People come from all over the world to live here

By JACK HOPKINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Immigrants have flocked to Tukwila in recent years, drawn by the community's proximity to Sea-Tac International Airport and low rents at many of the apartments that make up about 60 percent of the city's housing.

They have turned Tukwila's tiny school district into a mini-United Nations and brought a cultural diversity that has intrigued and delighted most residents.

Tukwila school officials say the district's 2,436 students come from more than 40 different countries -- everywhere from Armenia to Vietnam.

Twenty percent of the student population speaks English as a second language. And they speak 40 different languages, putting a heavy burden on the school district to bring them up to speed.

The problem is compounded by the fact that many immigrants don't stay in the district long. Some put down roots and become a vital part of the community. But there was a 37 percent turnover in student population last year.

Fertakis says the arrival of the immigrant children has been a blessing.

"My child has the world in his classroom," she said. "People need to learn to relate to people of different backgrounds and he can do that here. He's going to grow up knowing people different from him and he's going to grow up colorblind."

Tukwila residents pride themselves on their close ties with the schools.

Citizen involvement in the schools is apparent year-round, but never more than at the annual graduation ceremony at Foster High School.

"The entire community turns out and jams the stands for graduation, including people who don't have and maybe never did and never will have kids in school," says district spokeswoman Marjorie Rommel. "The Samoan kids get completely covered up by leis and have to be led around by the hand because they can't see.

"As soon as the mortarboards go up in the air, the field is swamped by people coming out of the stands and the party goes on at least a couple of hours, everybody greeting everybody else, taking photos of one another, bawling and hugging."

Continued:

• 'Small town' growing out of its shady image
• Commercial life and country living coexist ... for the most part