Lakewood schools will be online this fall

Lakewood students will again be learning primarily online this fall as the Lakewood School District board of directors approved plans to continue distance learning on Aug. 5.

Some students with special needs will be able to go to in-person learning as long as they are in small groups.

"We landed on that decision based on recommendations from the Snohomish Health District," said Scott Peacock, Lakewood School District superintendent.

The Health District recently recommended schools not return to in-person learning while COVID-19 cases are as high as they are right now.

"But they did support targeted in-person learning for students with special needs," said Peacock.

Peacock said the distance learning this fall will be "much more robust" than it was last spring.

"We've developed our online classes more to refine daily schedules for the students that includes time for supervised instruction, activities and feedback opportunities for parents and kids," he said.

School district officials are also putting together support for parents, such as some planned workshops for those who want or need help.

"We understand that distance learning is challenging for families, especially for working families," said Peacock. "We want to help them navigate those challenges as effectively as possible."

The plan for fall includes support to help students who need in-person learning.

"That includes a provision for high-need students to receive direct instruction in groups of five or less," said Peacock

School district officials do not know exactly what that will look like.

"It's going to depend on highly individualized accommodations we make for students," said Peacock. "Those are decisions we want to make with the educators who know those students the most."

The Lakewood school board also approved a plan for how the schools will resume in-person learning when it is safe to do so.

"We want to get students back in the classroom as soon as possible and this helps us do that," said Peacock. "Our six-stage plan aligns well with the guidelines from the governor."

Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee recommended counties with more than 75 COVID cases per 100,000 people in a two-week period use a majority of online learning.

As of Aug. 5 the county was at 97.2 cases per 100,000 people.

Inslee recommended distance learning with elementary students returning to school for counties with 26 to 75 cases per 100,000 people and a return to in-person learning for counties with 25 or less cases per 100,000 people.

Lakewood's plan mirrors those general guidelines.

"This gives us a common framework where we can discuss a range of possibilities," said Peacock.

The plan is meant to allow flexibility throughout the year and have procedures already in place for a quick return to in-person learning.

"To be able to not lose valuable learning time is important and I see how with these stages that is taken into account in every situation," said Lakewood school board member Sandy Gotts. "It allows us to maneuver logistically throughout the school year."

Board member Larry Bean agreed it is important to get kids back in classrooms when they are able to safely do so.

"The longer the kids are in distance learning, the more we realize the risks around that. So the sooner we can kids in the classroom safely, the better," he said.

Bean also thanked school officials who worked on the document.

"No one expected we would have to come up a document like this months ago, so the amount of effort that has gone into this has been amazing," he said.