Executive Summary
- Aki Kurose Middle School, Cleveland STEM High School, and Maple Elementary sheltered in place Tuesday.
- School officials cited credible reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in the area.
- External doors were locked and students were kept indoors, though classes continued normally.
- Other Seattle schools reported no lockdowns or awareness of ICE presence.
Multiple schools within the Seattle Public Schools district implemented shelter-in-place protocols on Tuesday following reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in the surrounding neighborhoods. Officials at Aki Kurose Middle School, Cleveland STEM High School, and Maple Elementary School confirmed the security measures were taken as a precaution to ensure the safety of students and staff.
Aki Kurose Middle School registrar Katie Jolgren stated that the school received notification from the district regarding potential ICE presence. According to Jolgren, the warning indicated that agents might be attempting to identify families arriving to collect their children. The shelter-in-place order went into effect around noon, requiring external doors to be locked and restricting students from outdoor areas such as fields and playgrounds. Operations inside the facility continued as usual, though students were only permitted to depart if picked up directly by a family member.
Principal Jeff Lam of Cleveland STEM High School informed families via email that the campus had enacted similar measures due to "credible reports of ICE activity in the community." Lam noted that while activity was reported near other campuses, there was no direct presence confirmed at the high school itself. Staff members were deployed to monitor the campus perimeter and manually manage entry and exit points, while students remained indoors during lunch periods. Principal Lam assured families that students could be released if parents chose to pick them up.
Maple Elementary School also adopted shelter-in-place procedures. Principal Daisy Barragan communicated to parents that a nearby private school had reported "suspicious vehicle activity," prompting the administrative decision. Barragan emphasized that there was no activity directly involving Maple Elementary and requested that families avoid early pickups to facilitate security operations. In contrast, other area institutions, including Franklin High School and Mercer International Middle School, stated they were not sheltering in place and had no knowledge of ICE operations in their immediate vicinity.
Operational Impact & Community Safety
The swift initiation of shelter-in-place protocols in response to reported federal immigration enforcement highlights the operational challenges educational institutions face when balancing campus safety with community anxieties. When administrators receive credible information regarding external law enforcement operations, standard procedure dictates securing the perimeter to prevent potential disruptions and protect the student body from external stressors. This incident underscores the role of schools as protected environments where precautionary measures are prioritized to maintain stability, even when the scope of the reported law enforcement activity remains unconfirmed.
