Tacoma schools to expand in-person learning for grades K-2
Tacoma school district plans to expand in-person learning for K-2 students, citing decreasing COVID-19 case rates in Pierce County.
Starting Feb. 16, kindergarten students are expected to attend in-person learning four days a week.
First graders are scheduled to move to in-person learning four days a week Feb. 22, and second graders on March 1. Wednesdays would be at-home, independent learning.
Currently, kindergarten and first grade students are learning in-person two days a week. First graders started on Monday. Second graders are returning Feb. 16.
Only students in grades K-2 will return to school four days a week this school year because of space constraints, according to information on the Tacoma Public Schools website.
Students in grades 3-12 would begin to come back in a hybrid model no sooner than March 1. When they do, it will be in cohorts two days a week through the remainder of the school year.
“The District is developing a staggered start-date approach for these grade levels to ensure students are able to transition in a safe and healthy manner,” according to the TPS website. “More details will be announced in the next few weeks.”
COVID-19 case rates in Pierce County have declined over the past few weeks.
Pierce County’s current 14-day COVID-19 case rate on Monday was 336.6 per 100,000 people, with a 6-day lag for accuracy. The rate puts Pierce County into the “moderate” category of the state Department of Health’s guidance for returning to in-person school after weeks of being in the “high” category.
Schools are in the “moderate” category if they are within a county that has a 14-day case rate between 50 and 350 per 100,000 people. Under the category, health officials recommend schools phase in in-person learning, prioritizing grades K-5.
Tacoma Public School officials said they’re prepared to change their plans if the COVID-19 case rate begins to increase again and would notify families as necessary.
The district keeps a list of COVID-19 cases at its schools on its website. In February, there were two COVID-19 cases reported.
This story was originally published February 8, 2021 at 12:10 PM.
