Royal schools to provide some in-person instruction

ROYAL CITY — Royal School District officials have announced the district will begin the school year with on-campus instruction part-time for all grades.

The first day of school will be Aug. 28.

Schools closed in March statewide and stayed closed for the rest of the school year as a response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Schools throughout the state have been studying options for reopening.

The Quincy, Othello, Ephrata, Warden and Wahluke school districts have opted for all-online instruction, at least at the start of the school year. Moses Lake School District officials are looking at multiple options, including a hybrid model that is part time in class and part time online.

Royal district Superintendent Roger Trail said parents will also have the option of having all instruction online. “It gives the parents a choice,” Trail said.

Royal school officials released a draft plan Tuesday. The district board will consider the plan at a special meeting Thursday.

“This really helps us focus on equity,” Trail said.

It allows the district to provide more support for parents with fewer resources, he said.

“We have been planning all summer long for this,” Trail said.

All students will have full-day instruction at school two days per week and full-day online instruction two days per week, plus alternating Fridays.

“It’s going to be an A/B schedule across the board (for all grades),” Trail said.

Students either will be in the buildings Monday and Wednesday, or Tuesday and Thursday. Students will be given online instruction on the days when they’re not in the building. For Fridays, the Monday-Wednesday group will be in the buildings one Friday, and the Tuesday-Thursday group the next Friday. Teacher training has been moved to Friday mornings.

Daily health screens will be required, according to the district’s draft plan. Screenings will take place before students get on the bus or enter the buildings.

All students and adults entering the buildings will be required to wear face coverings, and parents will be required to provide face coverings for their children. Desks will be set up to meet social distancing requirements.

Adults driving children to school or picking them up from school will be required to stay in their vehicle. On buses, students and drivers will be required to wear face coverings. Children who live within the Royal City limits will be encouraged to walk to school.

Crossing guards will be placed at all major intersections, and parents will receive a map of preferred walking routes.

But district officials are aware the district may have to go back to all-online instruction, Trail said. The district has been working to improve its online instruction if that happens. Instruction will be “much more robust” than it was in the spring, Trail said. District officials had a chance to provide more training for teachers, and training will continue, he said.

Grant County Health District on Friday released a document stating the position of health officers in the region regarding schools. The document, titled, “Region 7 K-12 Guidance for Reopening to Classroom Instruction,” can be found at http://granthealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/K12regionalHOguidance.pdf.