Operations Update 9.17.21

 Lewis County Metrics

Cases are predicted to decrease, but still the highest ever seen in Lewis County. Vaccination continues to be the strongest weapon against hospitalization and death. There will be a vaccination clinic at TMS on Saturday October 2 at 10 a.m. The Pfizer vaccine will be available to all who wish to be vaccinated.

School Operations

School remains in session with 100% in-person learning. While we receive daily reports of isolated COVID+ cases, there is no in-school spread indicated. In other words, students and staff are becoming infected outside of school. Staff and students who are identified as close  contacts are quarantining for 10 days. Siblings and family members are quarantining for 10 days after the end of the COVID+ patient's infectious period. This means that a close contact family member must quarantine for an additional 10 days after the infected person recovers and is asymptomatic. This means that the close contact is quarantining for a minimum of 20 days.

Close contacts who are vaccinated do not need to quarantine at all unless they become symptomatic.

Staffing is an issue for our schools both for substitutes and for supervision. If you are available to assist and have been vaccinated, we are hiring for paraeducators, custodians, emergency substitute teachers and bus drivers. Check with your child's principal for more information or call the district office at 360.864.6325.

Toledo High School

When you come to the high school during school hours, please park in the new parent and visitor parking area. Please do not park or drive in the bus loop. Any vehicles in this area block the entire loop to our busses. Thank you. 

We know that parking is at a premium right now as we work to increase the number of spaces available on the  north and west sides of the building. We ask for your patience during construction. When the project is completed, there will be more parking places than we had prior to construction!

TSD Operations Update 9.10.21

 Lewis County Metrics

Cases continue to increase in Lewis County. TSD has recorded 16 positive cases in September. Quarantines for staff coupled with a shortage of qualified substitutes are impacting our operations. 

Operations Update

We continue to serve all students in-person. Masking, distancing and hand hygiene continue to be our program for slowing the spread. We encourage students 12 and over to get vaccinated to limit the requirement for them to quarantine. We encourage all parents and community members to get vaccinated to help slow the spread. 

TSD is sponsoring a vaccination clinic from 9-12 on Saturday October 2 at TMS. In addition to the Johnson and Johnson (1 dose) vaccine, the clinic will be able to provide all vaccinations for children and adults. This is a great opportunity to fill in any "blanks" in your child's immunization record. It is also an opportunity to get a shingles vaccine if you are a senior citizen. Rite Aid is providing this service to our community and we are excited to be able to offer this opportunity to our neighbors.

Please note the changed traffic patterns at TES and THS when picking up and dropping off students. Please observe slower speed limits and watch for pedestrians when you are near schools.

First Week of School

 Lewis County Metrics

The fifth wave of COVID has pushed cases to the highest levels ever. Here is the current data for Lewis County. DOH indicates that they are hopeful that we're seeing a plateau in the number of cases.

We are doing our part to mitigate the spread of the disease by masking at school, practicing distancing, hand hygiene, and air purifiers in all classrooms. Staff and contractors are required to be vaccinated or have medical or religious exemptions prior to October 18.

We need your help. If you or your child have any of the COVID symptoms, stay home until they resolve without medication. If you get tested, stay home until you confirm that you are negative for infection- even if you do not have symptoms. This prevents you from spreading the virus if you are infected.

Working together, we believe that we can keep our schools open to in-person instruction in spite of increased cases in the community, but it will take all of us being diligent with the tools that we have.

Sunrise, sunset

Morning and afternoon student deliveries are always difficult during the first days of school and this year was no exception. As drivers, staff, parents and students get used to new routines and schedules, plans lurch and falter until everyone hits their stride. As I was directing traffic at TES this morning a parent said, "It went too smoothly today! We need to do it again!" We send our thanks to all of the parents, grandparents and students for being on time and following new traffic patterns. Our goal is to create a safe and efficient transition for families each day.

Assessment

Our first assessment window will begin next week. We need to find out where our students are with respect to their achievement and skills so that we can begin work right away to recover from the disruption to learning. Please encourage your child to take these assessments seriously. It is our best way of meeting our mission of empowering students to achieve their goals.

Comprehensive Sexual Health Education Curriculum

Senate Bill 5395 was passed by the Legislature and Washington voters in 2020 and went into effect on December 3, 2020. It requires all public schools to provide comprehensive sexual health education by the 2022–23 school year, with some requirements beginning in the 2020-21 school year.

    Instruction must be consistent with Health Education K-12 Learning Standards, which provide a framework for comprehensive instruction and the provisions of the law. Instruction must also be age- appropriate, medically and scientifically accurate, and inclusive of all students, using language and strategies that recognize all members of protected classes.

    Toledo educators have been reviewing curriculum approved by OSPI and consistent with the law. We have included only those lessons that we believe are necessary and consistent with the sensibilities of our community. In many cases, they are topics that we have been covering with students already (particularly in the primary grades). We invite parent input to these materials prior to bringing them to the board for adoption. As with HIV/AIDS curriculum, parents may choose to opt their children out of this instruction if they choose to do so. For copies of what is proposed for each grade level, please click.

Parent and community forums will be held on Sept. 7 and 9 from 6-7 p.m. at TMS to answer questions and hear input from families.

Back to School!

 Back to School is part of Back to Normal

We hope that you have had a restful and fun summer and that you and your children are ready for the excitement of the first day of school. We are so excited to welcome students and staff back to school for in-person learning beginning on August 31! We have been working to prepare the buildings for the arrival of students and staff including building a new high school. We have had a great Summer to Remember program for grades 1-8 as well as numerous activities for students at the high school. This should be a springboard for students to have a great year.

