‘Like sisters.’ Kennewick schools losing a cherished rarity in public education

Hermelinda “Melly” Varela and Anita Torres are a package deal.

Where you find one, you’ll likely find the other — and that’s just how best friends work.

So it wasn’t much of a surprise when their co-workers at Kennewick’s Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) learned both would be retiring at the end of the school year.

They had, after all, started their careers in education at about the same time nearly 40 years ago.

“They take their breaks together and their lunches together every day,” said Linda Crowner, the ECEAP director, who has worked with them for nearly a decade.

But Varela, 66, sums up their bond in more detail.

“If I’m struggling with something, like a death in the family, I would always call her first. And she does the same with me because we’re that close,” she said. “We just share everything — good and bad. We’re like sisters.”

The two family support specialists are a cherished rarity in the high-turnover world of public education. It’s their drive and dedication for student and families that has kept both of them in the same position for so long.

Their last day is June 12. They’re among around 50 Kennewick School District employees retiring at the end of the 2023-24 school year.

Crowner says they will be losing two beloved mentors who have made such a large impact in the lives of Kennewick families.

“They are very dedicated. They’re the ones other family supports go to to get guidance from,” Crowner said. “It’s going to be a big loss, especially since they’re bilingual. It’s hard to find qualified bilingual supports. And so to lose two of them at once — it’s a big impact on our program.”

Texas roots

Torres and Varela are the life of the party in the Kennewick School District ECEAP program.

Co-workers say there wasn’t a week that went by where the pair didn’t plan a Friday potluck. They’re a “source of laughter” and have been “true confidantes” to their fellow staff.

“We’re more family than workers,” Torres said.

“We spend so much time together,” Varela adds.

ECEAP is Washington state’s pre-kindergarten learning program. It provides students ages 3-5 free comprehensive nutrition, health, education and family support services. Parents must meet certain income requirements and live within the school district for students to attend.

Varela and Torres work to ensure students are meeting their academic and social-emotional goals, and that they have a solid foundation of skills for when they start kindergarten.

Their jobs comprise of a lot of parent-teacher conferences and home visits. They also help connect families with health and social resources in the Tri-Cities.

It’s around-the-clock, fulfilling work, they tell the Tri-City Herald. So much so that some parents they have served later went on to work at Kennewick ECEAP.

“ECEAP opened a door for me to be more involved with parents and know about more of the services in the community,” said Torres, 67.

The pair first met in 1981 working for the Educational Institute for Rural Families, or more commonly known as the Green Giant Daycare. During the asparagus cutting season, daycare workers there would open their doors at 4 a.m. every day for Latino agriculture workers to drop their kids off.

The duo bonded over their Texas roots and migrant family background. Torres was a new mother, and Varela said she had not started a family yet.

“We got along really good right away,” Varela said. “We just bonded there at the work.”

Varela appreciates how reliable and helpful Torres is, and Torres said Varela is a selfless giver, through and through.

Kennewick ECEAP transition

For six years they taught migrant students how to read and speak English, and coordinated arts and outdoor activities. Then, in 1988, the school district formed the ECEAP program and Torres applied and began working as one of its first workers.

Varela followed soon after.

The program allowed them the opportunity to obtain more professional training as well as reliable, year-round work.

“Since I got out of high school, I’ve been working with kids. I love kids. I love the age, 4 and 5 year olds,” Varela said. “Working with the kids, families and co-workers is something I’m going to miss a lot. We’re like family.”

After starting at ECEAP, both went back to school at Columbia Basin College to earn their associate’s degrees in early childhood education as part of the job requirement. The duo weathered rain and snow to attend night classes.

“With a full-time job, with kids, we worked together,” Torres said. “We were taking every quarter about two classes.”

They graduated together in 2006 after about 15 years of part-time schooling.

Even today, the duo say, ECEAP remains an ever-changing important program serving the community’s most needy families.

Kennewick’s program, located near Amistad Elementary, has grown from two classrooms to 10 during their 35-year tenure. Varela and Torres work with about 250 students and families on any given year. Kennewick ECEAP also expanded this year to include dual language English-Spanish classroom learning.

“Every year there’s something new. So, we’re learning every year,” Torres said.

Heading into retirement

While they’re heading off into the sunset of retirement, the pair says they’ll remain busy and connected with their community of educators and staff.

Varela has three grandchildren to take care of, plus her mother is moving to the Tri-Cities from Texas. She also plans to get back into walking, so community members might see her out and about near her home in Burbank.

Torres’s husband is also retiring this year, so she plans to spend more time with her family, do more camping and pick up some projects around the house.

While the couple may not see each other every day for work, they’ve vowed remain close and to keep their ECEAP family apprised of what’s going on in their lives. They’re planning a final potluck for May 31.