School community reacts to new health guidelines for school next year

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. -- The school community is reacting to the Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal’s announcement on reopening schools this fall.

“First of all, to hear him say we’re opening school was kind of -- I had mixed emotions. I was kind of like, oh yay that’s great, and then just also through my brain were all of the different logistical things. I thought, how is that going to happen,” said Nichol Everett, a teacher at Jason Lee Middle School in Tacoma.

The new guidelines include health screenings for students and staff at entry, wearing cloth face coverings, hygiene practices and grouping the same students and staff together day-to-day, while maintaining six feet of physical distance between them.

“With the class sizes that we have at my school, we’re about 28-30 students in each classroom,” said Everett. “To have students sitting six feet apart, it’s not feasible to fit that many students in an existing classroom.”

Shawna Murphy is a parent from South Seattle.

“I really want my students back in school, but, for example, my fourth grader goes to school in a really old building so there aren’t enough sinks for the kids to wash their hands," Murphy said.

The Washington Office of Public Instruction (OSPI) is ultimately leaving it up to each school district to determine which teaching model is best suited for them.

“Mentally, I had been preparing for a hybrid model where I would see half of the students a part of the week, and half of the students another part of the week,” said Everett.

Scott Heinze is the president of the Tacoma School Board and said the district plan will be submitted to the OSPI before school starts in September.

“Our preference is face-to-face, we’re built for face-to-face, but we know that we’ve heard from our staff and our students and families that they have some apprehension about returning to the school building,” said Heinze. “While we will be prepared to open September 7, what we’re hearing from public health professionals is anticipate that there’s going to be a spike again in the fall.”

Governor Jay Inslee issued a proclamation Thursday that schools can reopen by meeting the new state guidelines, but plans can change if the virus spikes again.

“This virus is unpredictable and has upended our regular ways of doing everything. Therefore, if COVID cases spike or spread, we may need to reassess this plan. We cannot guarantee that school will open in fall," Inslee said.

The new OSPI report is recommending districts have a plan to switch to full-time remote learning on the chance of a Covid-19 outbreak. Additionally, districts that are in Phase 1 or a modified Phase 1 stage of Safe Start Washington may need to take further precautions and work closely with its local Departments of Health to ensure a safe learning environment.

In Tacoma, the school year is coming to a close next week.

“Take a breath and be reflective, and then think about how to plan for the next school year, when we know that the next school year is going to require a lot of flexibility as well," Everett said.

The Washington OSPI will be revealing additional pieces of guidance over the next several weeks.