Here are some things to look forward to:

• Seeing your friends!
• Meeting a new teacher!
• Seeing favorite teachers and staff!
• Playing sports and being involved in activities.
• Learning new things.
• Meeting new friends.
• New Counselors and Social Interventionists: The pandemic took a toll on children and families last year. Not being able to be with friends, smaller groups, reduced activities and online instruction all created a situation where the mental health and well-being of everyone was impacted. Thanks to federal funding, we are able to increase the number of staff who are tasked with specifically addressing these impacts. Our counselors will be working with children who are struggling emotionally. Our interventionists will be working with families and students to overcome obstacles to returning to school. All will be working to teach resilience and emotional regulation to everyone. 
• New Assistant Principal: Brennan Bailey will become an Assistant Principal and will work at TES, TMS and THS to assist with students with special needs, supervision, and to support principals. Brennan has been an elementary teacher with the district and recently completed his administrator credentials. He has a rich background in education and is a tremendous addition to our admin team.
• New teachers: we have filled nearly all of our open positions with some really strong and dynamic teachers. You'll have an opportunity to meet them on August 26 when we host "Meet the Teacher Night" at each school. 
• We will have in-person instruction for all students Monday through Friday.
• We will be outdoors for recess and socializing without masks.
• We will have regular athletic schedules and programming.
• We will have regular extra-curricular activities.
• We will be working with families to overcome barriers to returning to school.
• We will be rebuilding the programs and practices that were left behind during the pandemic.

School Schedules:

Meet the Teacher Night is scheduled for August 26. This is an annual opportunity for children and parents to meet the teachers that will be working with them through the year. We stagger schedules to accommodate families who have children in multiple schools.

TES 5:30-6:30  
TMS 6:00-7:00 
THS 6:30-7:30 

School Day Schedules:

TES: 8-230

THS: 9-330

TMS: 910-340 (Please note that TMS begins AFTER THS)

ACT days will return this year. These are 2-hour late starts. Additional special schedules will be available from your school. Go to our website for more information

School Calendar: Click here

Controversies:

I've had several phone calls about controversies that have surfaced during the summer. Here is how we are addressing some of those:

Masks: Governor Inslee through his emergency powers is requiring K-12 staff and students to wear masks while indoors when not eating or drinking. Toledo School District Board of Directors and myself have no legal authority to ignore that order. To do so would put our apportionment funding (85% of the budget) in jeopardy and our insurance carrier has indicated they will not defend or pay claims related to COVID litigation against the district. Students and staff will be required to comply with this requirement (unless exempted by medical provider). Masks are not required outdoors. In addition, students and staff are to maintain a 3' distance whenever possible. In addition, masked students who have been 3' distant and masked will not be considered close contacts for those who test positive for COVID and will not be required to quarantine. Finally, vaccinated staff and students will not be required to quarantine unless showing symptoms of COVID.

We are still sorting through the new directives from  the Department of Health and Labor and Industries. I will report more as we learn it. The best way to get rid of the mask requirement is to get vaccinated. While a small number of vaccinated people are having breakthrough infections, very few of them are being hospitalized or dying. Nearly all of those who are having catastrophic outcomes are unvaccinated. (AP, 6/29/21) 

We are planning a community-wide vaccination clinic on October 2. It is our hope that more people will be eligible for the vaccine and that the FDA will have fully approved the vaccines by then.

Mascot: We are still working with the Cowlitz Indian Tribe to determine whether they have an interest in us continuing to call ourselves the Indians. The Attorney General's office declined to provide an opinion on whether the exception in the law applies to Toledo. If we rebrand, the favored mascot is the "Riverhawks".

Sexual Health Education: Beginning this school year, we will be required to provide instruction in all grades on topics related to sexual health and social emotional learning. Our team has been meeting over the past few months to identify a curriculum and lessons that we think are appropriate and consistent with our community's values. I am working on a packet of those lessons that I will post to our website. I will also host a parent advisory group to get feedback on our choices. I will take parent input and our recommendation to the board for adoption. Three things are important for folks to remember: 1. the board disagrees with this law and actively lobbied against its  adoption, so we are looking at meeting the letter of the law, but no more. 2. Parents will be able to opt their children out of this instruction without concern that their children will be stigmatized. 3. Regardless of what you've read on social media or heard on radio or TV, we will not teach sexually explicit information to elementary children.

Critical Race Theory: Toledo School District has not and will not be teaching this. We will be teaching the full range of the history of the United States. We will also be insisting that everyone belongs in our schools and community and will exclude no child based on who they are. We want everyone to be able to show up as themselves and be confident that they belong and are supported. Our board advocates for equity in our schools. This forms the backbone of our strategic plan for the next five years.

I plan to continue to update this blog weekly with information about school operations as I did throughout the 2020-21 school year. 2021-22 is going to be a great year. You won't want to miss it!

School Operations Update End of Year

 Lewis County Metrics

Case rates fell again this week, but still remain above the state rate of 108. 

Toledo School District Operations

We have had only one reported positive case this past week. Unfortunately, there were several close contacts that were required to quarantine as a result. 

Commencement ceremonies, 8th grade and Kindergarten promotions, Culture Faire and other annual events have been able to take place. THS returned from remote instruction and all positive cases and close contacts completed their quarantine period.

School will finish regular operations on Friday 6/18 (a remote instruction day).

Summer To Remember

It is our goal that all Toledo students will have at least one interaction with school this summer. We are planning some summer field trips for grades 1-8 as well as athletic camps and other activities at THS. Many students will participate in some academic support work at the end of July and first part of August. Breakfast and lunch will be served for all children under 18 during these four weeks. Watch for specific information about Summer to Remember and get your children signed up for some fun.

