After years of preparation and delays due to COVID-19, the Why Not You Academy is almost ready to open its doors this fall, one year later than was originally planned.

The academy — which is located at 22419 Pacific Hwy S, Des Moines, WA 98198 — was co-founded by Scott Canfield and Garth Reeves. Canfield is Why Not You Academy’s CEO while Reeves is the school’s chief administrative officer. 

Nearly six years ago, the two men met while working as assistant principals at West Seattle High School, where they were recruited specifically to create change. 

“We were brought there by the principal Ruth Medsker to bring change to what is a traditional comprehensive high school in the Seattle district,” Canfield said. “We were happy with the progress we were making, but we weren’t satisfied with the pace of change and wanted to move quicker. That’s where we came up with the idea of applying to open a public charter school.” 

Charter schools are private schools that are publicly funded, to put it simply.

Canfield said he felt his strengths could be put to better use in a charter school setting.

“In large districts, it’s hard to bring change quickly, but personally for me it wasn’t something I saw myself being most effective in and that’s what led me to open a school,” he said. “That’s where I felt my personal skill sets could be leveraged better.” 

More than anything else, he said, they wanted to provide families in the community with another choice for their children’s educations.

“We’re just another option,” Canfield said. “We aren’t going to be perfect for everyone, we’re just providing another high-quality option in the community where kids get a blend of on-the-job internships and high-level academics.”

He said the Why Not You Academy will offer students a combination of classroom instruction, mentorships, and activities to help them prepare for the future, such as internship opportunities.

“Some schools are all college-focused and some are focused more on the trades, but we do both at our school,” said Canfield. “[We] sketched the outline, the three main pillars of the school around project-based interdisciplinary learning, internships and mentorship opportunities for kids, connecting them with adults who have experience in fields they may have interest in.”

The internships in particular are an important part of the school’s design, he said.

“We have a one-day-a-week internship model,” said Canfield. “Some Wednesdays in our design, students work toward internship placements while they’re in school. Those Wednesdays get to a point where they’re leaving the school to be immersed in those internships with a mentor from that site.”

Through interning, students will have many experiences and opportunities to grow their network in that professional setting all while in high school, he said.

“That’s something that’s baked into our model, and we believe whole-heartedly that every kid deserves to have access to an internship,” said Canfield. “Not waiting until after high school to have that experience is really important to us.”

He said he hopes this model of education will allow students to realize what they want to do once they graduate.

“Hopefully, we’ll find what they have a passion in or where they really want to invest their energy once they leave high school,” said Canfield. “For some that might mean a four-year college or university, for others it might be a community college or a trade school.” 

By working with the students’ advisers in the building and mentors at internship sites, both can help students navigate which career choice is best for them, he said. 

“We believe any post-secondary education is something that’s extremely important in helping kids figure out which pathway is the most appropriate for them,” Canfield said. 

The Why Not You Academy will be the district’s third charter school alongside Burien’s Rainier Prep, for students in fifth through eighth grade, and West Seattle’s Summit Atlas, which serves students in sixth through 12th grade.

Charter schools differ from public schools in several way. 

To enroll at a public school there is no application process. You are automatically accepted when you move into the zone of the school the district has set. 

On the other hand, a charter school requires someone to apply, and based off varying factors, they may or may not be admitted.

Funding is another area where charter and public schools differ.

While public schools receive state funding automatically, charter schools only receive state funding after they’re open for the school year. It is because of this rule that Canfield and Reeves have had to partner with foundations and host fundraising events to financially support their school.

“We haven’t received any state funding to date, and we won’t receive state funding until we open next fall,” Canfield said. “And as COVID hit last spring, the lending market became even more challenging.”

In some circles charter schools are somewhat controversial, with some arguing that they siphon money away from public schools. Several studies show that charter schools do not perform significantly better or worse than public schools, which has led others to question their efficacy.

Charter schools have also been criticized in the past by teacher unions for the lack of unionization opportunities they offer faculty. It’s not mandatory for charter schools to provide bargaining contracts for their staff and faculty, another way they differ from public schools.

In searching for funds amid the COVID-19 pandemic last year, Canfield and Reeves discovered the Why Not You Foundation, which is where the school got its name. The foundation was started by Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson in 2014 and is “dedicated to creating real and lasting change in the world by motivating, empowering, and preparing today’s youth to be tomorrow’s leaders,” according to its website. 

In 2018, Canfield and Reeves started an 18-month process in which they met with members of the community across South King County, looking to receive feedback and build relationships, said Canfield.

It was during the first year of this planning process that Canfield and Reeves were able to connect with Wilson’s foundation. 

“We had some conversations with a few of their board members, and it just seemed like a great opportunity,” Canfield said. 

After connecting with the foundation to learn and understand more about their goals, they found that they had similar ideas regarding education, he said.

“They were inspired by our work and we were really inspired with what they were doing in the community as well,” Canfield said. “[We] shared our visions and our approaches to education, what we believed in, and there was just a lot of commonalities in those approaches.”

After months of planning, they agreed to collaborate on the launch of the school with a new name, he said.

“[They] sort of gave us a rebranding and renaming of the school to the Why Not You Academy, and we welcomed the foundation as partners in launching the school,” said Canfield. “It’s been a really exciting partnership; it took months to unfold but we feel fortunate to have them as partners because they’re pushing to do great things and it’s a great collaboration.”

Outside of the foundation, Canfield and Reeves have found success in hosting fundraising events to raise money for their school.

“We’ve had a series of events that we at the school level have hosted over the past three years,” Canfield said. “We had one last December that was fun and successful.”

He said the partnership with Wilson’s foundation, along with the fundraising events, is why the school has been sufficiently funded thus far.

“They really helped us catapult and strengthen our launch and get the funding that we needed to really start strong next year,” he said. “We’ve raised enough funds to get us through two years of planning, so those efforts have been great.”

They received approval from the Washington State Charter Commission in June 2019 to open the school. Now, as construction wraps up and enrollment begins, the school is planning to welcome students on Sept. 1, said Canfield.

“We just offered enrollment to our founding class this week,” he said. “We’ll have space for about 100 students. We received a lot of interest, and we’re on pace to fully enroll the school for a launch in September.”

The school was originally scheduled to open last fall, though the COVID-19 pandemic pushed things back.

“Midway through last year, COVID hit and it made getting out in the community and recruiting and building trust really challenging,” said Canfield. “We had to ultimately make the difficult decision to delay our opening for a year.”

Trust, he said, is one of the most important aspects of their school.

“I’ve seen that when kids feel like there’s an adult in the building who they know and trust, that does wonders for the well-being of the child overall,” Canfield said. “If a student feels safe, trusted, and respected in the school, everything else will flow from there. You’ve got to start with trust and building relationships.” 

The Why Not You Academy will serve students in ninth through 12th grade and is currently accepting applications for enrollment. They will be opening less than a mile away from Mount Rainier High School, which serves the same age demographic.

You can read more about the school and how it works here.