Education
Lopez school district grapples with shortfall, layoffs
What’s the solution to Lopez Island school district’s $700K shortfall? Administrators and school board candidates grapple for the solution.
Change lives, expand minds, boost careers — with science — say teachers and the Science Guy
Bill Nye the Science Guy and local educators and students agree: studying science can be life-changing and career-enhancing.
Impact, importance high in local school board elections
Do local races risk turning into political referendums instead of reasoned debates over school district functions?
Assistant … or replacement? AI, in real life
The future is already here for users of artificial intelligence technology.
Island schools avoid perfect storm menacing budgets
School districts in San Juan County have steered away from a perfect storm of budget cuts, while districts in Whatcom and Skagit counties are feeling the squeeze.
Bond system, wealth inequity are targets of school-funding suit
If a lawsuit brought against the state by one of Washington’s small, rural school districts prevails, it could level the playing field for rich and poor districts when it comes to funding school construction.
‘Starving students’ no more, as campuses address food insecurity
Increasing food insecurity among college students is being answered with a variety of solutions by schools in Skagit and Whatcom counties.
Will Kennedy decision change the religious landscape in public schools?
School officials in Whatcom County say policies regarding religious practices for all parties have not and will not change as a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District.
Law into action: teaching sexual inclusivity in school sexual education
Local public school districts are preparing to meet new state mandates for teaching about sexuality and gender.
Tribal sovereignty education comes—slowly—to school curriculum
Public school districts are working with tribes to develop a crucial new curriculum on tribal sovereignty and treaty rights.
Confrontations, demands for parents’ rights challenge local school boards
Impassioned conversations are occurring nationwide as sometimes large groups of parents show up at once sparsely attended school board meetings — including in Whatcom County — with local issues including COVID-19 mask mandates, critical race theory and sexual health education.
Not taking it: the hows and whys of religious exemption from the COVID-19 vaccination requirement
With some employees seeking religious or medical exemption from the state’s COVID-19 mandate, employers and workers both have continued to adapt over the past month to how that plays out in the workplace. Receiving a medical exemption is often relatively straightforward, but religious exemptions are less so, in the application and the approval processes.
In country, town and city, treatment for drug addiction is urgently needed
Harm reduction programs and collaborations among police, health professionals and society at large pave the pathways to treatment needed by those addicted to drugs, agreed an expert panel at the recent Ralph Munro seminar. Along with looking at why people turn to drugs and how to get them the help they need to overcome addiction, the panel offered ideas as to what’s needed in the way of policy.
On the street and in the forum: tackling homelessness with meaningful solutions
The complex and urgent problem of homelessness has been the focus of academics and policy makers as well as people with a firsthand knowledge of the experience, in two separate gatherings recently in Bellingham — and activists say that those most affected should be involved in creating solutions.
COVID-19 cases highest among 18- to 24-year-olds as students return to campuses
At the same time students were returning to university, community college and technical college campuses that had been closed to in-person instruction for a year and a half — and where full vaccination against COVID-19 is now required — the 18- to 24-year-old age group was reporting the highest number of cases.
Pack a lunch, don a mask: kids go back to school in person as COVID-19 persists
In the midst of the ongoing pandemic, students are dusting off backpacks, packing lunches — and picking out masks to accompany their back-to-school outfits.