Fall, 2021

As of this writing, the Department of Health, Labor and Industries and OSPI are all indicating that while we will be back in our school buildings next year, it would appear that we will be continuing to use masks, distancing and hand hygiene while also encouraging everyone who can to get vaccinated. We are also expecting to continue to be required to do daily health screenings (attestations and temp checks) at all schools. If this guidance changes, we will let you know.

Final Blog Post

This will be my last blog post on school operations for the 2020-21 school year. When changes to school operations are required by future regulations or guidance, they will be reported first on our website and Facebook page and later via SchoolMessenger and/or autodialer. If school operations continue to be compromised in the Fall of 2021, I may resume this blog.

On behalf of all of us at Toledo School District, thank you for your support of our staff and their efforts to keep your children safe and healthy while also providing them with opportunities and meaningful experiences. We look forward to seeing your children this summer and again in the Fall.

School Operations Update 6.4.21

 Lewis County Metrics

Cases in Lewis County fell this week, however we are still well-above the state case rate of 140.5. In addition, while 63% of the state's population has had at least the first dose of vaccine, 35% of Lewis County's population has done so. 

To date, there have been 194 COVID cases recorded in the 98591 zip code.

What Does This Mean for Toledo School District?

I will be reporting the following to the Board of Directors at their special meeting tomorrow:

Between March 29 and May 6, TSD recorded no positive cases of COVID amongst staff and students.

Between May 7 and June 3, TSD has received notification of 28 COVID positive cases and 62 close contacts. A close contact is someone who has been within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes in a 24 hour period. There are currently 10 people associated with TSD that are COVID positive. Six of them reported in the first three days of June. Five of them are associated with THS.

While our cases have not crossed Lewis County Public Health and Social Services (LCPHSS) thresholds for closing classrooms or schools, we have reason to believe that elements of our community are not following public health guidelines and are placing students and staff at risk.

·         108 people attended a privately-sponsored Prom on 5/22. One attendee had family members who tested positive for COVID on 5/19. The attendee quarantined on 5/20 and 21 and then attended Prom. The attendee tested positive for COVID on 5/24. This potentially exposed 107 others. The attendee cannot say with certainty who may be a close contact.
·         There is reason to believe that there are students who have tested positive and have not reported their positive status to the TSD.
·         We have reason to believe that students and parents who are close contacts are not quarantining according to LCPHSS guidelines.
·         We had several elementary students arrive at school without masks.
·         Students are reporting that their parents have COVID and are sending them to school anyway.
·         Students are arriving at school with symptoms and reporting that their parent is aware and sending them to school anyway.
·         We have had a staff member who was reported to be symptomatic at work who later tested positive, even though a mandatory health attestation to the contrary was provided to the TSD.
·         LCPHSS disease investigators are currently inundated with cases and they report that reports of students with positive test results are coming in   several days after the positive test--if at all. (Lewis County currently has the fifth-highest case rate in the state) 

Concerns:

1.       It is highly likely that the health and safety of our staff and students is being compromised by elements of our community who are choosing to ignore or to willfully violate reasonable efforts to reduce the spread of infection.

2.       Commencement is currently planned to be an outdoor activity for THS and an indoor activity for CPA. Given the emotional importance of this event to graduates and families, I am concerned that the issues described in the paragraph immediately above may have the effect of making Commencement a more at risk event than was initially anticipated by the TSD.

School Operations Update 5.28.21

 Lewis County Metrics

Cases continue to increase in Lewis County even as cases in the State as a whole continue to decline. At 374 cases per 100,000 residents, Lewis County is the fifth highest case rate in the State. 

Lewis County

Washington State

Since May 6, TSD has recorded 15 COVID positive cases and 50 close contacts. We anticipate an increase in cases in the next week owing to an increase in extra curricular activities both sponsored and not sponsored by the District. 

I've been asked about Commencement. We plan to hold an outdoor Commencement ceremony on June 11 for Cowlitz Prairie Academy and June 12 for THS. All those who are not quarantined and who have tickets to attend will be welcome to participate. It is our hope that all members of the Class of 2021 will be symptom free and not close contacts with someone who tests positive. We will hold this ceremony even if only one student is not in quarantine. We encourage all those who wish to participate to stay distant from others and mask or get vaccinated.

Regular Order

The board has authorized us to continue providing in-person instruction for the remainder of the school year unless specifically directed by the Governor to close or our cases breach one of the thresholds for closure identified by Lewis County Public Health. Those thresholds are:

Classroom Closure Trigger:  ·         Two or more COVID-19 cases among students or staff within a 14-day period, who are epidemiologically linked, do not share a household and did not have significant contact outside of school grounds

School Closure Triggers: ·         Schools with fewer than 10 classrooms:  if 2 or more classrooms are closed ·         Larger schools:  if more than 10% of classrooms are closed ·         If there is a rapid increase in cases ·         If there are 2 or more generations of transmission ·         If there is not enough staff for school to function

While we have had a "rapid increase in cases", it has not been significant enough to impact safety for students and staff and has not impacted our ability to continue to provide in-person instruction. 

The best way to deliver instruction is in-person. Our goal is to continue to do so as long as we possibly can.

Masks

The CDC has indicated that fully-vaccinated individuals,

"...(may) resume activities without wearing a mask or staying 6 feet apart, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance."

The Governor's proclamation and regulations from Washington Department of Labor and Industries require us to continue to wear masks. We don't know what will happen between now and August 31, but be assured that there isn't a single person in the school district that is pushing to continue masking beyond when the regulations require it. Like in-person instruction, we believe that it is best for students and staff when we can interact without face coverings. 

