Jim Allen

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News >  Education

After a few bumps, SPS adjusting to a new year of distance learning

UPDATED: Thu., March 14, 2024

As it turned out, it was the parents who had most of the back-to-school jitters this week.

News >  Education

New LC Commons is ready. All it needs are students

UPDATED: Wed., Sept. 23, 2020

To walk into the new commons at Lewis and Clark High School is to feel the light.

News

SPS overcomes obstacles to deliver food

Fri., Sept. 18, 2020

Despite a few breaks in the food chain, Spokane Public Schools is finding a way to feed hungry families.

News

Smiles and glitches as Spokane Public Schools begins

UPDATED: Mon., Sept. 14, 2020

Even by this year’s standards, the first day of class at Spokane Public Schools felt anything but normal.

News >  K-12 education

Mead School District cancels first day of classes due to smoke, Spokane schools start distance learning

UPDATED: Mon., Sept. 14, 2020

The Mead School District will not hold any type of classes Monday, which would have been the first day of school, due to poor air quality. Spokane Public Schools will begin distance learning Monday. 

News

Back to school from A to Z, coronavirus edition

Sun., Sept. 13, 2020

Ready for school in the midst of a pandemic?

News >  K-12 education

Back to school: How safe will it be?

Sun., Sept. 13, 2020

Invention has a new mother: COVID-19.

News >  K-12 education

Going back to school

Sun., Sept. 13, 2020

Spokane Public Schools made a little history last week.

News

Tips for back to school

Sun., Sept. 13, 2020

For parents ready to tear their hair out at the prospect of another year of distance learning, help is everywhere.

News >  K-12 education

SPS takes first steps toward in-person learning

UPDATED: Thu., Sept. 10, 2020

For the first time since March, officials at Spokane Public Schools are openly talking about bringing students back to class.

News >  Education

Spokane native and EWU professor Ziehnert named to SPS board

UPDATED: Wed., Sept. 9, 2020

For Spokane Public Schools and Aryn Ziehnert, the timing couldn’t be better.

News >  K-12 education

Spokane Public Schools board passes equity guidelines

UPDATED: Fri., Sept. 11, 2020

Employees of Spokane Public Schools will no longer be able to arrest students after the district’s board of directors on Wednesday night approved a broad set of priority objectives for the new school year that also include provisions to promote racial equity.

News

Back to school: Deer Park students, families find joy in a hint of normal

Wed., Sept. 9, 2020

For the kids at Arcadia Elementary School in Deer Park, finding their home room was easy.

News >  K-12 education

Local school districts start classes this week with different COVID-19 plans in place

Mon., Sept. 7, 2020

Some school districts in the area will begin classes in their buildings this week for the first time since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Others have chosen to remain virtual, for now.

News >  Education

Pandemic EBT deadline looms for those who need help buying food

UPDATED: Thu., Sept. 3, 2020

The deadline is eight days away for families to apply for a federal program that offers free money to feed children.

SPS board delays filling vacancy

UPDATED: Thu., Sept. 3, 2020

The Spokane Public Schools board needs more time to fill its vacancy.

News >  Spokane

‘It was a war for the right reasons’: 99-year-old WWII vet from Spokane recalls V-J Day

UPDATED: Wed., Sept. 2, 2020

In the summer of 1945, First Lt. Clifford Rankin was back in Spokane and home from the war for a little rest and recuperation.

News

Spokane Public Schools prepares for weekly meal pickups as USDA extends food programs

UPDATED: Tue., Sept. 1, 2020

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the extension of a school meal program that has provided free meals to millions of children since schools closed in the spring.

News

Schools get $3 million loan for PPE

UPDATED: Mon., Aug. 31, 2020

More than five dozen public school districts and private schools are taking advantage of a $3 million loan from the Spokane County Treasurer’s office to buy personal protective equipment.

News

Spokane School Board moving swiftly to fill vacancy

UPDATED: Tue., Sept. 1, 2020

The Spokane Public Schools board is moving swiftly to fill a vacancy amid big decisions regarding education during the pandemic.

Lakeland opts to go full in-person, masks optional

UPDATED: Mon., Aug. 31, 2020

Students in the Rathdrum-Twin Lakes area will be back in class five days a week with no masks required after the Lakeland Joint School District board reversed course during a special meeting last weekend.

News >  K-12 education

Washington school districts may use buses to deliver supplies for home learning

Mon., Aug. 31, 2020

Gov. Jay Inslee issued new guidance last week that will allow school bus drivers, who would not normally have routes during distance learning, to deliver meals and other needed supplies for home learning. That's the plan in Spokane, where Durham School Services provides transportation. 

News >  Education

Spokane district names 7 finalists for vacant school board spot

Sun., Aug. 30, 2020

The Spokane Public Schools board of directors selected seven finalists this week to fill a vacancy left by Kevin Morrison’s resignation last month.

News

Veteran Dean Ladd missing WWII ceremony

Sun., Aug. 30, 2020

At the age of 99, Dean Ladd just made another sacrifice for his country.

News >  Education

As South Hill students fill ‘day camp’ slots, concerns emerge about families most in need

Fri., Aug. 28, 2020

South Hill families have snagged an outsized share of the 700-plus spots in Spokane Public Schools’ new “day camp” program designed for kids to learn remotely – supervised and safe – in elementary and middle school buildings until schools fully reopen.