(WSB photo from June 2018 WSHS graduation at Southwest Athletic Complex)

Last month, we reported on local students’ online petition asking Seattle Public Schools to allow in-person high-school graduations, instead of a second year of virtual ceremonies. Since then, the governor has ordered schools to offer some in-person learning to all students, so it’s likely the Class of 2021 will be back on campus to finish out the year. Especially in light of that, is the district reconsidering the graduation plan? After readers emailed us, asking for an update, we took the question to district spokesperson Tim Robinson. He says there’s no final decision yet, but he quotes “one of the key members of the group that is meeting about graduation” as saying: “We are working to adjust to the information that the governor and OSPI sent late last week. We are working to try and get to an in-person graduation with limited numbers of guests. We hope to have an update for school leaders late Friday or early next week.” (Here’s the latest state guidance for outdoor events.)

Now that Seattle Public Schools has a plan for meeting the governor’s order to offer some in-person learning to elementary students by early April, it’s surveying families to find out how many intend to accept that offer. The district sent this reminder tonight for families to return those surveys:

Seattle Public Schools sent an important survey last week to families with students in kindergarten through fifth grade in order to determine how many students from those groups will be returning to in-person learning in SPS schools next month. Survey responses are due by midnight Wednesday, March 24.

The survey, which was sent to families on Friday, March 19, 2021, is the primary way for the district to ascertain the instructional model choice of families:

• A hybrid instructional model of in-person part-time and remote part-time —
* M-T-Th-F half-day in-person, half-day remote
* W full-day remote for all students
• A full remote instruction model.

Return Dates
• March 29 – All preschool students and students enrolled in elementary special education Intensive Services Pathways;
• April 5 – All other kindergarten to 5th grade students;
• April 5 – Students enrolled in middle and high school special education intensive pathways.

Preschool and elementary students enrolled in a K-8 school will follow the start dates outlined above.

The announcement includes a reminder of the schedule changes announced over the weekend. Meantime, the return to schools isn’t finalized yet – the Seattle Education Association is voting this week on whether to accept the agreement.

Thanks for the tip. With email to families and an update on the district website, Seattle Public Schools announced tonight that it’s trying to deal with a bus-driver shortage by changing schedules for elementary and K-8 schools as they reopen for some in-person learning:

Providing SPS student transportation became significantly more challenging to plan and staff as a result of the governor’s order to return all K-5 students by April 5.

The transportation department had been thoughtfully building full-time routes for a phased increase of students beginning with preschool and K-12 students enrolled in Special Education Intensive Pathways.

The governor’s March 15 order to immediately increase K-5 students in addition to the 1/2 day in-person instructional model agreed to with Seattle Education Association didn’t leave the transportation team enough time to rebuild routes, and our bus contractor to hire and train drivers. To serve students per the district’s pre-pandemic transportation service standards and follow additional bargained agreements, approximately 400 buses would have been required. As of March 18, about half the number of required bus drivers were available.

The district recognizes and is deeply concerned about the inequities created for our students and families during our pandemic response – especially those furthest from educational justice.

To address this and keep school start and end times consistent, the district determined yellow buses would be prioritized for students that we are legally obligated to provide transportation and those most vulnerable. These students include students receiving special education services whose Individualized Education Program (IEP) requires transportation, Head Start participants, McKinney-Vento (a program that serves students experiencing homelessness), students receiving foster care services, and students with a 504 accommodation for transportation.

We know these efforts didn’t go far enough to provide access to in-person learning for students who need it most.

To support students’ equitable access to in-person learning, we are taking the immediate step to increase yellow bus transportation and accommodate as many students as possible.

This requires a change to elementary and K-8 bell schedules, school start and end times. We are asking everyone to adjust a little so that we can serve more students that need and want in-person learning.

Elementary and K-8 schools will begin at 8 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m. for students in both the remote and hybrid, in-person model (part-time in person and part-time remote).

This change is subject to Board approval. This change does not include 6th-8th grade comprehensive middle schools. Comprehensive middle schools will continue to begin at 9 a.m.

Bell Schedule

8 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
Morning Block: 8 – 10:45 a.m.
Afternoon Block: 11:45 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

8 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. Wednesday
All students will be remote
This 30-minute adjustment to bell schedules will allow more students the opportunity to participate in the 1/2 day, in-person hybrid learning model. With an hour between elementary and secondary start times, we can use the same drivers and buses to transport students, increasing access to yellow bus transportation. This approach is a return to our normal transportation model and operations for in-person learning.

The change will take place on March 29 for all elementary and K-8 students and continue through the end of this school year.

While the district can’t guarantee transportation to students beyond those that we are legally obligated to support, we will continue to work to increase transportation access in the most equitable way possible. The district will use our school equity tiering system as we develop routes and expand opportunities for general education students to return in person with transportation.

Once 6-12th grade students return to school buildings, Orca Cards will be provided. We are working with King County Metro to coordinate additional safety and timing for routes.

