Sami West
Online Editor/Reporter
About
Sami West joined KUOW’s web team as an Online Editor/Reporter in 2025.
Before that, she spent two years covering education at KUOW, reporting extensively on mounting financial challenges in Seattle Public Schools and districts across Washington state. Her coverage also centered 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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Families won't know which Seattle schools may close until fall
Seattle Public Schools families have braced for a list to come out this month, naming 20 elementary schools that might close. But SPS leaders will not be releasing that list this summer after all.
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No off-campus lunch, more police: Seattle Schools considers safety changes amid gun violence concerns
Seattle school leaders are planning safety and security improvements for next school year, in the wake of a shooting at Garfield High School that left a student dead and the community reeling.
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Dozens gather for unity walk honoring Garfield High School shooting victim
Dozens of people gathered to mourn a Garfield High School student killed last week and called for community-wide change during a unity walk through Seattle's Central District on Thursday.
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Locking up students' cellphones? This Seattle school is about to try it
A Seattle middle school is launching a new program to crack down on students using cellphones in class.
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Why are so many Seattle kids leaving public school for private?
In the wake of the pandemic, enrollment in private and home schools has soared in Washington state and across the country. How much are those shifts contributing to Seattle Public Schools' declining enrollment — and the budget crisis that comes with it?
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Tensions flare at Seattle school closure meeting
Seattle Public Schools’ community meetings on proposed school closures got off to a bumpy start.
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Will closing schools really balance the budget for Seattle Public Schools? Parents have their doubts
Seattle Public Schools parents will get more details next week on the district's proposal to close up to 20 elementary schools by the fall of 2025.
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UW student employees win big pay boost, improved benefits in tentative deal
After a one-day strike, 6,000 University of Washington teaching and research assistants have reached a tentative new labor agreement with school officials.
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University of Washington academic student employees strike for better pay
Thousands of University of Washington student employees walked off the job this morning. The strike comes just a few weeks before final exams — and it could have big impacts on students.
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20 Seattle elementary schools could be closed due to budget crisis
District officials have not said which schools will be on the chopping block — a list is expected to be released in June — but they say K-5 students would be better accommodated if the district downsized to 50 elementary schools, down from more than 70 schools.
