Parents of Seattle special education students plan for in-person learning

SEATTLE — Parents of hundreds of special education students in Seattle Public Schools are hopeful their children will be back in school on Thursday.

SPS is set to bring back special education students and preschoolers back to in-person learning on March 11, about 1,100 students.

The district has not reached a new agreement with the Seattle Education Association. The district exercised a clause that declared the educators as “essential” to get them back in school for in-person learning.

The Seattle Education Association accused the district of bullying and filed an unfair labor practices complaint against the district.

As the district and teachers continue to bargain, parents of some of the most vulnerable students are hopeful their children will be back in class for the first time in a year.

“Yes, we are definitely sending our son back. We have been waiting for this for a long time,” said Joelle Hammerstad.

Her son, Paxton, is 9 years old and a third grader at Sansilo Elementary in West Seattle. She thought the return was a done deal after a Microsoft Teams meeting with the district and families, so she told Paxton he gets to go back. “He’s a little bit nervous. We’ve been going there every day to look at the school and go to the playground.”

Hammerstad says Paxton, who has autism, thrives with routine and predictability, which are hard to accomplish with remote learning.

“I am very appreciative of the fact the school district has been trying, they’re really trying to get kids back in the classroom,” said Hammerstad.

Cherylynne Crowther is the co-vice-president of the Seatlte Special Education PTSA. Her son, Max, 16, is a sophomore at Roosevelt High School where he is in the special education program.

“There are a lot of students who are really hurting and it’s frustrating. If you can just focus on the kids,” said Crowther. She says her son has been picked up at her house by a school bus since he was 3 years old. She expects that will start again on Thursday and even spotted a bus in the neighborhood recently.

The district expected about 700 teachers, who teach preschool and special education, to return to the classroom on Monday. Teachers did not go back, however. They do not think enough has been done to make it safe for students and staff.

On a Zoom call with the Seattle Education Association on Monday, Northgate Elementary School teacher Guillermo Carvajal described the small room where students displaying COVID-19 symptoms would be observed as a former storage closet. “That room is not adequate for the needs of the students and staff it’s a very small room,” said Carvajal.

Gerald Donaldson, who is a family support worker at Leschi Elementary, said they don’t have the proper staffing ready. “I firmly believe we need nurses in every building and a counselor in every building,” said Donaldson.

The district says it will keep bargaining this week and hopes to reach a tentative agreement with the teachers union soon.

If teachers are not back in the classroom on Thursday, the district says it will have professionally trained central office staff take their place on Thursday and Friday.

That won’t keep Crowther and Hammerstad from sending their sons on Thursday.

“I intend to have my son get on a school bus,” said Crowther.

Cox Media Group