Ann Dornfeld

Seattle Public Schools are shutting down for at least two weeks. The move is meant to slow the spread of coronavirus but it's also creating child care problems for parents.

Schools in the Puget Sound region of Washington state are taking a number of precautions given the coronavirus outbreak there. Some are closing; others are disinfecting buildings.

Those tangled brambles are everywhere in the city, the legacy of an eccentric named Luther Burbank whose breeding experiments with crops can still be found on many American dinner plates.

Teachers had been on strike for a week, giving more than 50,000 public school students an extended summer vacation. Classes begin Thursday. The teachers will take a final vote on the deal on Sunday.

Seattle students were supposed to start school Wednesday, but teachers voted to strike in a dispute over pay raises. More than 50,000 public school students and about 5,000 teachers aren't in class.

Students of color have long been punished in far higher numbers than white students in Seattle. The Education Department is looking at whether black students are disciplined more frequently and more harshly than white students for the same behavior.

The teachers say the test, which evaluates their performance as well as the students', is a waste of time. The district is planning review of the test's effectiveness but still expects that it will be administered. As protests against standardized tests percolate nationwide, Seattle may cause a greater ripple effect.