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Priority Hire

Covered Projects and Priority Demographics

Seattle Public School construction projects include a Student and Community Workforce Agreement for most construction projects with an estimated value of $5 million and above. For these projects, Contractors request dispatch to first seek and send workers that fit priority or diverse demographics.

Covered Projects

SCWA covers all projects bid or solicited to award a Prime/General Contractor starting in January 2021 estimated by Seattle Public Schools to have a construction value (including contingency) of $5 million or more prior to the bid or solicitation that awards the Prime/General Contractor.

In 2024, this includes:

  • Alki Elementary School addition and modernization
  • Eckstein Middle School window replacement
  • John Muir Elementary School addition and improvements
  • John Rogers Elementary School replacement
  • John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence central kitchen upgrades
  • Mercer International Middle School replacement
  • Montlake Elementary School Addition and Improvements
  • Rainier Beach High School replacement

Priority Demographics

For construction contracts, the SCWA prioritizes contractor apprentice hiring and jobs for:

  1. SPS Students (former students, graduates and those who have an SPS high school of origin regardless of graduation status); and/or
  2. Workers who have a currently enrolled SPS student in their household; and/or
  3. Any resident of an Economically Distressed Zip Code that contains SPS boundaries.

Diverse Demographics

  • African-American (Black);
  • Indigenous (Native American);
  • People of color; and
  • Women

Economically Distressed Zip Codes

The following zip codes are defined and prioritized as economically distressed. When the zip code is larger than the Seattle School district boundaries, the entire zip code is recognized for priority placements. These zip codes are identified by the City of Seattle using a criteria that includes those zip codes with the highest rates for:

  1. Share of people living under 200% of the federal poverty line.
  2. Unemployment rate.
  3. Those over 25 without a college degree.

Seattle neighborhoods and their Zip Code

  • Downtown 98101
  • Capitol Hill/Eastlake 98102
  • Downtown/International District 98104
  • Delridge 98106
  • Ballard 98107
  • S. Beacon Hill/South Park 98108
  • Interbay/Queen Anne 98109
  • Rainier Valley/Rainier Beach 98118
  • Belltown 98121
  • Central District 98122
  • Lake City/James Baldwin 98125
  • Delridge/High Point 98126
  • Bitter Lake/NW Seattle 98133
  • N. Beacon Hill 98144
  • White Center 98146
  • Rainier Beach/Skyway 98178