‘Going to school’ begins again Monday for some Thurston County families
Preschool, kindergarten and some elementary school students will return to classrooms throughout Thurston County on Monday, making it the first significant step toward reopening schools since the pandemic began here last March.
The North Thurston Public Schools and Olympia School District will start with preschool and kindergarten on Monday, while the Tumwater School District is beginning with preschool through second grade.
Although there has been some in-person study prior to this, school next week is open to all students who chose to participate in the hybrid approach to learning, a combination of in-person learning two days a week and remote study online three days a week.
In the context of the pandemic, a step closer to “normal” is being welcomed by many parents, teachers and administrators.
“Words can’t describe how ready we are,” said Tiane Garner, a mother of three who will have two children in kindergarten at Meadows Elementary near Lacey.
She and her husband are both active-duty military. Her children have been out of school since last March when they lived in Kansas — they moved here over the summer, she said. They hired a nanny to help and enrolled their children in remote learning opportunities through Olympia Parks, Arts and Recreation.
Although that helped, it didn’t replace school and the interactions and relationships that students develop with their teachers, she said.
“It doesn’t translate through a computer,” Garner said.
Some parents were unable to wait for public schools to reopen.
Voshte Demmert-Gustafson, whose two elementary school-aged children would have attended school in the Griffin School District, enrolled them in a private school instead, she said.
Gustafson was among a number of area parents who rallied to get students back into classrooms. Still, she said any steps toward returning to school are appreciated and she will continue to advocate for a full-time return to school.
How we got here
The big push to return to school came in mid-December when Gov. Jay Inslee announced revised guidance for schools, lowering the recommended COVID-19 case threshold to open for in-person learning, The Olympian reported.
In counties like Thurston, where there are 50-350 cases per 100,000 population, the guidelines encourage districts to phase in in-person learning beginning with the youngest students and those with the highest needs, The Olympian reported.
That was followed by a more recent announcement from Thurston County Health Officer Dr. Dimyana Abdelmalek, who called for a cautious, phased return to school based on the county’s moderate transmission rate for the virus.
“I am recommending schools use the Washington State Department of Health decision-making framework and cautiously phase in in-person learning for K-5 and middle school students,” Abdelmalek said earlier this month.
In another letter to the community on Friday, Abdelmalek reiterated her position, but also backed up her recommendation by citing the mental health needs of children and the importance of fairness.
“Mental health related emergency room visits in young people have increased since the pandemic began,” she writes. “Pediatricians in our county reported seeing significant numbers of youth in their practices who were struggling.
“Further, there is an equity component as not all children have access to the means to engage in remote learning. Some children have a variety of their needs usually met at school which cannot be adequately addressed in the remote learning model. When I offer recommendations, I consider all factors affecting the health and well-being of those in our educational communities.”
Safety
Once in-person learning begins Monday, students and schools will be required to follow all the now-common guidance, such as wearing masks, keeping safe distance and cleaning regularly.
Another component of safe learning is that parents throughout the county will have to attest to their child’s health by filling out a form (an “attestation”) and doing a daily self-health screening before the student goes to school.
Meadows Elementary parent Garner has a special needs child who already was learning in person before the wider start to school on Monday. Using an online platform called Skyward, a tool that many districts use, she answers questions about her child’s health and her child is cleared to go to school. If she forgets to fill out the online form, she gets a call from the school nurse and still has to answer basic health questions, she said.
On the Tumwater School District website, Superintendent Sean Dotson narrates a video about some of the safety steps students and parents can expect.
Safety also is on the mind of Timberline High School student Natalie Scott, who serves on the North Thurston School Board as a student adviser. She told the board Jan. 26 that she had encountered two teachers and a staff member who either weren’t wearing a mask or who weren’t wearing them correctly.
Scott suggested a system be created that would allow students to report teachers and staff who aren’t following safety requirements.
“It’s important they have a sense of power over their safety,” she said of returning students.
School board member Gretchen Maliska said she was surprised to hear that some teachers and staff weren’t wearing masks, and the district is continuing to train in safety measures.
“We take your comments very seriously,” Maliska told Scott.
Who’s next?
The North Thurston and Olympia districts have made no determination about the next grades to be phased into hybrid learning, but the Tumwater district has announced that it will expand to grades 3-6 on Feb. 18, according to the district website.
Grades won’t be added in North Thurston until they see how the youngest learners do, board member Maliska said.
“We need to analyze the data before we add first and second graders,” she said. “It’s a slow moving target.”
Under health department guidance, high school students won’t return to in-person learning until COVID-19 case rates fall below 200 cases per 100,000 population. As of Friday, the county had 268 cases per 100,000 population, according to the COVID-19 Risk Assessment Dashboard.
Resources for parents
▪ Frequently asked questions, North Thurston Public Schools: https://www.nthurston.k12.wa.us/Page/24489.
▪ Frequently asked questions, Olympia School District: https://www.osd.wednet.edu/our_district/district_information/fall_2020_school_reopening_plans/frequently_asked_questions
▪ Frequently asked questions, Tumwater School District: https://www.tumwater.k12.wa.us/Page/9116
