Ann Dornfeld

Reporter

Ann Dornfeld is a reporter at KUOW. She should have realized radio was in her future when, growing up in Seattle, she went to KUBE 93 after school one day to interview DJ Chet Buchanan. She claimed it was for a school assignment. She was actually just curious.

Ann went on to spin hip-hop records and host a public affairs show at her college radio station. On a month-long trip to Anchorage, she volunteered at Alaska Public Radio Network. She expected to be put to work filing papers. Instead, APRN gave her a mic and told her to file stories. She stayed all summer and learned the art of radio reporting. An official internship at APRN followed, and another at KUOW. She then worked at KLCC Public Radio in Eugene, Oregon as the Morning Edition host and reporter.

Ann returned to Seattle and worked as a roving freelance reporter, focusing on environmental issues for KUOW and shows including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, The Environment Report and Marketplace. She has reported on a rare bioluminescent bay in Puerto Rico, penguin habitat loss in South Africa, mangrove destruction in the US Virgin Islands, coral reef conservation in Bonaire and invasive lionfish in the Bahamas. She covered a major earthquake in Sumatra, Indonesia, for NPR News and The World.

Ann has won awards for her reporting from the Associated Press and Public Radio News Directors Incorporated. She received an Investigative Reporting award from the Education Writers Association for her 2010 KUOW story about recess inequalities for poor children in Seattle Public Schools.

In her spare time, Ann enjoys underwater photography while diving balmy Puget Sound. Her favorite marine invertebrate is a nudibranch. Her favorite nudibranch is a Cockerell's dorid (Laila cockerelli).

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Elections 2012
9:20 am
Tue October 23, 2012

Grading The Charter School Claims

school desks
Credit Flickr/ccarlstead
I-1240 class is in session.

This fall, voters in Washington will decide whether to legalize charter schools in the state for the first time. Washington voters have considered charters three times before. But the details of charter school funding, oversight and independence can be confusing. So we took a red pen to claims by supporters and opponents of Initiative 1240, and gave each claim a grade to see who gets to go to the head of the class – and who needs to go back and check their work.

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Special Education
7:07 pm
Sat October 20, 2012

Special Ed In Seattle Public Schools "Atrocious," "Heartbreaking," Say Parents

Ryder on his first day of third grade.
Credit Bridget Ambrose
Ryder on his first day of third grade.

Two-and-a-half years ago, KUOW brought you the story of Bridget Ambrose and her son Ryder. Ryder was in kindergarten at the time. He’s on the autism spectrum. At Ryder’s preschool, he’d gotten special education services like speech therapy and the social skills training that many kids with autism need to teach them how to interact with other kids.

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Elections 2012
8:52 am
Thu October 18, 2012

Seattle School Board Says "No" To Charter Initiative

Credit Seattle Public Schools
Seattle School Board, 2012

The Seattle School Board said a unanimous "no" to charter schools last night. The board members approved a resolution against Initiative 1240, which would bring up to 40 charter schools to Washington over five years.

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Elections 2012
5:54 pm
Wed October 17, 2012

10 Donors Funded 91 Percent Of Charter Schools Campaign

The campaign to bring charter schools to Washington state has now raised more cash than any other measure on the ballot. Donors have contributed more than $8.9 million to the Yes on 1240 campaign. Of that, 91 percent came from just ten people, according to the Public Disclosure Commission website.

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Election 2012
9:54 am
Tue October 16, 2012

Seattle Schools Chief Opposes Charter Initiative

Credit Seattle Public Schools
Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Jose Banda

Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Jose Banda says he’ll vote “no” on Initiative 1240, which would legalize charter schools in Washington state.

I-1240 would allow up to 40 charter schools in Washington state over five years. Proponents of I-1240 say it would give parents and students more school choice.

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Seattle Public Schools
4:21 pm
Thu October 11, 2012

Insurance May Only Pay School District Fraction Of Misspent $3.1M

Credit Hillsborough County Jail
Silas Potter

Seattle Public Schools’ attorney says the district will likely only get a $280,000 insurance settlement after the $3.1 million financial scandal involving former district official Silas Potter.

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Budget
4:27 pm
Thu October 4, 2012

Wash. Schools Chief Asks For 39 Percent Budget Increase

Randy Dorn
Credit (AP Photo/John Froschauer, File)
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn speaks in Olympia, Wash., to the House Education Appropriations Committee in 2009.

Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn has asked for an additional $4.1 billion for basic education in his biennial budget proposal, a 39 percent increase compared to the current budget. Dorn says that’s what it’ll take for the state Legislature to fulfill its constitutional duty to fully fund K-12 education.

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