Fall School Operation Hours

Beginning in August, schools will observe the following regular operation hours:

TES: 8-2:30

TMS: 9:10-3:40

THS: 9-3:30

Notice that TMS will begin after THS. Students will be dropped off at THS before students at TMS. This is to reduce the impact of a two-tiered approach to operating schools. Students at THS miss out on many opportunities when school dismisses later. We have worked hard to find a way to get students at THS out by 3:30 while not requiring TES students to start their day too early.

A two-tiered operating system is needed because of a chronic shortage of school bus drivers. In order to return to a uniform start time of 8:25 at all schools, we would need 4 additional route and 3 additional substitute drivers. 

In 2005, TSD had 970 students and 400 bus riders on 8 routes. In 2021, we have 775 students and 600 riders on 6 routes. Fewer students generating more ridership served by fewer routes. Our busses do not have the capacity to transport 100 students and we don't have the capacity to increase the number of routes, so we adopted a two-tiered system to meet the needs of the community with the resources available.

We would prefer to return to a single tier system, but until we have more drivers, we will be unable to.

School Operations Update

 Lewis County Metrics

Currently, Lewis County has a case rate of 325/100,000 people. By comparison, the State is at 213. 25 is the target for acceptable case rates. (San Francisco County had a case rate of 16 this week and only 2 new cases.) In Toledo School District, we had no confirmed cases associated with our schools from March 29 through May 6. In the past two weeks, we have had 13 positive cases and a number of close contacts that were required to quarantine. This is a troubling trend. Other districts in Lewis County recently returned to remote-only instruction due to an increase in cases in their schools. If we are to be successful at remaining open in regular order, we need to utilize all the measures available to us.

The measures that we use to combat the virus are masking, distancing, hand hygiene and now, vaccinations. The COVID vaccines that are now available are more effective than the Measels vaccine at preventing or mitigating disease and are the only thing that can be used to combat the need to quarantine. In addition, being vaccinated reduces the need to wear masks and distance. Vaccines  limit the long term effects of COVID on respiratory and circulatory systems. 

We are encouraging all of our employees to get vaccinated. In addition, we're encouraging parents of children 12-17 to have their children vaccinated. Children who have been vaccinated are less likely to contract the disease and can be exempt from quarantining if they have no symptoms. The District is currently working to arrange for a vaccine clinic at TES in the near future. More people vaccinated means fewer  people to contract and spread the disease.

2021-22 Operations

We are planning to return to school in-person, Monday-Friday during regular hours next year. Other than Cowlitz Prairie Academy, we are not planning to offer remote instruction to students. We are anticipating the need to continue to mask until regulatory agencies such as Labor and Industries indicates that we are not required to do so. As we have throughout the pandemic, we will aggressively offer in-person instruction unless a change is indicated otherwise. We ask our community to support us in this effort.

School Operations Update 5.7.21

 Toledo Schools remain in regular order Monday through Thursday with no plans to return to hybrid or remote. Students are benefiting from increased in-person instruction time and no cases of COVID have been documented in our schools since March. We continue to social distance, mask and practice hand hygiene as more people in our county are choosing to get vaccinated.

We are still hopeful that we will be able to provide a "Summer to Remember" program in the last two weeks of July. This recreationally-focus program would get kids together for socializing, learning and enjoyment. Watch for more information on this event coming soon.

Most districts in Washington are experiencing a shortage of bus drivers. Toledo is no exception. Because of this, we will be continuing a staggered start for school next year. By doing so, we will keep route times under 1 hour, prevent bus overcrowding and reduce bus behavior problems. Next year's school hours will be:

School	Drop off	Class starts	Dismissal
TES	7:40	8:00	2:30
TMS	8:40	8:50	3:20
THS	8:50	9:00	3:30

Our thanks to everyone who participated in the recent survey that went out. 

Commencement for Cowlitz Prairie Academy will be on June 11 and THS will be on June 12.  Both schools will observe in-person events with reduced occupancy. Consult your student's school for details on these important events.

School Operations Update 4.30.21

 Return to Regular Order

TES and TMS returned to in-person instruction full time Monday through Thursday this week. Thanks to a relaxation of the 6' distancing rule, we are now able to serve all of our students in-person. We will continue to have remote instruction on Fridays to accommodate our remote-only students and to allow for staff to clean buildings. 

Athletics continue with season 2 (spring sports) wrapping up their post season and season 3 (winter sports) beginning practice and competitions. We are still searching for people to assist with athletics, but our coaches have been tremendous in creating opportunities for our athletes to make memories and realize goals.

All of this has had a positive effect on kids. We hope that you're seeing an improvement in mood at home that we're seeing at school. Kids are genuinely glad to get back to school activities and learning as well as competing with their friends.

Phase 3

The progress we've made in returning to regular order is contingent upon remaining in phase 3 of the Healthy Washington Plan. Lewis County is currently at 201.9 new cases per 100,000 and new hospitalizations are above 5. Both of these are above the limits to be in phase 3. The State will evaluate our metrics on Monday May 4. Any change will take place on Friday May 7. While we hope that we'll remain in phase 3, we are preparing ourselves in the event that we are returned to phase 2. The biggest impact of the shift will be that indoor competitions will be suspended for athletics.

Lewis County Superintendents are encouraging the Governor and Dept. of Health to consider allowing competitions in phase 2 without spectators. We believe that the source of increased spread of the virus is not associated with school activities and that our kids really need school and activities. 

We are counting on everyone in our county to get vaccinated and continue working against the virus with masks, hand hygiene and distance. Please help us keep our schools and athletics open.

 

School Operations Update 4.23.21

 Regular Order and the Threats to It

On Monday, all schools will return to full-day in-person instruction Monday through Thursday. This day has been a long time coming and I know that everyone is looking forward to it. There are so many signs that things may be returning to regular order. We've had great weather recently and we're all feeling a little relief from this past year.

