Alan T. Sugiyama, Namesake of Sugiyama High School

In September 2020, the Seattle School Board voted to recognize and honor a local lifelong education advocate by renaming South Lake High School to be Alan T. Sugiyama High School at South Lake.

Alan T. Sugiyama was Seattle’s first Asian American member of the Seattle School Board.

Alan Sugiyama spent his life advocating for racial and educational justice for all people. While a college student, he advocated for Asian Americans in local colleges and formed the first Asian American student unions at Seattle Central College and then at the University of Washington. In 1979, he founded the Center for Career Alternatives, which focused on providing education and job training.

In 1989, Mr. Sugiyama became the first Asian American on the Seattle School Board, where he advocated for equity in Seattle Public Schools during his two terms.

The renaming of the school is the culmination of four years of work, spearheaded by Dr. Laura Davis- Brown, Dr. Joe Powell, and the South Lake Community. It is a celebration of a new era for the school creating a vibrant “Remixing of Education”, shaped for each individual student in an effort to provide a positive culture that supports student growth, creativity and future planning. Based on Alan Sugiyama’s enduring example, ATS High School at South Lake reinforces the powerful truth that one person’s actions and determination can break down barriers to racial and educational equity.

Mr. Sugiyama believed that all persons need and deserve a second, and sometimes third opportunity and he promoted determination and compassion while standing up to institutional systems of racism. ATS High School at South Lake Believes, Inspires, and Empowers their students, as they Remix how they individually and together, as a student body, navigate Education.

Mr. Sugiyama passed away in 2017 at the age of 67, but his legacy lives on at Alan T. Sugiyama High School.

Bound By Our Core Values

Empathy, Resiliency, Persistence, Compassion

Alan T. Sugiyama spent his life advocating for racial justice and education for all people. While a college student, he advocated for Asian Americans in local colleges and formed the first Asian American Students Union at Seattle Central College and then at the University of Washington.

In 1979, he founded the Center for Career Alternatives, which focused on providing education and job training. In 1989, Mr Sugiyama became the first Asian American on the Seattle School Board, where he advocated for equity in Seattle Public Schools during his two terms. Mr. Sugiyama believed that all persons need and deserve a second, and sometimes third opportunity and he promoted determination and compassion while standing up to institutional systems of racism.