One other big announcement as SPS moves toward reopening schools – Superintendent Denise Juneau is leaving at the start of May instead of the end of June, making way for Dr. Brent Jones to take over sooner as interim superintendent.

11:39 AM: Almost exactly one year after he ordered schools to close, the governor says he’s issuing an emergency proclamation to “give every K-12 student” the “option” of in-person learning. (Watch his briefing live above.) He says there’s “now undeniably a mental-health crisis” for youth and so it’s imperative that they have the opportunity to go back. He adds that “the order allows for staggering the re-introduction”:

*By April 5th, all elementary students must have the option of in-person learning
*By April 19th, all other students must have the option

He underscores that districts “are still required” to follow health/safety precautions. He says his order will require at least two in-person days a week. He acknowledges that returning to in-person learning won’t instantly solve the mental-health crisis, so other measures will be taken to address that.

11:47 AM: The governor turns the microphone over to state superintendent Chris Reykdal. He says about 50 percent of the state’s students are already getting some in-person learning. He expresses concerns such as a high absence rate in middle and high school, and an increase in F/incomplete grades for their work, with a 50 percent jump in students as a result not getting credit for coursework, so “this is the time for us to double down” – reopening “needs to be sped up significantly. … The science says we can open schools up safely.”

11:56 AM: Swedish‘s director of pediatrics Dr. Nwando Anyaoku is speaking now. She says they’ve seen a dramatic increase in children needing emergency attention for mental-health crises “and that’s just the tip of the iceberg … that’s something we can’t allow to continue.” She’s followed by Dr. Peter Asante, from the board of the Washington state chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The “impact of school closures (is) now at epidemic proportions,” he says. Masking, screening, ventilation are among “simple strategies that work” to keep everyone safe – so far outbreaks at schools have been “highly uncommon.”

12:10 PM: They and the governor all reiterate that the pandemic has brought inequities into the light and work to remedy them will have to continue long term. Inslee now moves on to media Q&A. He’s asked what changed enabling him to make this kind of order, since he’d said before that he couldn’t, and what happens if unions/district defy it? “Look, this is a legally binding proclamation,” he replies. But “we’re not here today for threats, we’re here for success.” As for the authority, he cites the new information about the mental-health crisis: “We’re responding to the new science that we have. … The conditions changed. The scientific information changed. The authority did not change – the conditions did not exist in which (we could) use the authority.” He also says vaccination of educators should not be an issue, as “they have an almost exclusive” access through the federal pharmacy program, along with access via other channels.

Pressed again, what happens if a district says it can’t meet the new deadlines? “That’s not going to happen because we know they can,” Inslee insists. “… Schools are making it work in every imaginable (type of) district across the state of Washington.” He declares the situation a “win-win-win,” and also reiterates that this is an order to offer the option, not to require families to send their kids back to school if they’re not comfortable with it. (Still no reply to the question of what happens if the order is defied.)

12:41 PM: The briefing is over. The archived video should be available in the same window above shortly. We’ll be updating as reaction comes in.

2:46 PM: Here’s the official statement we obtained from Seattle Public Schools:

Seattle Public Schools has been working to bring back our students, beginning with our most vulnerable, for in-person instruction: students receiving special education services and preschool students.

We are in active negotiations with the Seattle Education Association for a safe and successful return. We have a plan and have been on track in partnership with SEA to come to an agreement that would return these students beginning on March 29.

The governor’s proclamation and details will be released on Monday. We will need time to analyze the details of the proclamation and determine the impacts for our students, families, and staff.

3:26 PM: A spokesperson for the Seattle Education Association tells WSB that the union has no official comment yet.

7:15 PM: Here’s what SEA has sent to its membership, noting, “With our bargaining team in non-stop bargaining, we have not had time to fully process how this will impact the current negotiations.”

Seattle Public Schools just announced progress in its talks with the Seattle Education Association, in the dispute over the district’s unilateral declaration that some staff is “essential” and must return to campuses this week to offer in-person learning for Special Education “intensive pathways” and preschool. The district just tweeted that it’s canceling that order, as the union had asked. Here’s the text of the tweets:

It is in the best interest of our students, staff, and families that SPS and SEA are unified in our approach to a return to in-person learning. We are close to a tentative agreement on the return of PreK and Special Education Intensive Service Pathways.

Together, we commit to bargaining an agreement so these students can begin in-person learning services on March 29th. In response to this joint commitment, SPS is rescinding its order from February 25 designating additional staff as “essential.”

Staff that support these students will return to buildings as early as March 22 to receive health and safety training, set up classrooms, and prepare for students. SPS and SEA will continue negotiating the return of K-1 grade students as directed by the School Board.

SPS and SEA also said in an emailed, jointly issued news release:

Today, Washington State Department of Labor & Industries and an independent HVAC contractor, together with SPS and SEA leaders, reviewed the readiness of multiple SPS school buildings. While this was not a required reopening step, it was an important one to help ensure staff and families are confident in the district’s adherence to Washington State Labor & Industries, Washington State DOH, Public Health – Seattle & King County, and federal CDC guidance and recommendations.