However, you only need to look one county south to see that COVID is still with us. Cowlitz, Pierce and Whitman Counties were all downgraded to Phase 2 of the Governor's Healthy Washington Plan in the past week. This means that athletics returns to practice-only (no games) and physical distance at school returns to 6'. I read last night that Pierce County may be downgraded again to phase 1 in the coming weeks.

Lewis County Public Health and Social Services reported on Wednesday that Lewis County is in danger of being downgraded on May 3 when the next metrics review takes place. The county is currently at 220 new cases per 100,000 residents (200 is the maximum number over 2 weeks for Phase 3) and 8.7 hospitalizations (5 is the maximum for Phase 3). (April 21 Chronicle)  

Dr. Kevin Caserta is the site administrator for Providence Centralia and chief medical officer for Providence in Southwest Washington. He calls on all of us to do our part to fight the virus. He notes the increase in cases that he's seeing and calls on us to get vaccinated and continue masking, distancing and hand hygiene. Cases are up all over the U.S. (April 21 Chronicle)

Here's how you can help. If you haven't been vaccinated, please do so. If your children 16-18 haven't been vaccinated, consider getting them vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine. In addition to not getting sick, vaccinated people do not need to quarantine if they are close contacts. 

The reduction in social distancing recommendations is what has allowed us to return to school. This is predicated on keeping cases and hospitalizations low. It would be so sad if we needed to return to hybrid modes of instruction. Our kids need to be in school and we need to beat this virus. I have heard from so many parents that this is what their children are looking forward to. I've heard from so many in our community that athletics have made a huge difference in the well-being of their kids. As educators, we know that the best place for kids is in school with their friends and staff. Please do your part. 

School Operations Update 4.16.21

Preparations

The TSD Response Team met today to review our preparations for a return to regular order on April 26. As a reminder, all K-12 students will return to in-person instruction for full days Monday through Thursday on that date. Students who elect to remain in remote instruction will be able to continue if they choose.

We're expecting most of our furniture to arrive in time for opening and we have temporary solutions while we wait for the rest. Our transportation and food services are looking forward to the change and our building staff is excited to be working with all students together. 

We are currently needing an additional custodian so that we can accommodate the increased load and continue to maintain safety in the buildings. If you or someone you know is interested, please go to this link. 

Starting a new phase of learning is like having another "first day of school", so you can anticipate all of the nervousness and glitches that come with the beginning of new ways of doing things. Please continue to be flexible with your children and staff as we all adjust to a new system (again!)

Athletics

Lewis County is currently in phase 3. Cowlitz County is in phase 2. This means that if we play a team from Cowlitz County, we will need to observe the phase 2 protocols for the specific sport- even though we may be playing at home. This is a WIAA regulation. In addition, wrestling and basketball isn't available for phase 2 counties, so those sports won't compete.

We are hopeful that Lewis County will continue to be in phase 3. We narrowly avoided a rollback this week as our case numbers have increased. Everyone who is 16 or older is currently eligible for the vaccine. We encourage you to get vaccinated and to maintain masking and distancing so that we can continue to return to regular order without a  rollback.

Mascot

We are continuing to explore whether there is some way that the exception in the recent legislation regarding Native American mascots applies to Toledo. So far, it does not look promising. The Cowlitz Tribe has trust lands, but they are in Clark County, so there is no connection to the district or Lewis County. Even though the tribe owns property in the district, the lands aren't in the trust. 

We continue to work with the Cowlitz Indian Tribal Council and staff to explore this issue. When the Governor signs the legislation, we'll be in conversation with the Office of Native Education at OSPI. While these are possibilities, I believe that we should begin coming to terms with a change to our mascot and branding.

School Operations Update 4.9.21

 What's New?

On Monday 4/5, the board of directors voted to return to in-person instruction for all students Monday through Thursday for full days on April 26. This means that all K-8 students will attend school all day in-person beginning on that day. They will join the THS students in this and all will attend Monday through Thursday with Fridays being a remote learning day to serve those who continue with remote-only instruction and to allow staff to clean and disinfect the building.

We will continue to use daily attestations and temperature checks, masks and hand hygiene. Physical distance has been reduced to 3' effective immediately. While we are returning to in-person instruction, we remain committed to safety and the protection of students and staff. As we begin to return to more in-person instruction, Lewis County COVID cases are again increasing. On April 15, all Washingtonians 16 and over will be eligible for a vaccine. We encourage all those eligible to get vaccinated so that we can continue our return to regular order.

As with all big changes, we  collaborate closely with our union representatives to make sure that our decisions do not negatively impact their wages, hours or working conditions. In addition, we await delivery of furniture that will be needed to accommodate students at meal times outdoors. For both of these reasons, we requested a delay until April 26. This date is not uncommon in our region for a return. For example, Battle Ground will return to in-person instruction on that date as well.

At the high school, the new Commons will be available for student use on Monday for meals. This will allow us to have students spread out at meal times and maintain 6' of distance. The kitchen is still under construction and also awaits permitting, so we will continue to prepare THS meals at TES. A few other areas of the new school will come on line toward the end of the month.

Artist's Rendering (tables won't float)

Photograph of the built space 4.9.21

Commencement is planned to be held in the stadium this year to maximize the number of people who can attend. Watch for more information on this important event. 

Friday Update 4.2.21

 Regular Order

We will share our reopening plan with the board at a 6 p.m. meeting on Monday April 5. This will be a videoconference meeting and open to the public. (Meeting announcement will be posted later today). In short, our plan recommends returning to regular order with the new 3' distance, masks and hand hygiene on April 26. This time frame will give us time to receive additional furniture, meet with our unions to negotiate the impact of these new plans and for parents to make needed changes to their schedules and daycare arrangements. A full announcement of plans will be made following the board's decision on our plan. For more on how we got here, read yesterday's FAQ posted in this blog.

