Hundreds of students protest as Kennewick schools announce plans to reconsider delaying opening
Tayler Bloxham hobbled along with hundreds of her fellow students after months of feeling frustrated with distance learning.
A Wednesday morning protest was important enough for the Southridge High School senior to break out her crutches after hurting a tendon in her foot.
“It’s my senior year and I play sports and I am a potential valedictorian,” she said. “Not having school has been very hard on my sister. Over 50 percent of the kids at my school have failing grades.”
Bloxham wasn’t alone in her frustration. She joined several hundred students as they marched from Lampson Stadium to the Kennewick administration building on Fourth Avenue.
They talked about struggling with Zoom, dealing with teachers who weren’t prepared for teaching online and feeling isolated from their peers.
The effort was led by Kennewick High students Tayler Adams and Haylee Johnson. The teens said they were tired of their voices not being heard by the school board.
“We have been out of school for almost eight months now and we are ready to go back,” Adams said. “We haven’t really had a voice in saying whether Zooms are working for us.”
“You just don’t get the help that you actually need because they just don’t understand your email, and you’re going back and forth trying to figure out what you actually need.”
Johnson said they feel that their education is essential, and can be handled safely.
The two set up the protest the day after the school board voted 3-2 to hold off on middle and high school for three more months. They said they’ve heard from several students who want to see a change.
“We’ve had quite a few people excited that we’re out here trying to get our voices in on this,” Adams said. “We want to go back to school and we’re ready for change.”
A group of Desert Hills Middle School students standing nearby echoed their complaints.
Tyson Gorillo said it feels like they’re learning about half as much as the private school students are.
Revisiting decision
The Kennewick School Board already plans to re-evaluate last week’s decision for a three-month delay in reopening middle and high schools.
Superintendent Traci Pierce posted a letter Tuesday night about the issue after talking with Board President Dawn Adams.
“The Board would like the community to know that they will be re-evaluating the timeline for implementing hybrid learning for middle and high school during the Nov. 18 Board meeting,” she wrote. “The district is currently taking concrete action to address the health and safety concerns raised regarding middle and high schools.”
The board voted 3-2 last week to push back the start of classes until Feb. 2 because of COVID concerns in keeping students apart.
Elementary students returned to partial in-person classes last week.
On Tuesday, Pierce wrote that the district is developing a modified hybrid-learning schedule for secondary students and getting a safety assessment from a third party.
The district has contracted with NV5, formerly Dade Moeller, a professional consulting service with expertise in radiation protection, occupational health & safety, fire protection and laboratory quality assurance, according to the company’s website.
Pierce said the assessment and other actions will be done in time for a presentation to the board Nov. 18.
“We appreciate your continued support as we plan for moving forward with in-person learning for middle and high school,” she wrote.
The Kennewick district has 2,450 teachers and 18,000 students.
Since last week’s meeting, six more elementary students and three employees have reported testing positive for COVID-19.
In all, 25 employees and students have tested positive since the end of August.
COVID-19 data reported includes enrolled students and staff who are physically present in a building or on school grounds in any capacity, including in-person learning, hybrid learning, etc., said the district website.
Kennewick is the only district to publicly list how many staff members have gotten ill and where they work.
Officials say they follow thorough cleaning protocols after someone tests positive and they continue to encourage parents to check their children for illness before sending them into schools.
This story was originally published October 27, 2020 at 6:41 PM.