Tri-Cities students head back to classes as COVID surges. Here’s what to expect

As Tri-City students head back to classes this week, kids and parents will have fewer COVID-19 requirements to follow even as the number of new cases soars.

School districts say they are prepared to protect students and staff from the virus, but the spike appears to be pushing more parents to turn to online courses as an alternative.

But so far, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and state schools Superintendent Chris Reykdal continue to support keeping schools open for in-person classes.

“The ultimate goal is for students to be back in class,” said Shane Edinger, director of public affairs for Pasco schools.

The Benton-Franklin Health District said a layered safety approach, including masking, distancing, ventilation and testing, is needed so students and staff can return as safely as possible.

COVID-19 rates have risen sharply in Benton and Franklin counties as the delta variant spreads.

The two counties had a combined case rate of 962 new cases per 100,000 of all ages in two weeks, as of Monday, with Franklin county’s case rate above 1,000 for the first time since December.

The case rate for children ages 5 to 14 for both counties was 694 new cases per 100,000 children over two weeks.

For teens 15 to 19 the rate hit 1,192 in mid August and was at 1,019 on Monday. Case rates for adults ages 20 to 39 are even higher.

There are increasing cases among children and teens and hospitals have been stretched to capacity as they deal with an influx of new patients, the majority of them young to middle-aged adults who have not been vaccinated.

Statewide, Inslee has ordered teachers and school employees to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18 or have a medical or religious exemption.

But so far, the vaccine and mask mandates have not resulted in school employees quitting.

Fewer requirements

While staff are facing more rules, students and parents need to jump through fewer hoops.

Parents are being asked to keep sick students at home, but they won’t need to fill out paperwork to confirm that. There won’t be temperature checks or other daily monitoring.

State rules have been adjusted with the aim to keep students in class for the entire day. They now say students should be kept 3 feet apart as long as it doesn’t interfere with that goal.

To keep students separated, for example, Richland schools won’t be assigning lockers at the beginning of year.

The state also eased back on quarantining requirements. Now, a student wearing a mask and separated by at least 3 feet from a person who tests COVID positive will not need to stay home.

In most other ways, students won’t see many changes from last school year, when they had to sit 6-feet apart during lunch.

Students will still need to wear a mask when they are inside of school buildings. They will be able to take it off when they’re outside.

The Tri-City school districts have promised to maintain a running tally of positive cases.

Richland’s and Pasco’s COVID dashboards are still active online. Kennewick plans to have one set up by Sept. 1.

Mandate protests

The mandates have brought hundreds of protesters out to school administration buildings in Richland and Kennewick to call for the local governments to oppose the state.

School districts have made clear that kind of opposition would lead to financial ruin for them.

The state has threatened to withhold money from any district that doesn’t comply. Every district in the Tri-Cities relies on state and federal funding to pay cover about three-quarters of its budget.

While protesters have said there will be a large wave of employee resignations, school districts have not seen those at this point.

The various districts are at different stages of tracking the immunization records. Kennewick employees are uploading their immunization records to a system where it’s tracked by the human resources department, said Robyn Chastain, executive director of communication and public relations. They expect a better idea on the percentage of vaccinated staff by Oct. 18.

Pasco and Richland are in the process of developing a system to track vaccinations. Edinger said they have been working with the state on a template for the exemptions.

“While the state has provided some guidance on what district need to do to follow the mandate, we are having to build our own process to verify vaccination cards or accept accommodation forms while ensuring we protect employees privacy,” said Ty Beaver, Richland schools’ communications director.

Online Schools

As COVID cases have risen more parents are looking at what online programs are being offered at all three larger districts.

Pasco is following Richland with an online learning program aimed at providing a more traditional education. Until now, most of the online programming has been directed by students rather than attending virtual classes.

Richland started Pacific Crest Online Academy last year, and saw a large influx of students as they looked for an alternative to the distance learning that other students would be going through.

Now, they have seen a spike in interest, with 60 to 80 new students joining, Beaver said.

“I understand there are still families seeking to finalize their child’s enrollment in the school and staff are working quickly to get them set up and ready to start the school year online. We continue to welcome all families across the state who may be interested in joining Pacific Crest,” he said.

Pasco started a new program aimed at kindergartners through eighth-grade students called PIXeL, which kicked off this year.

It’s offered in addition to the district’s iPAL program and the new home school program, called Pasco Parent Partnership.

At PIXeL, students will “engage in coursework mirroring what students in a face-to-face classroom will learn,” according to the district’s website.

While Edinger didn’t have immediate figures available, he said there has been more interest in the online programs.

In Kennewick, a new online Endeavor High School is starting this year.

The online school uses an online learning program that is often used to help students with catching up on their classes.

A similar program is being used for kindergarten through eighth-grade students through the district’s home school program, Mid-Columbia Partnership.

Currently, the Kennewick district has about 200 students signed up to learn online.