Summer Program

We are planning to provide two weeks of recreational summer programming for all students K-12 during the final two weeks of July. We are currently searching for a coordinator for this program. We are tentatively planning day trips to places like the Air and Space Museum, Mt. Rainier, Mt. St Helens, the local fish hatchery, etc. Parents will be able to choose daily rather than signing up for full weeks, so kids can pick and choose. The goal is to have each child in our district served at least once this summer by a TSD program. The outcome is to put back some of the joy that was taken from kids over the last year. While the pandemic will still be with us and we'll still need our protocols, most of our plans include outdoor activities and we won't be doing academic instruction. Exploration, exercise, excitement with friends and caring adults. We hope you'll participate.

Counseling

One of the reasons we've been so aggressive in returning to school this year is we saw the impact on mental health for our kids. Referrals to the emergency room are dramatically elevated, child obesity is on the increase and depression and anxiety complaints are elevated. All of these are attributable to reductions in in-person instruction at school.

To address these concerns, we will be increasing our counseling staff next year. Thanks to federal funds, we will be able to place a full-time school counselor at TES and TMS next year. In addition, we'll provide a Social Interventionist (classified staff counselor) to assist. These folks will join our contracted therapist and our THS counselor. 

The pandemic has been an adverse childhood experience with long lasting effects. We want to be sure that students have the supports they need in order to recover and thrive as we work to provide them with opportunities and meaningful experiences.

Reopening FAQ 4.1.21

There is some misinformation circulating about TSD's response to the Governor's willingness to allow reduced social distancing. The following are some of the questions we have been getting and what we have been doing and are continuing to do to maximize in-person instruction. Our goal is and has always been to bring all students back to in-person instruction as quickly and safely as possible. While it may appear that nothing is going on to bring kids back, we have been very busy behind the scenes during the past two weeks in preparations.

Why isn't Toledo going back to school full time like so many other schools? I serve on the Health Dept. advisory workgroup with three other superintendents, Lewis County Public Health and physicians from NW Pediatrics. Because of our work, Lewis County is the most aggressive in the state in terms of return to in-person instruction. On March 17 in our meeting, Dr. Huang from the workgroup shared the research out of Massachusetts that indicated 3' was an acceptable safety margin. That day, Toledo began working on plans to increase in-person instruction in anticipation of a change in CDC guidance that came on March 19. The change from 6' to 3' gave us hope that we'd be able to return students to school in regular order. The Governor's announcement came on March 25- seven days ago. Our plans are nearly complete and will be shared with the board at a special meeting on April 5 at 6 p.m. so that they can make a decision about implementation of those plans.

Why has it taken so long to create these plans? The Governor's indication that schools can reopen with 3' of distance did not include the Washington Department of Health's guidance that staff must remain 6' away and that students must maintain 6' during meal times. This was a surprise to us and has forced us to adjust the plans that we were working on. In addition, we need to negotiate the impact of our plans with our labor unions. This also takes time. Finally, all of these plans have to be tested against all of the other systems (cleaning and disinfecting, transportation, food, athletics, activities) to be sure that the new plans won't create unintended consequences.

Some school districts like Kelso and Battle Ground are having students eat meals out of their laps in chairs or outside. Some have rented pavilion tents and patio heaters. We don't think it is right for our kids to eat out of their laps, so Toledo will be purchasing additional cafeteria tables and setting them up outdoors in the covered play areas at TES and TMS. At THS, we will be getting the new cafeteria tables early (May 16) and renting a pavilion tent so that distance can be maintained. If conditions indicate, we are prepared to provide patio heaters as well.

We will need to order furniture to allow us to reconfigure classrooms to support more students and maximize space. Delivery of this furniture will take some time and will need to be assembled. We will be calling on our community to help us with this effort as our maintenance and operations staff is already stretched thin.

Why can't we return 5 days each week? We have students who are choosing to learn remotely due to health and safety concerns. We also have students who are exposed to COVID and need to quarantine for two weeks. Serving these students requires teachers to prepare and deliver lessons for a week at a time. Those preparations are done on Fridays. We will continue to have Friday remote days for the remainder of this school year. Next  year, students will need to be on campus and we will have 5-days of  in-person learning. 

When will kids start coming back full time? Grades 9-12 have been in school full time (4 days) since March 1. We will be announcing firm dates when we've completed our plans and the board has approved them. Our goal is to return students before the end of the month. 

Why won't you let kids come back to school right now? We have an obligation to our students, families, staff and community to provide the best and safest educational experiences possible. We take pride in our ability to maximize in-person instruction and we will be returning kids to more in-person instruction when we have properly planned and arranged for that to happen. We want to do this right, not just right now.

Toledo has always been very thoughtful and deliberate in our planning.  This is why we haven't had to close our schools due to a COVID outbreak. This is why 90% of our students receive some in-person instruction every day while the state average is 51%. When we put this new plan in place, we don't want to have to backtrack because we missed a step or we have an outbreak.

Chris Rust

Superintendent

School Operations Update

 Governor's Message 3.25.21

Yesterday, Governor Inslee made optional for schools the continuation of the 6' physical distance requirement. He allowed us to reduce the physical distance to 3' in schools for students. The requirement remains 6' for adults and also at times when people aren't masked (i.e. lunch). This creates opportunities for us to return in regular order, but it also has potential problems. Our team has been considering the implications for TSD since the CDC changed their guidance last week. As we moved into this pandemic, we did so deliberately and thoughtfully to create safe spaces for students and to continue instruction and services safely and effectively for all. We've been moving toward regular order since November with the same deliberation and planning. 

