Richland School District: A challenging year showed the strength of our schools, community

I think I can honestly say that none of us in K-12 education have had a year quite like this past one.

Just over a year ago, our school buildings closed, along with those across the state and nation, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our students, staff and families were thrust into uncharted territory in remote learning, redefining their roles and relationships.

Annual traditions such as elementary field days and high school graduations moved to virtual events. Many in our community have gone through stages of anxiety, frustration and anger as the pandemic has upended lives and cast doubt on what is to come.

And yet, from the beginning of this challenging time to the present, the extraordinary people working in our Richland schools have been a bright spot. The nutrition services workers who continued to provide meals with bus drivers delivering them. Our teachers and instructional staff who worked hard to stay connected to students and keep them engaged in learning at home. Our custodial and maintenance staff who, through their thorough efforts, have ensured our schools are clean and safe. Our school nurses and health aides whose care not only protects the ill but also the healthy. And the many others working in our district who support everything that happens in our schools.

It is because of our staff that we were able to resume in-person learning for students in special education programs in September 2020, elementary students in October and November 2020, and middle and high school students in January and February 2021.

They made our new fully-online learning program, Richland Virtual School, a draw for families across the region. They prevented our schools from having outbreaks of COVID-19 and they worked hard to be sure student athletes could use gyms and athletic fields as soon as public health restrictions were lifted.

They pioneered new ways of teaching. And they carried on with the business of the district, from completing construction on a new Tapteal Elementary and Teaching, Learning & Administration Center to starting improvements of athletic fields at Hanford High and the auditorium at Richland High School.

But our staff can only be as strong as our community’s support for them, and that support has been immense. From the encouraging messages written in chalk outside of schools or sent as hand-drawn pictures to the donations of supplies and materials, I’ve been reminded how much the families and community members of our district care for our schools.

The light at the end of the tunnel is coming closer. I am optimistic our schools will have near normal operations in the beginning of the 2021-22 school year, if not in the latter portion of the current school year.

We have new tools and new strategies to ensure we stay connected with students, whether they are learning at home or in classrooms. Our schools will likely never be like they were before COVID-19, but I am confident that they will continue to be transformative places where students are lifted up toward success.