At the conclusion of this walkthrough there were no major issues identified. However, SPS and SEA together agreed that school staff could benefit from additional time to prepare to offer the safest, most equitable in-person learning environments possible in every SPS building. SPS and SEA’s bargaining teams are negotiating in good faith to reach an agreement this week and allow the time needed to ratify the agreement.

So bottom line, the first group of students to return won’t do so before March 29th.

In case you’ve lost track of the status of the plan to re-start some Seattle Public Schools in-person learning: Though the goal voiced by the district back in December was to return preschool, kindergarten, 1st grade, and special-education “intensive pathways” students to campuses on March 1st, the district and the Seattle Education Association are still negotiating. Last Friday, the district announced that it had declared the “intensive pathways” and preschool staff as “essential,” and would expect them back on campus next Monday (March 8th), with those students starting in-person classes (with their families offered the option to remain remote) on Thursday, March 11th. The district’s latest update on this is here. Meantime, SEA’s latest update is here. The union’s board considers the unilateral “essential” declaration illegal and “unionbusting,” and is recommending that those covered by it continue working remotely. SEA is having a 5 pm meeting tonight to consider that and other recommendations, and another meeting tomorrow for the members who the district has declared “essential.” The union’s update from Monday includes both district and SEA links to proposals, counterproposals, and comparisons.

Many West Seattle independent and parochial schools have offered hybrid programs this year, as we reported last fall – some in-person learning, some online. One of them, Seattle Lutheran High School, has just announced it’s adding a fourth day of in-person learning starting this week.

The Seattle Lutheran High School Board of Directors is pleased to announce the approval of a fourth day of in-building learning for all students in grades 9-12 beginning the week of March 1, 2021. Students will now attend classes in the building Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, with Wednesday being fully remote and the last Wednesday of each month being an asynchronous workday.

“The Seattle Lutheran Board and I are excited about moving to four days a week of in-building classes. Our protocols have worked flawlessly and with the continued infection rate reductions, we are confident this is the right move for our students,” commented Tim Morgan, Interim Executive Director of Seattle Lutheran High School.

In the fall, students had the option of attending classes remotely or in-person. Safety protocols have been strictly enforced on campus with students and staff screened every morning before entering the building, including temperature checks and required mask wearing. When asked what she thought of the additional day of in-building learning, ASB SLHS President Melina Menashe replied, “I really enjoy going to school every day to be with my best friends, as well as asking teachers questions and receiving answers in person so you can get more than just a visual experience.”

Senior Emma Freeman added that she feels “adding Friday to the list of in-person days will help increase engagement in whatever classes in-person students have for that day. I know for me personally it is sometimes easier to slide off on Zoom on a Friday afternoon, but being in the building helps keep me on track.”

Seattle Lutheran High School is still accepting applications for Fall 2021, and more information can be found here or contact the Admissions Director Sally Heit at 206-937-7722, or visit www.seattlelutheran.org.

The SLHS campus is at 4100 SW Genesee, just north of The Junction. We asked if they’ve had any COVID cases; the response, “SLHS has had only one positive Covid-19 case but it was not contracted at the school nor transmitted within the school community.”

Seattle Public Schools promised an update today on the status of returning thousands of students to in-person learning next month. Here’s the promised update:

On December 17, the SPS School Board directed staff to begin implementing plans for a phased increase of in-person instruction for students enrolled in Special Education Intensive Service Pathways beginning second semester and no later than March 1 and for preschool, kindergarten, and first-grade students on March 1.

Central office staff have been preparing for many months. Health and safety protocols have been implemented, Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) is in place, and the district has prepared for student transportation and meals.

An increase of in-person instruction also requires we negotiate new working conditions with Seattle Education Association. Unfortunately, we don’t yet have an agreement with SEA. To begin phasing in students on March 1, we needed an agreement by Monday, February 22. Without an agreement, the in-person return date has been delayed until at least March 8.

Staff continue to prioritize the phased return of students in Special Education Intensive Service Pathways first, followed by students in PreK-1 grade.

A special Board Meeting will be held on February 25 from 4-5:30 p.m. to discuss next steps and take action on the OSPI required Washington School’s 2020-21 Reopening Progress Report Template. Families and staff are encouraged to watch or listen to the board work session. (See the agenda here.) The meeting will be broadcast on television or can be viewed on the SPS TV YouTube channel. To listen by phone, dial 206-800-4125 and use Conference ID 931 417 102#.

District staff are committed to continuing negotiations in good faith. SPS has requested mediation support from the Public Employment Relations Commission to help facilitate a timely resolution. PERC is impartial and will help the district and the union explore solutions that lead to a mutual agreement. At this time, Seattle Education Association has declined mediation services.

You can review the most current bargaining update, the district’s proposal to SEA, including a racial equity analysis, on the Bargaining webpage.

The union’s updates, meantime, are here. More recent than those posts is this video update from bargaining-team members. (added) SEA also has just responded to the SPS statement with a Twitter thread, saying in part, “The District’s inability to implement needed health and safety protocols is delaying return to in-person learning.”