Substantial changes have taken place over the last 10 years related to how Bellingham Public Schools (BPS) supports the whole child. This includes restorative justice practices to minimize out-of-school suspensions and expulsions, and adopting and teaching social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum focused on teaching students social skills while building community. BPS also provides annual trainings…
Here is a list of our 2020-21 retirees in alphabetical order with their years of service. This list includes confirmed retirees through the May 2021 school board report and who we were able to confirm wished to be honored publicly. Jeffry Allen, Head Custodian, Sehome High School, 20 years in BPS Mike Anderson, Director, Buildings…
For the past five years, Bellingham Public Schools has offered an inclusive preschool program at Alderwood and Cordata elementary schools. The program includes opportunities for typically developing children and children with developmental delays or disabilities. “We want to invest in early learning at the preschool level and really provide more inclusive opportunities for children with…
What would you do if there were no restrictions? This was the question posed by teacher on special assignment Jennifer Lawrence when she reached out to fellow educators looking for colleagues to lead an extended learning experience for students. High school biology teacher Erin Buke, middle school Special Education teacher Eva Warner Chazo and first…
Thanks to the dedication of staff and community partners, Bellingham Public Schools has offered COVID immunization opportunities to all BPS staff and community education partners. On March 2, Governor Inslee added educators and licensed childcare workers to the vaccine prioritization, which meant that all Bellingham Public Schools staff became eligible to receive the vaccine if…
Jennifer Gaer, Volunteer Coordinator “I grew up in upstate New York in a small town, which I couldn’t wait to leave. When I turned 18, I did and I’ve never lived back there since I left for college. I was a first generation college student and I had two older sisters who mentored me and…
Some students in Bellingham Public Schools are part of a summer books program and receive packages of books in the mail once a month in June, July and August to encourage them to keep reading over the summer months. Students are selected for the Learning Assistance Program (LAP) based on assessments and reading data collected…
How would our community change if every child grew to meet their full potential? How could elementary school parent groups (e.g. PTSAs, PTAs, PTOs), Bellingham Public Schools and the Bellingham Public Schools Foundation work together to better realize this vision? These are the questions being explored through a new collaboration between elementary school parent groups…
Julie van Wijk, principal at Cordata Elementary School “I learned about France in fourth grade, in Social Studies, and I came home and told my mom, “I’m going to be French teacher!” And that’s what I did. I went to the University of Texas at Austin and majored in French language and literature. I originally…
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