The Center School is a small, public high school with 300 students on the Seattle Center campus. A so-called option school, students can apply to attend it rather than their neighborhood schools.
Greenberg said he is convinced his students can handle frank conversations about race. “Most of them are 18; they can go to war, but they can’t handle this?” Greenberg said. “They handle it better than the district personnel.
“One family’s complaint should not have led to all this. None of us should feel comfortable with what happened. This isn’t over.”
Shauna Heath, executive director of curriculum and instruction for the district, defended the district’s decision. “We believe in these kinds of conversations,” Heath said. “It is just the manner in which they are taught that needs to be inclusive of all children and not intimidating.”