BELLEVUE, Wash. — One year ago this week, students in school districts across the state packed up their supplies and headed home. Many of them have not returned to their desks, including kids in the Bellevue School District.
Bellevue parents held a rally Thursday, urging the district to re-open more classrooms.
“Schools could be open in a safe manner,” said Nikola Rudic, one of the parents who waved signs outside Highland Middle School.
The district brought students K-2 students back to their classrooms for part of the week starting in January. Special needs students are also receiving some in-person instruction. Middle and high school students stayed in remote learning and there is no timeline for when they will return to school buildings.
“You need educators not just to teach them ABCs but enforce a learning environment, I think that’s what’s missing,” said Jing Long, another parent.
The Bellevue Education Association, the union representing teachers and staff, said it continues to negotiate with the district over how and when to bring more kids back to in-person learning.
“Just getting students back in a building doesn't guarantee they're going to be learning, it doesn't guarantee they're going to be supported,” BEA president Allison Snow said Thursday.
She said educators are concerned about how schools will safely manage an influx of students, not just in classrooms, but in hallways, bathrooms and on playgrounds.
Snow said what works in one school might not work in another.
“We're trying to create the best possible learning experience we can for kids, I think it's really important to remember that that is not a one size fits all goal,” she said.
A Bellevue School District spokesperson would not comment on negotiations with the union but said the district is working “feverishly” to expand in-person learning.
The union and district return to the bargaining table on Friday, Snow said.