2026’s start at Garfield High School includes ‘Reclaiming the Village’ forum plus construction plans for classroom technology and school safety upgrades

Meanwhile, the class of ’27 came up big time in the school’s winter sock drive (Image: @garfieldhsptsa)

The community around Garfield High School is continuing work to improve campus public safety and address social and economic challenges.

Over the weekend, city officials including Seattle City Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth joined attendees at the latest “Reclaiming the Village” gathering at Garfield. Organizers say they hope the events will grow into an ongoing series of forums to support Black families and students in Seattle’s Central District.

Garfield Principal Tarance Hart launched the forums as the school has tried to address community needs, public safety, and gun violence following the deadly 2024 shooting of 17-year-old student Amarr Murphy-Paine in the school’s parking lot.

Hart has also led improvements to Garfield’s campus to address safety and security concerns. In October, the Seattle School Board rejected a plan supported by then-Mayor Bruce Harrell and his police chief to return a uniformed Seattle Police Department officer to the Garfield High School campus citing concerns over disproportionate policing and the district’s failure to implement community recommendations in its proposal.

2026, meanwhile, will bring further safety investments. In a December message to families, Hart announced classroom technology and school safety upgrades set to begin this month through June including “expanded security camera coverage, new intercom and clock systems, emergency alert devices, and improved door monitoring and access controls.”

The work will also include classroom improvements including new interactive projection systems, updated whiteboards, and improved classroom sound systems.

The funding comes from Seattle Public Schools capital levies. No budget total was included in Hart’s message.

The principal said construction work will be limited to after school and evening hours and will be completed in phases across Garfield’s main building to minimize disruptions.

Hart says the work is part of a districtwide investments in “modern learning spaces and campus safety.”

Following the 2024 deadly shooting, Garfield and the district announced increased security at the school and other area campuses. CHS reported here on the launch last spring of a new district-wide “visitor management system” involving cameras, plus increased private security and SPD presence outside the campuses.

Neighborhood program Community Passageways also has been funded to provide “violence interrupters who build positive relationships and help prevent conflicts,” a case manager, and staff around the campus perimeter of Garfield to help ensure “safe passage support for students traveling to and from school.”

The area outside the school is also planned for addition to the city’s Real Time Crime Center video monitoring.

Harrell and District 3 representativeHollingsworth pushed to include the area around the school in the city’s expansion of the Seattle Police Department camera surveillance system. New cameras will be installed in the Central District centered around safety at Garfield High School with boundaries running from a block north of the school along E Cherry all the way to S Jackson. The western edge will include 20th Ave and the eastern edge will extend along 26th Ave. The zone will include Garfield’s 23rd Ave campus, the Garfield Super Block area including the Garfield Community Center and sports fields, and the parking lot at 23rd and Jackson.

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