Soundside

High schoolers across the state are gearing up for the ceremonial walk across stage - the hand shake, the diploma, throwing their little hat into the air.

And these grads are prepping for the numerous times they’ll be asked “so what are you doing next?”

Pandemic disruptions have brought the gaps in Washington's special education services into sharp focus.

Some families are having to make a tough decision: sending their children far across the country to specialized boarding schools with services that meet their needs.

For the last couple of years, Covid-19 had reigned as the dominant virus on everyone's minds.

But if you've been on social media, or followed the news lately, you've probably heard about monkeypox, a rare viral disease that's related to smallpox.

Charter schools were legalized in Washington state in 2012, and were designed to serve students who often struggle with traditional education in public schools. Frequently, those students come from marginalized communities, including children of color, students with disabilities and refugee families, whose children are in need of English instruction.

For the last six months, KUOW reporter Ann Dornfeld has been investigating the largest chain of charter schools in the region: Impact Public Schools. What she’s found is that charter schools are frequently failing to live up to the promises they’ve made to students, leaving staff, students, and parents frustrated.

At it's core, this show is about connecting with you. Bringing you stories of people and topics you care about, and that impact you here, in the Pacific NW. And that means we're not having a one-way conversation -- we love hearing from you, and your input is central to Soundside.

So we want to take a moment to share some of the messages you've sent to us in recent weeks.

Yesterday, an 18 year old man entered an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. There, he killed 21 people - 2 teachers, and 19 students.

It's the 27th school shooting to occur this year.

It's not a situation you can simply brush off. So how do you help your children proc

Two years ago, George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer forced the United States – at least temporarily – to reckon with its racist history and systemic violence against Black people. Soundside connected with local Black leaders and activists in the faith community and politics to share their perspectives on whether there's been meaningful change since the protests for racial justice in 2020.

Earlier this month, Politico reported a leaked decision from the US Supreme Court: Roe v Wade, the ruling protecting abortion rights in the county, would be overturned.

While that decision isn’t finalized, states across the country are readying policies that would alter abortion access, should the ruling be struck down.

Here in Washington protestors and politicians took to the streets, saying this decision wouldn’t pass in Washington State. One of those people was Washington AG Bob Ferguson.

In 2013, an employee at KCTS — Seattle's PBS station — stumbled upon a box stacked in a hallway. Afraid that the rare tapes and reels would be thrown away, the employee tucked the box away. The decision saved an archive of Seattle's history considered so precious, the American Archive of Public Broadcasting added it to its collection, which also includes the Watergate hearings and interviews from the Stonewall uprising.

If you take the ferry from Anacortes to the San Juan Islands, you pass through the Harney Channel. But the history behind the channel's namesake -- William S. Harney -- holds a gruesome legacy.

After discovering this history, two San Juan locals submitted a proposal to change the name to the Cayou Channel, after famed local Henry Cayou.