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.