White Salmon Valley School District principals report on reopening progress

Lewis told the White Salmon Valley School Board that the projects funded by the school district’s 2018 bond are nearing completion, including the health and wellness center and the multipurpose facility.

School district officials are hoping for a mid-March opening date for the health and wellness center. The officials heading the project, including Henkle Middle School Principal Haley Ortega and District Health and Wellness Coordinator Michelle Ward, have identified furnishings for the new center. The furniture is being funded, in part, by the school district as well as a donation given to the White Salmon Valley Education Foundation, said Lewis.

“I’m really proud of that facility, it’s going to be something that’s going to benefit this district for years to come,” said Lewis.

Lewis told the board that the recent snow caused work on the multipurpose facility to be delayed, and that the school district is looking at completion near the end of March.

“I’m really impressed with our contractor. They’re doing a first-rate job,” said Lewis.

Commissioner Laurie Stanton questioned if the school district could use the building to bring in more students once construction is complete. The answer, according to Lewis: Not yet, until there is more guidance from the governor’s office and the Washington Board of Health. Lewis said the main restriction is the 6-foot distancing rule, and what the parameters will be of.

“I’m hoping some time in March to get some more clarity on that,” said Lewis.

Stanton also raised concerns that the covered play structure installed near Wallace and Priscilla Stevenson Intermediate School as part of the bond project is constantly wet. In response, Lewis said that maintenance staff are working on plans to install gutters on the building nearby, but are waiting for better weather to perform the work.

Principals’ reports

Lewis asked principals to report on their experiences with reopening. The meeting marks the first time the board has formally met with district officials since the reopening process began.

Whitson Elementary School Principal Todd McCauley told the board that the process has gone “incredibly well, thanks to the hard work, dedication, and flexibility, and commitment of every staff member here at Whitson, and also the support of the district staff.”

Families and students have done a great job keeping up with new responsibilities of entering the classroom, said McCauley. Students are remembering to complete their wellness check before they arrive, and they’re ready to learn when they enter school, said McCauley.

“We spent a lot of time working on, developing, revamping, revisiting, walking through procedures and routines,” said McCauley. At the covered play structures, students are divided into two zones for safe playing, and they are following the routines and guidelines set before them, such as making sure to stay 6 feet apart. Teachers have different ways making sure kids understand that, he said, like giving kids a visual of “feet on the floor” to make sure they stay compliant.

Wallace and Priscilla Intermediate School Principal Brian Frasier echoed McCauley’s sentiments about making plans work thanks to the flexibility and adaptability of staff.

“If things came up, we were understood why we were doing what we were doing, and we were able to change the plan and make them work for everybody safely with the kids’ best in heart,” said Frasier.

Frasier said assessing student learning is easier to do in a classroom setting than in a distance learning program, because the ability to walk around the room and see how they’re getting it, “it’s a much more streamlined process.”

There about 100 students in the building each day, and to Frasier, it seems like kids are adjusting now, thanks to teachers who have helped students feel comfortable and safe in the building.

Frasier reported that some students are not bringing in sufficient food for breakfast or a snack. Because of all the changes in operations, students who get snacks from the school must go and get it in front of all their peers, when before everyone typed in their PIN for food and it all looked the same. School officials are seeking a solution to the problem and raised the matter to the board.

Reporting on Henkle Middle School’s reopening progress, Ortega said that it is “just joyful every single day right now having kids in the building.

“Kids are happy. They’re so excited,” said Ortega.

Some students are nervous, and one teacher brought up that students, who are normally supposed to be learning social norms and interpersonal skills right now, were being shorted on learning those skills through the course of the pandemic.

“They’re doing this behind masks and 6 feet apart, so that is one of our really big focuses moving forward,” said Ortega. “Looking at, we have these learning standards, we have this content that we’re going to be delivering, but how are we engaging kids, and how are we teaching them these social norms to prepare them to move onto high school and for the future?”

Ortega said the administration polled students on if they would like to continue to have student voice, a program of electives, which was put on hold at the end of trimester two. Students responded that they would like that time back, so it will be returning at the start of the third trimester.

Columbia High School Principal Craig McKee reiterated the joy Ortega expressed during his report, saying, “It has been an amazing four days for the high school” since the return of 9-12 graders last week.

“They just charge your batteries, it fires you up,” said McKee.

McKee said he’s noted some new hairstyles, and something that surprised him was how tall students have grown since he has seen them.

McKee said social distancing guidelines are going well, saying students are parking in the correct lots, which, “you may not think it’s a big deal, but it’s a huge deal.” He credited success to the staff’s work to prepare for reopening and making the new rues clear to students.