July 6, 2020

Hello Rangers,

A team of community and staff members has been working hard to create a school reopening plan, and we are close to bringing a recommendation to the board. This note is to let you know some of our ideas, and to encourage you to attend the board meeting on July 15^th at 6:00 (both an in-person and remote option will be available, assuming OPMA rules prohibiting in-person meetings are not extended).

Considerations for reopening are complex, and cover everything from how far students must sit from each other to how students sit on the buses to how often we sanitize surfaces in the school. To be sure, teachers have been asked to prepare for teaching in a school year in which some students will be at school, some students will get sick and have to stay at home for exptended periods, and some students won’t come to school at all. We will provide learning for all students, in all of these situations; the planning requirement is huge and our amazing staff will need more time than they would for a ‘normal’ school year.

Some quick highlights from our Reopening Team sessions:

• There will be a plan for all students to come to school most of the time. Students who cannot come, or whose families do not feel comfortable sending their children to school will be provided distance learning opportunities with their normal teacher.
• Students and staff will be required to wear face coverings, as per the Reopening Washinton Schools 2020 District Planning Guide and the related Question and Answers document. Families are expected to wash the masks daily.
• Students will be socially distanced in their classrooms and in the cafeteria. Students and staff may be closer to each other for short intervals during the school day, but the default plan is to keep a six foot distance.
• All students must have a non-disposable water bottle to use our bottle filling stations instead of using drinking fountains.
• Students will spend more time outside – make sure your children come to school dressed for outdoor activities as well as inside work – layers of clothing.

We are finalizing plans and will have more details after our board approves the plan, and will get information out to families as soon as we can. There are still many questions that must be answered – such as what will sports look like in the fall, and we will continue to learn more from the DOH, OSPI, and WIAA and pass along those developments to you.

As always, I am at your disposal if you would like to talk about our reopening plans or anything else about the school district. Please feel free to contact me through my email (fredmon@qsd48.org) or call my office to set up a meeting (360-765-2900) in person, on zoom, or by phone.

Thank you, and GO RANGERS!

Frank Redmon