Seattle school board approves remote learning plan to start the school year, the number of digital entrepreneurs in Seattle is growing rapidly: report, and more from this week’s Seattle in the Spotlight.

Seattle School Board Approves Remote Learning Plan to Start the School Year

KING 5 | KING 5 Staff | August 12

https://www.king5.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/seattle-public-schools-will-start-fall-with-remote-learning/281-9cd89f0b-bdca-42d5-ae65-206885aed7dc

“Seattle Public Schools, the state’s largest district, plans to start the academic year with remote learning. The school board approved the plan Wednesday and will send their decision to the state for approval. The board determined that Seattle Public Schools meet the basic requirements to move forward with remote learning. The academic year is scheduled to start in three weeks.”

The Number of Digital Entrepreneurs in Seattle is Growing Rapidly: Report

Daily Hive | Alyssa Therrien | August 11

https://dailyhive.com/seattle/seattle-digital-entrepreneurs-amazon-report

“In a recent study conducted by Amazon, it was revealed that out of all 50 states, Seattle is the second state with the fastest year-over-year growth by small and medium-sized businesses that sells products in Amazon’s stores. Amazon refers to these small and medium-sized businesses as their digital entrepreneurs. According to the tech giant, sellers in Iowa and Washington saw the fastest-growing sales between June 1, 2019, and May 31, 2020. Their percentage of growth year over year tied at 57%.”

Report: Washington State’s Tech Economy is Robust; 13.2% of the Workforce Holds a Job in Tech

GeekWire | John Cook | August 7

https://www.geekwire.com/2020/report-washington-states-tech-economy-robust-13-2-workforce-holds-job-tech/

“A new report from the Information Technology Industry Council paints a detailed picture of the importance of the high-tech industry in the U.S., including Washington state which is home to Microsoft, Amazon, T-Mobile and thousands of startup companies. “The data make clear that technological innovation is woven through the entire U.S. economy—including every congressional district,” according to the report which measures states and districts on 34 economic indicators. Washington state ranks at the top of the list in several categories, including IT services exports. In fact, a whopping 57% of all services exports are related to technology — nearly twice as much as the second place and third place finishers of Massachusetts and Oregon, which showed a roughly 28% share.”