While we can have additional children in most classrooms, there are some classes that won't accommodate all even with 3' spacing. Lunch and transportation are areas that we need to give a  lot of thought to in order for them to comply and be safe. Many of the children who have been served remotely have felt comfortable returning to class in-person. We're concerned that this might cause them to return to remote instruction. Finally, we're looking at the science behind this change. Is this supported by science or was this a politically-motivated decision. We're balancing all of this with the social-emotional welfare of our students at the forefront of our thinking. As with everything this year, it is complicated and there are many points of view to consider as we make our plans. 

For a comparison of what is happening in other schools and districts, go to https://www.k12.wa.us/about-ospi/press-releases/novel-coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-resources/school-reopening-data. Currently, Toledo serves 90% of students with some in-person instruction. The state average is 51%.

For now, our operations remain unchanged. Conferences will be coming next week. If you don't have your appointment already, please consult your child's teacher. Each school has a slightly different conference schedule, so you'll need to pay close attention to communications from your child's school.

Spring break begins on April 5. Meals will be available for pick up at TES. Check our website for more information.

Update 3.12.21

 Phase 3

All Washington counties are currently in phase 2. Governor Inslee has authorized movement to phase 3 on Monday March 17. This has no impact on school operations, but it does relax restrictions on spectators at athletic events. If you have questions about these changes, please consult your child's coach or contact our Athletic Director, Grady Fallon.

This change also means that the Class of 2021 will have a proper Commencement ceremony.

Until the 6' social distance regulation is relaxed, our schools are operating at capacity. We will need to have the 6' regulation reduced to 2' in order to return in regular order.

Vaccines

As of this writing, all TSD employees who have elected to be vaccinated have been able to get vaccinated or have an appointment this weekend. Thanks to members of our community and the cooperation of Valley View Health Clinics, we have been successful in getting vaccines. 

Students who are 16 or older and at risk for complications from COVID are also eligible now to be vaccinated. We're getting the word our to families of these students so that they can consider this option for their children.

Please continue to practice masking, distance and hand washing so that we can continue to beat this virus. With everyone's help, we'll be back to regular order in the fall.

Update 2.26.21

 Lewis County Metrics

All regions of the state are in phase 2 until  further notice.

School Operations

TES continues to operate on a half-day for each student at every grade. 

TMS continues with a hybrid schedule for 7th and 8th grades on alternate days and half of 6th grade alternating.

THS is able to serve all students on campus thanks to the additional space created with new classrooms.

Cowlitz Prairie Academy continues in their regular operational mode.

Approximately 10% of our students are electing to continue in remote instruction only. All students are remote only on Fridays. Until the need for physical distancing is relaxed, we will continue in this manner.

Conferences

We are in the process of developing a conference schedule for TES, TMS and THS. We are planning conferences for parents and teachers on Tuesday and Thursday March 30 and April 1. Watch for specific times from your school.

Commencement for the Class of 2021

As long as we remain in phase 2, we are planning on holding Commencement in person this June. We are allowed to have a total of 200 people in attendance including graduates, staff, board and guests. We estimate that each graduate will receive two tickets. We will be live streaming the event and recording it for everyone who cannot be in attendance in person. We are still sorting out the details, but we are committed to providing an in-person Commencement for our graduates.

2.19.21 Update

 Lewis County Metrics

These metrics will change every two weeks. Note that all regions of the state are in phase 2 and the West region (Lewis County) is meeting all four goal areas. This is great news for continuing on the path to regular order.

School Operations

On Feb. 26 and Mar. 19, our staff will pause instruction and work with students and families to spend some time on self-care. These will be remote-only learning days for all students. Since these are Fridays, this will only be a change for a few students.

Transportation

We are currently transporting fewer students over more miles and for longer durations than during a typical year. We're doing this to accommodate our hybrid scheduling and to provide separation of students on busses. Each bus has 8 different routes and when a student decides to return to in-person instruction from remote-only, it changes all of the routes for that bus. In order to minimize the disruption to all families on a route, we have been working to find stops that will accommodate many students and that won't change frequently. This may mean that your child won't be picked up at your driveway and may need to catch the bus further away from home.  This is not being done to save money. In fact, we are spending much more to transport students this year than at any time in our history. Decisions about stops and routes are being made to best serve the most students and families in the district. For questions about your stop or route, please contact Don Hall at 360.864.2393 during business hours. If you call during route times, he'll need to call you back as he is currently driving a route.

Board Meetings

The Governor is allowing in-person meetings to take place in phase 2. The board decided to return to in-person meetings beginning with the March 18 meeting. We are allowed to have up to 25% of the room capacity for these meetings and plan to hold board meetings in the Commons at TMS to maximize the number of people who can attend. Regular board meetings begin at 7 p.m.

EP&O Levy

Our thanks go out to the voters of our community for your support of the levy. Results were certified today. This means that when we come back to regular order next year, we will be able to fund all of the staff and programs that our community has come to expect from the school district. These are difficult financial times for many people in our community and made this vote more difficult. We appreciate that in spite of those difficulties, the majority of our voters felt it was worth it. 

2.12.21 Update

 Lewis County Metrics

Good news continues as the West region remains in phase 2. The trend in case rates is declining and we  have solid phase 2 statistics. This means that athletics and other events can continue with precautions. By continuing to mask, wash and stay away from each other, we're making good progress. Next step is to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

School Operations

With a few minor exceptions, the way that our schools are operating is what families can expect through the remainder of this school year. We continue to welcome students back to the classroom from full remote instruction as families become more comfortable with our operations and precautions. As work continues on the new high school, students and staff will begin to occupy more of the new spaces. This will allow additional distancing as well as improved ventilation. Access to the remainder of the new spaces is expected to continue through April 12.

