In wake of Bellevue strike parents, kids struggle to fill days

If it were a weekend, a giggling group of teenage girls like the one scurrying through Bellevue Square the other day would be a common sight.

But this was midweek — in September, no less — and this crew should have been in school.

The Bellevue teachers strike was in its second week, and such sights were common, as thousands of kids — and their parents — were left to fend for themselves.

"We're sitting at home," said one of the girls, Yasmeen Kabbani, explaining that she was supposed to be attending 10th grade at Newport High School. "That, and a little shopping."

All over Bellevue, in unusually pleasant September weather, parents and their kids were trying to fill days that would have been taken up with classes and homework.

At Meydenbauer Beach Park, two moms, who gave their names as Kelly and Jill, said they were spending another day at the beach with their kids.

"We've been beach-hopping," said Jill. "Every day, a different beach. We took yesterday off and went to Costco. We've been to Medina, Yarrow and Houghton. I don't know where we'll go tomorrow."

And while the possibility of spending still another day lazing in the sunshine might not seem too awful, both mothers, whose kids normally would be at Somerset and Clyde Hill elementaries, said the inactivity was getting tedious.

"My fourth-grader was crying yesterday and saying this is unfair. She wants to be in school," Jill said.

Both women have heard anecdotes from others on the effects of the strike: One mother who works at home couldn't do her job because of the constant distractions; another was taking her kids with her to work, where they played video games. Some were taking time off to stay home with their kids.

"If we'd known this was coming, we could have gone on a trip," Kelly said. "It's every single day, waiting to see what happens the next day."

Other parents, including some at a meeting this week where the Bellevue School Board considered going to court to try to stop the strike, voiced worries including having to borrow from retirement accounts to cope with the financial hardships posed by the walkout.

One parent, Michelle Abrahams, worried about the emotional impact on the students, and the burdens of trying to cope with unfilled days.

"We're starting to stretch the limits in terms of what parents can do," said Ryan Scott, the vice president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Bellevue. He said that the clubs are caring for about 400 kids at six sites throughout the city.

"It seems like a lot of grandparents have stepped in, a lot of older brothers and sisters have stepped in," Scott said.

Others in the community stepped up as well. He noted that on Thursday, for example, about 175 kids from the two Boys & Girls Clubs facilities on 100th Avenue Northeast in downtown Bellevue were treated to a free showing of the movie "Wall-E" at the Lincoln Square Cinemas. On Friday, about 100 kids were taken to Meydenbauer Beach Park, a three-minute walk from the clubs, to get outdoors.

"It's like a longer summer vacation for them," said Megan Stringfellow, a club unit director leading 24 kindergartners and first-graders out of the park Friday afternoon. But the tedium was even wearing on the kids.

"I'd rather be in school," said one girl, Caroline, who would have been attending Clyde Hill Elementary. "I want to be in first grade."

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com