Walking down the hall to her kindergarten classroom, 5-year-old Ruby Ketchum gave her mom, Mary Moore, an encouraging pat on the arm.
“Don’t worry,” Ruby said. “I’ll be back.”
Many of the parents at Peter S. Ogden Elementary School — especially those sending their kindergartners to school for the first time — hugged their children a little tighter Wednesday after an unexpected extension to their summer breaks. Teachers in Vancouver Public Schools were finally back at work, returning a week later than originally planned after voting to ratify their collective bargaining agreement following several days of striking.
With about 24,000 students, Vancouver Public Schools is the largest Clark County district whose students were returning to class. For parents, it was a welcome resolution.
“I’m just excited it’s all resolved,” said Ashley Scott, whose 6-year-old son Lucas is starting first grade. “It’s hard for the little ones.”
Principal April Whipple smiled and waved at returning and new students alike, helping guide students to their classrooms and answering questions.
In honor of the last year in this aging building, the theme for the year is “Constructing Ogden’s Future,” Whipple said. The new elementary school campus is under construction nearby.
Teachers wore plastic hard hats reading “Ogden Work Crew,” and students took photos in front of a construction-themed background, smiling through cardboard frames reading “1st Day 2018” and “#ogdenWORKzone.”
Teachers and staff were excited to return for the first day, Whipple said.
“This is what we do,” she said.
Parents at the school seem to have taken the teacher strikes in stride. Galen McIntosh was dropping off his daughters, 7-year-old Chloe and 6-year-old Phoebe.
“I wish they would have started on time, but I understand why they were on strike,” McIntosh said. “That’s the priority.”
Shelly Jensen and her 8-year-old daughter, Leah, actually joined teachers on the picket line, bringing bananas and treats.
Leah, a third-grader, offered a simplified summary of the strike, which ended with teachers approving a three-year contract that boosts their pay an average of 12.5 percent this year.
“When people are on strike, they have to stand out there if they want more money,” Leah said.
Jensen said it was important that her daughter understand what was happening during the days her teachers were picketing.
“I wanted to show her the solidarity of being with their teacher,” she said.
Meanwhile, in Ruby’s kindergarten classroom, these new students were quick to get to work, playing with wooden numbers, gathering in a circle around the carpet and dancing with their teacher, Micah Wolfe, to “The Wheels on the Bus.”
“Is this the first day of kindergarten?” he asked the attentive students. “No way! You guys look like you’re experts already!”
After giving her daughter a swift hug, Moore waited in the door frame, watching her daughter meet new friends and explore her new classroom. Ruby is her third child, Moore said. She should be used to this by now.
But, Moore said, “it’s like starting over.”
