Teacher Parades Postponed

Updated 4/7/20
Teacher Parades Postponed

In the wake of the Governor’s announcement to close schools for the remainder of the year and due to concerns about overextending law enforcement support, the Wenatchee School District has decided to postpone the Lewis & Clark Elementary and Newbery Elementary teacher parades until further notice. 

While it remains important to us that we build connections with our students and families during the extended closure, we are also sensitive to the needs of our community during the crisis and don’t want to add any additional pressure on essential services. Our teachers and school staff will remain diligent in connecting with students and will find alternative ways to reach out and show their support.

4/6/20
A parade might be the last thing you’d expect to see as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, but that’s exactly what Newbery Elementary and Lewis & Clark Elementary schools have planned for this week. 

They will look a bit different from the parades we know and love. Instead of floats, there will be teachers in their cars. And instead of catching candy and other trinkets, children and families can catch smiles and waves— from an acceptable social distance, of course.

With schools closed due to the pandemic, teachers miss seeing their students. To help spread some cheer, Lewis & Clark Elementary and Newbery Elementary teachers and staff plan on parading through their students’ neighborhoods so they can connect with the children they teach, albeit from at least six feet away.

After spending the first two weeks of the closure helping to hand out meals and learning packets at school, Lewis & Clark Reading Intervention Teacher, Desirée Schmidt noticed how happy staff and students were to see each other. “It almost brought me to tears. I was so happy to see them [students],” said Schmidt. Inspired by this connection and by recent news stories about teacher parades, Schmidt set out to plan a teacher parade for Lewis & Clark Elementary with the blessing of L&C Principal Alfonso Lopez and in coordination with Wenatchee Police Chief Steve Crown and WSD School Resources Office Jared Reinfeld. “I cannot wait to see our students’ faces light up with glee to see all of their teachers,” she said.

Students and their families can enjoy the parades from their homes or on the sidewalk while observing social distancing of at least 6 ft. The schools are encouraging families that do not live along the parade routes to park along the route and wave from the safety of their vehicles.

“We won't be able to drive by every students’ house, but we tried our best to cover as many neighborhoods as possible with our routes,” said Newbery Elementary Principal Kevin Loomis. “We are so excited about the opportunity to see our students’ during this difficult time.” 

The Newbery and Lewis & Clark teacher parades join a growing list of schools around the country whose teachers are eager to hit the streets and connect with their students and families. 

Newbery Teacher Parade
Wednesday, April 8th 
6:00 p.m.
Map

Lewis & Clark Teacher Parade
Tuesday, April 7th and Friday, April 10th
5:30 p.m.
Map