' of Trump's order to eliminate the Department of Education
Washington state’s top education official is speaking out against President Donald Trump’s long-awaited executive order calling for the dissolution of the U.S. Department of Education.
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Seattle Public Schools to hunt for new leader as Superintendent Jones steps down
After "much reflection and heartfelt conversations," Superintendent Brent Jones announced he's leaving the top job at Washington's largest public school district.
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Seattle Public Schools delays sunset of highly-capable cohort program
Seattle Public Schools has changed course on its gifted education program, announcing plans to keep dedicated schools open for at least three more years.
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Washington state joins lawsuit against Trump's mass Department of Education cuts
Washington state has joined a coalition of 20 other states in a lawsuit seeking to stop President Donald Trump’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.
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University of Washington freezes non-essential hiring, travel
The University of Washington has frozen non-essential hiring and travel, effective immediately, amid federal and state funding uncertainty.
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U.S. Department of Education investigates Tumwater School District over transgender student athlete
The U.S. Department of Education has launched a Title IX investigation into the Tumwater School District after a transgender girl from Shelton played in a high school girls’ basketball game last month.