In-person learning now possible for K-5 students in Pierce County, health officials say
Pierce County students in kindergarten through fifth grade can return to school for in-person learning, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department told school leaders on Thursday.
As of Thursday, Pierce County had a 14-day COVID-19 case county of 73.3 cases per 100,000 people, moving it into the “moderate” category of the state’s school reopening “decision tree” for the first time.
The moderate range is 25 to 75 cases per 100,000 over 14 days and recommends distance learning but allows for in-person classes for elementary students.
“So what that means for schools is that school can now begin to offer those plans as described in the decision tree, and opening up slowly and gradually starting with elementary school students for in-person learning,” Pierce County health department deputy director Nancy Sutton told The News Tribune in an interview on Friday.
On Friday, superintendents from 14 school districts — Bethel, Carbonado, Clover Park, Dieringer, Eatonville, Fife, Franklin Pierce, Orting, Puyallup, Steilacoom Historical, Sumner-Bonney Lake, Tacoma, University Place and White River — sent a letter saying they will be monitoring data and developing transition plans.
“None of our districts will bring students back before Sept. 22,” the letter stated. “Once a district decides to bring students back to school, they may need at least two weeks of operational transition time before they reopen their doors at the elementary level.”
Individual schools will have their own tailored plans for returning to school, Sutton said, but the health department will continue to work with schools to interpret guidance from the state.
Sutton said the department would handle an outbreak at an individual school through its typical investigation process.
“We might need to take some actions to close a particular building in response to an outbreak,” she said.
If the disease rates throughout the county increase, Sutton said, the department would work with schools to determine a path forward.
“We’ll be able to see trends, and we’ll be able to talk with them about the direction that we think the data is taking — whether trends are going up, whether they’re staying flat or whether they’re continuing to reduce,” Sutton said.
It’s up to districts to decide when they are prepared to return, Sutton said.
In Tacoma Public Schools, officials previously said that they would take a three-week period to transition K-5 students to in-person learning.
The “moderate” risk stage also states that over time, schools can consider adding hybrid in-person learning for middle or high school students if limited COVID transmission occurs in schools.
Sutton says it takes about 21 days to determine if a trend is stable or decreasing.
“We’re asking schools to keep that data lag in mind ...,” she said.
