Author’s note: Since this story originally aired, Denny International Middle School has continued to be an important site for meal distribution in Seattle Public Schools. Denny serves about 700 meals per day, and overall, the district distributes 30,000 meals daily. During the winter break, the school district has shifted to providing one-week meal boxes to students, and Denny is one of two sites in West Seattle where those are being handed out. (This story originally aired April 30, 2020.)

UPDATE, Dec. 22: Corrects story to reflect that the Seattle school district recently approved one outdoor learning program serving four students. The risk of catching the coronavirus is lower outside than inside, and for that reason, a lot of people were hoping that public schools could mitigate risk by shifting instruction to the great outdoors. In Seattle, despite a push in the summer to make that happen, most programs, except for one small pilot, are still not up and running. But in Whatcom

Amid increasing pressure from parents to have schools offer more face-to-face instruction, Gov. Jay Inslee has released updated recommendations to school districts to encourage them to do that.

How do you build school spirit when students are learning from home? That’s been on the mind of 16-year-old Isaac Velazquez, a junior at Franklin Pierce High School in the Midland area of unincorporated Pierce County.

More than half of the state’s public school students are in districts offering almost exclusively remote learning , but state Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal acknowledged to state lawmakers on Monday that distance learning is not working for a lot of kids.

Demand for food assistance has surged this year as many people have lost their jobs. The Schultz Family Foundation, which was started by former Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz and his wife, Sheri, has created something called the Washington COVID Response Corps to employ young people to work on addressing food insecurity.

A new illustrated children's book by a local author called " Panda Demick " highlights how the pandemic has, in some ways, been beneficial for Planet Earth.

Being a teacher right now is not easy. Ryan Davenport had to buy a new Ikea chair because teaching online means sitting around a lot, and that makes his neck hurt. During a regular school year, he’s usually on his feet much of the day, moving around. Ryan teaches social studies to seventh-graders in the Franklin Pierce School District in Parkland. But even more than that discomfort, this school year of disruption means Ryan has a harder time making the connections with his students that normally

For 14-year-old Sebastian Bush, time at home during the pandemic has had a certain smell: the scent of traditional Colombian cornmeal cakes known as arepas frying, and beef, rice and potato-filled, crescent-shaped pastries known as empanadas sizzling in oil. It’s also had a certain sound: the sound of chatting with his grandmother, Elsa Forero, as they prepare the food of her childhood in Bogotá .

Students who need help with their homework have options for free online tutoring through public libraries, including a new service from Seattle Public Library .