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.