Clover Park joins Pierce County school districts in fall full-time remote learning plan
Clover Park is the latest Pierce County school district to turn to full-time remote learning this fall in light of new guidance from the health department last week.
The district will start the 2020-21 school year on Sept. 2 in a virtual learning model with students participating in “robust” online learning at home, Clover Park superintendent Ron Banner said in a message to families on Monday.
“Together, we have made a decision that is in the best interest of the safety and well-being of staff and students,” Banner said in the letter.
The announcement comes after Dr. Anthony Chen, Pierce County’s director of health, said in a statement to superintendents on Thursday that he felt it was unsafe to reopen schools for in-person learning as COVID-19 cases increase across the state.
That same evening, school districts across the county, including the three largest — Tacoma, Puyallup and Bethel — announced their intent to transition to remote learning at the start of the school year, reversing previous hybrid plans involving part remote, part face-to-face learning.
Officials from Clover Park, the fourth-largest district in Pierce County with more than 13,000 students enrolled from the Lakewood area, took extra time to make its decision.
“In the midst of a void of specific guidance from the state, we took additional time to thoughtfully process the complexities of this decision,” Banner said.
All Pierce County school districts have now communicated their intent to move to full-time remote learning this fall.
District officials say the recommendations could still change in the coming weeks to allow students to return to school in-person, given COVID-19 case numbers decrease.
This story was originally published July 28, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