ACT Days (Late Start Mondays)

Given the current state of school operations, I determined that ACT days were not practical for families or staff. As a result, we are discontinuing ACT days for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year. These days will be included in the 2021-22 school calendar as they are important blocks of time for staff to train, collaborate and prepare.

We have arranged for a self-care seminar for all of our employees and will be doing that work on two remote learning Fridays. The first of these will be on February 26. We are arranging for the second session and will announce it later. This is time for our staff to develop plans to take care of their personal health and well-being. Just as those who work in the woods stop from time to time to sharpen their chainsaws, educators need to stop from time to time to sharpen themselves. These are some of those times.

Updates

There will be less to report in this blog as the year progresses. Beginning this week, I will be updating this as changes occur. For up-to-date information, please see our Facebook page or website or contact your school or the district office at 360.864.6325.

Update 2.5.21

 Lewis County Metrics

Metrics are updated every two weeks now under the Healthy Washington plan. Next update will come on Feb. 12, 2021 and will let us know whether we get to continue in phase 2 or go back to phase 1. Keep your masks on, your hands washed and stay away from each other.

School Operations

THS began full operations in-person on Monday. Attendance will be Monday through Thursday for all schools. Until we're given authority to return to regular order- meaning no longer needing to maintain 6 feet of separation- there is no additional relaxation of schedule planned. All students and staff should expect to maintain this schedule for the foreseeable future.

THS remains a construction zone with the exception of the new classroom wing. All visitors are reminded to check in at the main office in the old portion of the school prior to entering the new wing. This is for security and screening purposes. Unless people have business to conduct, we ask that visitors not come to the building so that we can maintain safety and health protocols and not crowd parking and the construction zone.

Transportation

Families should be aware that, while we have had only one driver required to quarantine as a close contact, if we have two or more drivers required to quarantine, the District will need to implement reduced routing and may not be able to transport all students. Just as we have snow and flood routes, we are working to develop driver shortage routes should those become necessary.

The driver shortage is having an impact on our ability to continue to serve all of the families in our district. We ask that you consider driving if you are looking for part time work that pays $20+/hour and includes benefits. We need at least 3 more drivers in order to be able to return to a single  start time for all schools without lengthy routes and overcrowded busses.

Levy

Tuesday is election day and we remind you that Toledo School District is asking voters whether to continue local support for programs and operations at the same level as in 2015. For a full description of what is on the measure, go to this link. This levy pays for staff, athletics, maintenance and repairs. It also makes sure that the district can respond to unexpected situations (like pandemics).

Update 1.29.21 Phase Two!

 Lewis County Metrics

The state no longer reports metrics by county. The "Healthy Washington" reopening plan places our county into the "West" region along with Thurston, Gray's Harbor and Pacific counties. The metrics chart will look different as a result.

Since the West and Puget Sound regions have attained 3 out of 4 of the target metrics, the Governor moved us to phase 2 on 1/28/21. While it isn't all four goal metrics as we initially understood, we're not complaining since it means that athletic contests will be allowed in our region and restaurants and other businesses can begin to operate more regularly. We aren't out of the woods yet and a return to phase 1 is possible if our metrics go the other way, so continue to mask up, wash your hands and stay away from each other. Thank you Lewis County for turning the tide.

THS Return

On Monday, we will welcome all of our high school students back to the high school for regular schedule Monday-Thursday. Classes will begin at 9:25 and will occupy the new classroom space and locker rooms. We are so excited to begin to use the facilities that the community has funded. Students who have toured the space walk around with big grins and say they'll have trouble going to classes in the old part of the building now.

We anticipate that the administration hall, commons, kitchen, science labs and CTE wing will be ready for occupancy by April. The project will be completed in time for school to start in September.

Athletics

Now that we're in phase 2, our athletic season can have contests and not just practices. Cross Country, Girls Soccer, Volleyball and Football will all begin their seasons on Monday 2/1. Each contest is limited to a total of 200 people (outdoors) or 25% capacity (indoors). This includes all players, coaches, officials, workers, scorers, supervisors, band, cheer and spectators. For football, this means that there will likely only be room for 50 spectators. For this reason, the league is limiting spectators to home fans only. We plan to issue special tickets to the athletes for them to distribute for each contest. Senior athletes will be given priority for tickets. All those attending contests will turn in a ticket which will be their attestation that they are symptom free. Everyone will also be temperature checked upon entry and required to wear a mask at all times. Seating will be  by household and separate from others. 

Schedules are below. While these are the most current, everyone should remain vigilant for changes.

For up-to-date information, stay tuned to our website. www.toledoschools.us

School Hours

In order to keep route times below 1 hour and also to keep riders spread out on the bus, we instituted a two-tiered system for schools this year. The elementary gets the first route and starts school at 8:25. TMS and THS have the second route and they begin at 9:25. Beyond needing to do this for health safety, we, like all districts in the country, have a shortage of school bus drivers. At this time, we estimate it would take an additional 3 drivers to allow us to return to an 8:25 start time for all schools. 

This creates difficulties for families and students alike. High school students with after school jobs have their hours reduced. Athletics practices go later and cut into family and homework time. Younger siblings arrive home earlier than older siblings creating a childcare gap. 

We've recently heard from our high school students that they would prefer to start school at 7:25. We are in the process of analyzing the impacts of that change. We are also interested in hearing from parents regarding your opinions.

Finally, if you or someone you know is interested in driving a school bus, we would love to talk with them. School bus drivers need to be patient and calm and very safety conscious. They need good humor and attention to detail. Drivers start at $20.69/hr and are eligible for healthcare benefits and to contribute to the state retirement program. Drivers work about 20 hours per week. Toledo SD is a great place to work and driving is a way for retirees to augment their pension. Give us a call!