Here’s another Pierce County school district that won’t return to in-person until 2021
The Sumner-Bonney Lake School District will not return to the classroom until January at the earliest in light of the most recent surge of reported COVID-19 cases in Pierce County.
The 10,000-student school district announced the delay in a message to families.
“At this time, we’re looking to start hybrid learning for elementary students sometime in January and in early February (beginning of second semester) for middle school and high school students,” Superintendent Laurie Dent said in the statement.
During the first week of October, Pierce County’s COVID-19 case counts rose above the state-recommended threshold for school districts to return to in-person learning.
The state recommends that counties with case counts between 25 to 75 per 100,000 over 14 days begin incorporating hybrid models of in-person learning and online school while monitoring COVID-19 case counts. As of Oct. 8, Pierce County had reached a 14-day case rate per 100,000 of 87.4.
Dent told The News Tribune it was a tough decision, but students are safe with online learning and hard-working teachers.
“We want to make sure that the return to school is as safe and easy as possible for students and families,” she said.
She said many parents felt the same way about waiting.
“Parents agreed that bouncing students back and forth between models would be difficult emotionally and academically,” she said.
Sumner-Bonney Lake students have been learning remotely since March when the state called for all schools to close to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Unlike other school districts, Sumner-Bonney Lake did not have to backtrack plans because it didn’t announce a reopening date. The administration was waiting for family survey results to make a decision.
Tacoma and Puyallup recently walked back return plans after COVID-19 cases spiked.
While online learning isn’t ideal, Dent said, the district is trying to provide help to ease the frustration. Families struggling with devices or programs have access to a Technology Helpline, which is staffed every school day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“This helpline also offers the availability for translation for parents or guardians who need help in a language other than English,” Dent said in an email.
The superintendent said she has received positive feedback from parents about online learning this fall compared to last spring. As with most school districts during the pandemic, student enrollment is down. The district did not elaborate on how many have left.
