Focus: Adults in the Room

Adults in the Room: Bad Apples

April 07, 2026

A surprise archival interview with a former Garfield High School principal reveals that the teacher abuse problem at the school extended beyond Tom Hudson. Isolde discovers that the district received numerous credible allegations of temper outbursts and sexual harassment about her Garfield journalism teacher, Dave Ehrich, but kept him in the classroom until his retirement in 2019. As Isolde looks into the district’s recent history addressing repeat allegations against teachers, she find...

Adults in the Room: The Boy in the Photograph

March 31, 2026

As Isolde looks through records on Mr. Hudson from Seattle Public Schools, she comes across a document describing a photograph of Hudson and two students at a mountain lake near Seattle. All three of them are naked. Isolde learns that back in 1994, before she attended Garfield, this photo spurred a separate investigation into Hudson's relationship with students. But ultimately, records say the boy told investigators it was no big deal.  Years down the line, that changes. Isolde finds an ...

Adults in the Room: The Bet

March 24, 2026

As adults, Isolde and Ella start re-investigating the question of Mr. Hudson’s guilt. For years, they've wondered if they spread unfounded rumors that drove Mr. Hudson to take his own life.  Isolde digs out a brown manila envelope containing the school district's records on Mr. Hudson, which she requested shortly after college. She tracks down the original school district investigator from 1999, Eddie Hill Sr., and the widow of Garfield's interim-principal at the time, Cheryl Chow....