The pandemic has forced us to change a lot of things in our lives. Now, as more and more people get vaccinated, it doesn’t feel crazy to think about when life can return to normal.

The past year has been tough, and we've all had to find ways to try to stay happy and sane.

As the Seattle school district delays the date for bringing preschoolers and some students with disabilities back to classrooms to the end of this month, 40 miles to the south in Pierce County, seventh- and eighth-graders at Keithley Middle School in Parkland headed back to campus this week. They returned to classrooms for the first time in almost a year, following the return of sixth-graders last week.

The pandemic has been an isolating experience for many of us. It’s even harder if you’re trying to start out in a new place and build a social circle. That’s what 13-year-old Nascha Martinez faced when she moved here from Breckenridge, Colo., and began attending a brand-new school, West Sound Academy in Poulsbo, during a time of remote learning. She shared her story for KNKX’s Take the Mic youth voices project .

In South King County, the Highline school board has voted to authorize possible legal action against its teachers union. It’s another example of escalating tensions around the region over the resumption of in-person instruction.

On a recent day under a light drizzle, Alyssa Andrews and Anna Hester stood in a school parking lot in unincorporated Pierce County, going over their plans to visit families of middle-school students who haven’t been logging on to remote classes.

Some districts in the Puget Sound region say they will not be expanding in-person learning to all students this school year. That includes the Edmonds and Lake Washington districts.

Kamari Johnson is 11 years old. She’s trying to make the best of remote school, including keeping up with orchestra class, which means playing violin at home by herself. She remembers what it was like to play music together with other students as an ensemble, back in fifth grade, back before the coronavirus.

It can be difficult for anyone who’s been incarcerated to readjust to life after getting out. A bill working its way through the Legislature would allow some young people in juvenile rehabilitation to serve part of their sentences in the community with the aim of facilitating a better transition.

Public school enrollment is down almost 4 percent statewide compared with last year. Many families decided not to enroll their kindergartners because of remote learning, and others have switched to private schools or home schooling. Because state education funding is calculated based on the number of students, many districts are now facing budget deficits. State lawmakers are considering a bill to send more money to school districts that have seen a drop in enrollment during the pandemic .

School district leaders, the statewide teachers union and other groups are urging lawmakers to address housing affordability for school employees. Right now, state law allows school districts with fewer than 2,000 students to build teacher cottages and other employee housing. Sen. Jesse Salomon, a Democrat whose district includes Shoreline, Edmonds and northwest Seattle, has sponsored a bill that would expand that to all school districts . It advanced out of the Senate Committee on Early

In an already very weird year, high school football in Tacoma is now set to begin less than a week before the Super Bowl – in February. Fall sports that were delayed for months due to the pandemic have now been given the go-ahead to begin, with safety measures such as face masks. Those sports include volleyball, cross country, girls soccer, girls swim and golf, in addition to football.

Acknowledging the degree to which education has been disrupted during the pandemic, state lawmakers are discussing ways to help students catch up academically.

Most students around the Puget Sound region have been learning remotely since last March. But in addition to needing access to the internet and a computer, they’ve also had to figure out how to make a learning space at home. The South Seattle community group WA-BLOC has been trying to help meet students’ needs. The group has been handing out portable desks to students who are working from home with limited space and a lot of online classes.

Amid a dispute over the Bellevue School District’s expansion of in-person learning to young students, the district asked a King County Superior Court commissioner to issue a temporary injunction against its educators union to force them to resume both in-person and live online instruction.

UPDATE, 4:12 pm : Adds information about the Sedro-Woolley School District. Bellevue Superintendent Ivan Duran says the district will continue with its plan to welcome about 770 second-graders back for in-person learning on Thursday, even though teachers may not show up.

Roll out of bed, turn on your laptop, wander to the kitchen to get food during class – online school during a pandemic is pretty different from regular school. And while some districts are in the process of bringing the youngest kids back to classrooms, the majority of older students will continue learning from home for the time being.

Eighth-graders in Seattle and South King County trying to figure out where to go to high school will have a new option to consider. A regional high school focused on marine science and maritime careers will open in the Highline school district in the fall.

UPDATE, Jan. 6: Adds comments from a kindergartner, her mom and school principal. Seeing your teacher, meeting your classmates, getting used to having your own desk and cubby – these are the exciting (and perhaps terrifying) rites of passage for kindergartners that normally happen in September. On Mercer Island, these rites of passage are instead happening now. The coronavirus pandemic is to blame for the delay.

The frustration among families over remote learning has built up over months. Now some districts, including Mercer Island, Bellevue and Tacoma, are taking steps to bring the youngest students back for in-person school this month.

UPDATE, Dec. 22: Corrects story to reflect that the Seattle school district recently approved one outdoor learning program serving four students. The risk of catching the coronavirus is lower outside than inside, and for that reason, a lot of people were hoping that public schools could mitigate risk by shifting instruction to the great outdoors. In Seattle, despite a push in the summer to make that happen, most programs, except for one small pilot, are still not up and running. But in Whatcom

Amid increasing pressure from parents to have schools offer more face-to-face instruction, Gov. Jay Inslee has released updated recommendations to school districts to encourage them to do that.

How do you build school spirit when students are learning from home? That’s been on the mind of 16-year-old Isaac Velazquez, a junior at Franklin Pierce High School in the Midland area of unincorporated Pierce County.

More than half of the state’s public school students are in districts offering almost exclusively remote learning , but state Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal acknowledged to state lawmakers on Monday that distance learning is not working for a lot of kids.