• Home
    • Arts
    • Entertainment
    • Opinion
    • SAAS Life
    • Sports
  • Alumni Blog
  • About
  • Share Your Story
Menu

The Cardinal

Stories from the SAAS community
  • Home
  • Categories
    • Arts
    • Entertainment
    • Opinion
    • SAAS Life
    • Sports
  • Alumni Blog
  • About
  • Share Your Story

The Cardinal

The Cardinal is your home for stories from the SAAS community. Read your friends’ stories and share your own—our staff will help!

Learn more about the Cardinal.

Share Your Story

Categories

  • The Cardinal (2)
  • Sports (28)
  • Arts & Entertainment (29)
  • Opinion (31)
  • Arts (62)
  • Entertainment (76)
  • SAAS Life (171)
  • Visual (261)

@TheSAASCardinal

  • The Cardinal
    Head of School Joe Puggelli will soon retire after 22 years @SeattleAcademy. Seniors Avidan B., Avi S., and Ben G.… https://t.co/xQehfEjC9v
    Jun 7, 2018, 4:13 PM
  • The Cardinal
    Joe Puggelli will soon retire from @SeattleAcademy after 22 years of service. Seniors Avi S., Avidan B., and Ben G.… https://t.co/IfhCaejYTJ
    Jun 7, 2018, 2:22 PM
  • The Cardinal
    Seniors Jujaar S. and Kaleabe Abebe bring us this profile of Craig Tomlinson @SeattleAcademy: https://t.co/XZR4QOQH7v
    May 22, 2018, 11:44 AM

Latest Stories

Featured
Joe Puggelli: A Story of Chance, Challenge, and Change
Ben Gode '18, Avidan Baral '18, and Avi Shapiro '18
Jun 7, 2018
Joe Puggelli: A Story of Chance, Challenge, and Change
Ben Gode '18, Avidan Baral '18, and Avi Shapiro '18
Jun 7, 2018

Seattle Academy Head of School Joe Puggelli is retiring after serving the school for 22 years. Next year, Joe is looking forward to “sleeping a little bit more,” reading material that has piled up over the last two decades, and “working out during daylight hours for a change.”

Ben Gode '18, Avidan Baral '18, and Avi Shapiro '18
Jun 7, 2018
Faculty Profile: Coach and Coordinator Craig Tomlinson
Kaleabe Abebe '18 and Jujaar Singh '18
May 22, 2018
Faculty Profile: Coach and Coordinator Craig Tomlinson
Kaleabe Abebe '18 and Jujaar Singh '18
May 22, 2018
Kaleabe Abebe '18 and Jujaar Singh '18
May 22, 2018
No More BAD EGG Days: Seattle Academy Schedule Gets Scrambled
Ben Gode '18, Avidan Baral '18, and Avi Shapiro '18
May 4, 2018
No More BAD EGG Days: Seattle Academy Schedule Gets Scrambled
Ben Gode '18, Avidan Baral '18, and Avi Shapiro '18
May 4, 2018

The new schedule adds an 8th period to be filled with new required classes, and makes blocks longer, to further develop Seattle Academy’s curriculum and advance the school in a new direction. Seniors Avidan Baral, Ben Gode, and Avi Shapiro sat down with Deans of Faculty Alison Ray and Fred Strong to get some answers.

Ben Gode '18, Avidan Baral '18, and Avi Shapiro '18
May 4, 2018

Alumni Blog

Featured
Interview with Jordan Frank '04
Oct 10, 2016
Interview with Jordan Frank '04
Oct 10, 2016
Oct 10, 2016
Interview with Dhani Mau '06
May 20, 2016
Interview with Dhani Mau '06
May 20, 2016

An interview with SAAS grad Dhani Mau '06.

May 20, 2016
sarah-hughes-photo.jpg

Michelle Obama Takes on the Fight to Improve College Access to Low-Income Students

January 23, 2014 in Opinion, Visual

sarah hughes photoBecause less than half of low-income high school students apply to college, President Obama last week asked the first lady, Michelle Obama, to lead a national initiative aimed at increasing college access for low-income students. Over 40 non-profit organizations and 140 college presidents and chancellors, as well as corporate leaders, gathered at the White House, to discuss ways in which colleges, in particular the more prestigious ones, can work towards admitting more students from low-income families.

I see this event as a deliberate attempt by the president to highlight his election pledge to narrow the gap between rich and poor, something he is expected to address during his State of the Union address on January 28. Obama did, however, sound genuine in his introduction stating, “We want to restore the essential promise of opportunity and upward mobility that’s at the heart of America, to that end, young people, low-income students in particular, must have access to a college education."

Michelle Obama, reciting her own experiences entering higher education at Princeton and the difficulties she encountered, made the event seem more real and relevant.  She admitted to feeling scared and intimidated by the whole college process and distinctly remembered receiving little or no support applying to colleges. The experiences she describes are totally alien to the students experiences here at SAAS where we have a dedicated team of high school advisors available every day of the week to patiently answer our questions, listen to our concerns, and basically help prevent us having four mental breakdowns a week! I am alarmed by the fact that many high school college advisors are more invested in dealing with gang issues and truancy than taking time to discuss college applications with their students. This only encourages these students to apply to the colleges they are familiar with - a wasted opportunity, in my mind.

Hopefully with the members’ pledge of over $100 million to focus attention on exploring how to match low-income students with more prestigious colleges, expand mentoring services to ensure students are better academically prepared, and increase the resources made available to school college counselors, the number of underprivileged students applying to college will begin to increase.

However, one important topic that I would like to have seen addressed at the summit was the issue of the skyrocketing cost of higher education. Statistics from The College Board show that tuition and fees are up 27 percent at public four-year colleges and private college costs have grown 14 percent in the last five years. Tuition costs and student debt represents yet another barrier for underprivileged students gaining access to a college degree.

← Young Playwrights Program Recognizes Plays by Mason '14 and Timmons '14Weekly Affirmations 2 →
Back to Top