Answers to Peninsula school closures: No online teaching; sports are ‘done;’ seniors will graduate

Peninsula School District administrators are still working out the details of the six-week coronavirus closure set to begin Tuesday, March 17, but interim superintendent Dr. Art Jarvis offered some answers in an interview Friday.

The short version: Online courses are not an option, sports are over for the year, there will be no employee layoffs, seniors will get to graduate, and makeup days, if school resumes, will not extend past June 19. And yes, Jarvis said, it is possible school may not resume at all this year.

“Closure of our schools for six weeks disrupts our world to a degree we have never experienced,” Jarvis said in a message to district staff.

The Peninsula district is among many statewide ordered closed by Gov. Jay Inslee from March 17 to April 24 to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

In a message to staff on Friday, Jarvis asked employees to take two days off after saying goodbye to their students on Monday, and to report back to work Thursday, March 19.

That will give staff time “to sort the needs for each of you personally” and the district time to get more clarity from state and health authorities, he said.

“To repeat, first take time for yourself, your family and your colleagues to reflect, take a deep breath, and begin this next chapter, Jarvis told district staff . “It is clearly new ground for all of us.“

The Gateway caught up with Jarvis after a long, hectic day Friday in which he was closeted with his administrators.

Here are some questions we put to him and his answers.

Will students be taught?

For all practical purposes, students will not be taught during the six weeks of absence.

“There was a huge concern about inequity in the sense of some children will have devices and internet connection to do school online, and other kids would not,” Jarvis said. “That is not a recommendation at all, and we will not try to run school in a different form.”

Jarvis added that on Thursday, March 19 the staff will meet to find ways to connect with the children, whether it be an occasional phone call or optional lesson packet.

“We are keenly aware that six weeks without normalcy, without school, without teachers, it will be very hard are on a whole bunch of kids,” Jarvis said. “They may think today or tomorrow it will be fun, but there may be lost kids with the reality of no school for six weeks.”

Nutrition and childcare

Jarvis said he recognizes many students are reliant on the free or reduced lunches provided by the school district. He said the district is currently working on ways to deliver food to students and families.

As for child care, Jarvis said the healthcare system has asked the school districts to help figure out a way to assist in child care.

Jarvis said there are two ways the district can assist in child care.

“The ways we can work with child care is to provide the facility and work with an organization that does childcare, and/or to use some of our classified staff to see if we can run childcare,” Jarvis said. “I would almost bet the first option is the one we can do best.”

Jarvis added that the YMCA, who currently provides before-school childcare and after-school childcare, will most likely be part of the solution .

Jarvis also said the district is currently working on ways they can assist with their special education students during this time, as many need occupational or physical therapy.

Will staff continue to work?

Jarvis said all staff will continue to work and the district aims to maintain a full payroll.

“Whether you are a bus driver, a custodian, a teacher, a para-educator, we are trying hard to say that for six weeks, we will have work that they will be paid for,” Jarvis said.

What specific tasks the staff will do is not definitive, although Jarvis said things such as professional development, developing curriculum, and making contact with students are all in the realm of possibility.

For other staff, such as bus drivers, Jarvis said their talents will be used to continue their employment as well.

He said bus drivers could transport food to homes, and connect students to the internet via 16 buses equipped as hot spots.

“I won’t kid you, it will be world we have never seen before, but I think it is terribly important we don’t just put our bus drivers in unemployment,” Jarvis said. “We don’t want to lose our bus drivers, we don’t want them to go find other work, and we will work hard to keep them employed and paid.”

Jarvis said staff who are unable to come to work due to an impaired immune system will more than likely be covered by some type of leave system.

“Whether the state will set up a special leave program, which I could well bet is going to happen, or whatever the arrangements are, we do know you will be allowed to not work if are health impaired,” Jarvis said.

He added that the staff have been wonderful in this foreign territory, continuing to ask how they can assist during this time period.

“I have huge appreciation for the staff as we go through this,” Jarvis said.

Will sports continue?

No. Jarvis said school sports will be a casualty to the virus.

“Sports are done. They are done until April 24, and by that time I doubt they will be resurrected,” he said.

Will standardized testing take place?

Jarvis said the SBA, a system of assessments aligned with Washington State standards, is canceled.

The results of these tests are informational for teachers, but Jarvis said there are other ways to indicate a student’s progress in their learning.

“In this case, there will be other avenues by which we will do the normal routine,” Jarvis said. “But the SBA data for 2020 will be missing.”

Will school carry over into summer?

Jarvis said the state of Superintendent Public Instruction has been definitive that the district shall make up days through the 19th of June, and then after the 19th they will waive the days missed.

“For us, we will miss about 25 school days during this six week period. We would be required to make up three of those, so it’s very possible we would make up three days if school is back open, and we would waive 22 days,” Jarvis said.

Is it possible the entire school year will be canceled?

The short answer? Yes.

Jarvis said the hope is that by April 24, due to the isolation attempts being made by the state, the virus will slow down and schools can open once more. He said the health department graphs tell a different story, however, and the virus could very well carry over the April 24 deadline.

“We are on the upswing right now, and that could well put us past April 24. Canceling school can be a very real possibility,” Jarvis said.

How will this effect high school seniors?

Jarvis said his belief, and he thinks that he can predict this, is that the seniors would be declared complete as of the last day that they attended class, and they will graduate.

If the virus continues to expand, he added, the seniors would not get a graduation ceremony, as it violates the current prohibition set in place which does not allow gatherings that exceed 250 people.

“Seniors who graduate and go onto college will have their high school diploma, they will have a transcript,” Jarvis said. “They just would be missing everything from their proms to senior special activities, and the biggest miss of all, the senior commencement ceremony.”

For seniors who are currently failing, Jarvis said he is not sure what route will be taken to get them to graduate.

“Nobody has made up the rules on that. I would just have to say that people will take it under consideration whether or not there will be a time period for students to somehow make up credits, but it certainly would be a problem,” Jarvis said.

Jarvis said his heart goes out to the community through this time, knowing it will be difficult waters to navigate.

“In our case, 9,000 kids will now not be in school,” Jarvis said. “That’s a lot of kids. This is not an easy one to go through.”

In his message to staff Friday, Jarvis mingled praise and encouragement.

“In less than 24 hours, I have witnessed the heart of so many people responding to the crisis confronting us all. Closure of our schools for six weeks disrupts our world to a degree we have never experienced. Beyond disruption to the schools is the disruption to our lives, and the reality of the threat this brings to our families and loved ones.

“In the midst of this, as staff — classified and certificated — we also face the need to lead our schools in response. We know the impact this closure will have on our children and students, and we are beginning the task of reorganizing ourselves to help those children.”

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This story was originally published March 14, 2020 at 3:02 PM.