A Letter from Principal Patu to RBHS Scholars and Families

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Greetings Scholars and Families of Rainier Beach High School!

I hope you are enjoying your summer! I would like to introduce myself as the new principal of Rainier Beach High School (RBHS). I am extremely excited to start this new journey with you and your scholars and I look forward to meeting all of you to share my vision for our school community. I also want to make sure that I communicate with our families as you are important partners in caring for our scholars and ensuring they receive a world class learning experience. 

RBHS has been a part of my story over the last four decades as a cheerleader coach in the nineties, a teacher in the 2000s, and as an assistant principal during the pandemic years. My historical knowledge and love for this community is what fueled my desire to become the leader of this amazing place. I have had the privilege of leading in other school communities during my career and I have learned the value of leadership and creating a culture of learning that is foundational to our scholars’ success.

There will be some significant changes in the upcoming year, but I want to start with sharing our instructional vision.

Rainier Beach HS will be an instructional powerhouse in teaching and learning to prepare our scholars for college, career, and lifelong learning.

Rainier Beach HS instructors will use the International Baccalaureate (IB) Learner Profile Attributes as a framework to deliver rigorous, high-quality instruction rooted in equity, anti-racist and culturally responsive practices in ALL learning spaces.

RBHS is an accredited International Baccalaureate school. The IB program was a community-led initiative that came to Beach in 2013. We stand on the shoulders of community giants who paved the way for our scholars to access high-quality instruction every day. IB is one of five pathways offered at Beach. As stated in our vision, we will use the IB Learner Profile attributes as a framework for learning.  These ten-character attributes will frame our approach to teaching and learning in EVERY space on campus. This includes each classroom, the hallways, lunch time, assemblies, athletics, activities, and all RBHS sponsored events. My only ask is that you review these attributes with your scholar and reach out to us if you have any questions.

As we prepare to move into our new building in the Spring of 2025, it is important that you are aware of the new initiatives that will support instructional excellence and safety for your scholar at RBHS. These initiatives aim to eliminate some historical barriers that keep our scholars from reaching their full learning potential:

Cell Phone Free Zone During Instructional and Passing Periods

Cell phones will not be allowed in classrooms and during passing periods for all scholars and staff. Scholars will be allowed to use cell phones in designated areas on campus during the lunch period, before school and after school. Staff will not be allowed to use cell phones in front of scholars but can use them during their prep and lunch periods. We will have specific staff, such as admin, safety and security team equipped with District cell phones for emergencies. We know this is a huge shift for our school, but a necessary one. Cell phones have been linked to anxiety, distraction, social media bullying, fights, and numerous other problems, and the most important, disrupts LEARNING. Scholars will need to rely on using their school laptops to communicate via email. We will also ensure that families have access to school and staff contact info, TEAMS chat, Talking Points, and landline phones are available in the main office, counseling office, and in every classroom if there is an emergency.

Closed Campus

RBHS will be a closed campus. This means that scholars are not allowed off campus during the school day, including the lunch period. We have a team working on a plan to ensure there are supervised spaces on campus for our scholars to enjoy during this time. This includes indoor and outdoor spaces. We also know that food is important as it supports learning. The District is currently working with SPS Culinary Services to provide tasty meal options and we have community partners who are committed to supporting us in these efforts. With the current state of gun violence in our surrounding community, we are stepping up our safety plan to include close monitoring of our doors and parking lots, issuing parking passes, and working with our community safety partners, Safe Passage, to ensure our scholars have safe routes to and from our building.

Start on Time and Show up to Learn

Consistent attendance is a primary indicator of scholar success. You can’t learn if you don’t show up. We need your support to help your scholar arrive at school on time, attend every class on time, and stay there to learn. We will send out the Student and Family handbook in August which includes a detailed description of our attendance policy and our follow-up procedures. This year we will have an Attendance Intervention Specialist that will focus on truancy prevention and incentivizing attendance for scholars who struggle. Our goal is to work with our scholars and families to ensure we see their beautiful faces at school every day ready to learn!

I know this was a lot of information to digest, but we wanted to begin communicating these initiatives before your scholar arrives on campus in the fall. Please share your feedback using this survey link. We want to make sure your voices are heard before we solidify these policies.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me by email or phone. It is a privilege to serve you and your scholar in the upcoming year and stay tuned for more information to come in August. Thank you and take care!

Blessings,

Annie L. Patu
Principal, Rainier Beach HS
alpatu@seattleschools.org
206-252-6350