In hopes of improving the academic achievement of minority students, and following years of pressure from parents, the Seattle School Board approved the opening of the African American Academy in January 1991. The Afro-centric program opened at Colman School with grades K through 5. In 1993, parents complained about the school’s instability and lack of resources.

In September 2000, after several moves, the Academy occupied a new facility designed for grades K-8. In 2009, the Seattle School Board voted to close this program and others in a recession-related cost-cutting move, and students were dispersed to other schools.

In this image, fourth-grade student Anna Stanton stands outside a washroom at the African American Academy.

Caption information source: “Parents hold high hopes for African-American Academy, by Pete McConnell, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 29, 1990, pages B1, B2.
Caption information source: “Seattle schools open with new beginnings, sad endings”, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 9, 2009.
Caption information source: “Building for Learning: Seattle Public School Histories, 1862-2022”, Rita E. Cipalla et al., Seattle Public School Archives Department, 2024, pages 11, 12.