Warden schools to start some on-campus instruction Oct. 26

WARDEN — Warden School District will start in-person instruction for students in preschool through fifth grade Oct. 26. Middle school and high school students will return to campus Nov. 9.

The Warden School Board approved a revised agreement with the Warden Education Association at a special board meeting Oct. 15.

Students will start back to school on a “hybrid” schedule, meaning instruction will be on campus two days per week, and online two days per week. Half the students will be on campus Monday and Thursday, the other half will be on campus Tuesday and Friday. School will be closed on Wednesdays to allow for additional cleaning. Students will be required to bring their computers to school and will be assigned lessons for the days they are not in school.

Parents will have the option of continuing with all-online instruction.

Temperature checks and a general wellness screening will be required each day, for students and staff alike. In a letter to parents, Warden Elementary Principal Kelly Cutter said temperature and wellness checks would be required before kids could ride the bus.

Each building will have a single entrance, and students and staff will be required to follow social distancing and mask guidelines. At Warden Elementary parents, guardians and brothers and sisters not in elementary school will not be allowed in the building.

Like all other schools in Washington, Warden District schools were ordered closed by state officials in mid-March as a response to the coronavirus outbreak and remained closed for the rest of the school year. District officials made a plan to resume on-campus instruction, using the hybrid schedule, at the start of the 2020-21 school year. But the number of reported coronavirus cases was climbing at the time school was opening, so district officials opted for online instruction.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.