Tacoma Public Schools to bring back students for in-person learning starting in January
Tacoma Public Schools will begin bringing back students for in-person learning in January, according to an announcement by Superintendent Carla Santorno on Friday.
The district shared the following timeline:
Jan. 19: Kindergarten students will come to school for in-person instruction two days per week in groups of up to 15 students.
Jan 25: Preschool students will come to school two days per week in groups of up to 15 students.
Feb. 1: Kindergarten students shift to four school days per week but only if case counts in Pierce County drop below 350 cases per 100,000 people.
Feb. 8: First and second graders return to school two days per week in groups of up to 15 students.
Students who receive special education services at all grade levels will continue to attend school in person. Groups can increase from five to up to 15 students.
Santorno said the district is ready.
“Over the last several months, we have prepared by establishing consistent safety protocols and accumulating the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE),” Santorno wrote in a letter to families on Friday.
The district is exploring ways to bring back middle school and high school students living homeless in small groups of up to 15 students.
The district’s update comes after revised guidance from the state for schools on Wednesday, which lowers the recommended COVID-19 case threshold to open for in-person learning.
In counties with a case rate of more than 350 cases per 100,000 people over a 14-day period, schools are recommended to phase in in-person learning in groups of 15 or fewer students for pre-K through grade 5, in addition to students with the highest needs, according to revised guidance from the state.
Pierce County’s 14-day case rate per 100,000 people was at 498.3 cases Friday, with a six-day data lag for accuracy, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. That puts the county into the state’s “high” activity category.
The state Department of Health recommends schools in counties with a case rate fewer than 50 make in-person learning available to all students with safety measures in place. Schools in counties with case rates between 50-350 cases per 100,000 are encouraged to phase in in-person learning beginning with the youngest students and those with the highest needs.
Shannon Ergun, president of the Tacoma Education Association, told The News Tribune the district’s plans for returning are in line with the union’s memorandum of understanding to return after Jan. 19. Still, she worries things are moving quickly and wants to ensure that proper plans are in place for students moving in and out of the building and keeping them 6 feet apart, among other safety protocols.
“I think there’s still a lot of work to do to make sure that we have all the systems in place,” she said.
Santorno said she expects to announce plans to bring back first and second graders four days a week, expand preschool programming and phase in grades 3-5 in early 2021.
The district will provide another update the first week in January.
To return to school in person, parents must take the following steps:
- Sign up on the district’s Family App. Families will need to fill out a daily online form stating their child is healthy and hasn’t been exposed to COVID-19.
- Make sure students have all the required non-COVID-19 vaccinations and provided the records to your child’s school nurse.
- Provide any medical care plans, medications or physician’s orders to your school nurse before the first day of in-person learning.
Only about 15% of Washington’s K-12 students are receiving any form of in-person learning right now, Governor Jay Inslee said on Wednesday. The state’s recommendations are for local school boards to consider and aren’t legally binding requirements.
“Since October, we’ve followed health and safety protocols to provide in-person learning for identified students at all grade levels who require special education services,” Santorno said. “We know when our students, staff and families follow safety protocols, we can limit transmission of COVID-19 in schools.”
Tacoma Public Schools serves roughly 30,000 students, with elementary students making up 13,491 of students enrolled.
Seattle Public Schools announced this week that preschoolers, kindergartners, first graders and additional students with disabilities will return to the classroom for in-person learning in March.
