Back in 2018, we shared our excitement about a brand new teen space coming to Issaquah: The Garage, A Teen Cafe. We believed then, as we do now, that teens deserve a safe, welcoming place where they can be fully themselves, no strings attached.
Today, The Garage is a vibrant, teen-centered space.
Low couches, a beanbag, and armchairs invite you to sink in and stay awhile. A small stage is ready for your performance, and the nearby foosball table allows for non-screen entertainment with new friends. The coffee bar is professional-level and the windows bring in natural light. It’s exactly the kind of place that we adults would love to have, but unless we’re a caring staff member, case manager, or mental health therapist, it’s not our place to linger. This space is for teens to connect, create, and lead on their own terms and timelines.
It’s exactly what Pacific Learning Academy hoped for when we first supported its launch in 2018.
Click here to see the full interview in the 2025 Impact Report.
We’re honored to be featured in The Garage’s 2025 Impact Report, which maps their remarkable growth and community impact. As a private school specializing in 1-to-1 education, the Academy knows how important personal connection is for teen success. We’re honored to have been a part of the Garage’s own success story through both financial and tutoring support for Garage students.
The alignment with our mission at Pacific Learning Academy couldn’t be clearer.
Just like The Garage, we meet students where they are: academically, emotionally, and developmentally. At the Academy, we help students recover credit, catch up in school, or just feel confident again. While our 1-to-1 format lends itself well to mentoring, we know that community-centered programs like The Garage make our shared work even more meaningful.
We’ve been a proud supporter from the start, but with public funding becoming scarce, this amazing space needs our community support now more than ever. What the team at The Garage have built is very special, and our local students have blossomed. I hope this amazing space continues to be available to our local teens well into the future.
Please join Pacific Learning Academy in supporting the Garage, a safety net for our teen community!
🌐 Learn more at The Garage’s website
💙 Support The Garage with a donation
📖 Read our original post from 2018
📊 Explore The Garage’s 2025 Impact Report
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Pacific Learning Academy is a one-on-one school based in Sammamish, Washington, offering single courses, dual enrollment, and graduation pathways for students studying curriculum at the middle and high school level. Pacific Learning Academy is Washington State Approved and a nationally accredited private school (Cognia). High School coursework is approved by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for student athletes and we are also a member of the Washington Federation of Independent Schools. Besides academic credit, the Academy offers tutoring support in all subjects from 6th to 12th grade either virtually or in person (in your Sammamish home, our Sammamish school office, or in local libraries across the Eastside). See more at www.PacificLearningAcademy.com.