Did Snowmageddon affect your last day of school? Check here, Pierce County students
February’s Snowmagedden threw a wrench in the calendars of school districts across the region, causing the last day of school to change for many Pierce County students.
Some districts applied to have their missed days waived by the state and won’t have to make them up.
Others used snow makeup days that were already built into the schedule.
Many used a combination of both.
Out of 14 Pierce County school districts, all but six applied to waive their snow days due to the state of emergency declared by Gov. Jay Inslee.
Districts that did not apply for waivers, such as Orting, needed those days to reach the minimum number of 1,027 instructional hours required by the state, officials said.
Orting officials stated in a March 1 letter to the community that they “believe that making every effort to make up missed days is valuable to student learning.”
Peninsula School District had already planned for snow days and didn’t need to apply for the waiver, said district spokeswoman Kathy Weymiller.
“Our thinking is that we already had our snow days negotiated into the master calendar, so the plan was already in place if we needed to adjust for snow,” Weymiller said.
The storm affected some districts more than others. Both Tacoma and Puyallup school districts were stretched thin on makeup days after strikes in September postponed the start of school.
Students get out as early as June 11 and as late as June 25.
Here are the latest “last days of school” for Pierce County students:
Bethel
Days missed: 3
Days waived: Did not apply for waiver
Last day of school: Thursday, June 20
Carbonado
Days missed: 4
Days waived: 2
Last day of school: Tuesday, June 11
Clover Park
Days missed: 3
Days waived: 1
Last day of school: Wednesday, June 12
Dieringer
Days missed: 5
Days waived: 2
Last day of school: Friday, June 21
Fife
Days missed: 5
Days waived: 3
Last day of school: Friday, June 21
Franklin-Pierce
Days missed: 3
Days waived: Did not apply
Last day of school: Thursday, June 20
Orting
Days missed: 4
Days waived: Did not apply
Last day of school: Friday, June 21
Peninsula
Days missed: 3
Days waived: Did not apply
Last day of school: Friday, June 21
Puyallup
Days missed: 3
Days waived: 2
Last day of school: Monday, June 24
Steilacoom
Days missed: 3
Days waived: Did not apply
Last day of school: Friday, June 14
Sumner-Bonney Lake
Days missed: 5
Days waived: 2
Last day of school: Tuesday, June 25
Tacoma
Days missed: 4
Days waived: 3
Last day of school: Wednesday, June 19
University Place
Days missed: 4
Days waived: Did not apply
Last day of school: Wednesday, June 19
White River
Days missed: 4
Days waived: 2
Last day of school: Tuesday, June 18
This story was originally published April 2, 2019 at 2:25 PM.
