State Superintendent Says Fall Schooling will Include Higher Expectations Regardless of In-Class or Remote

Washington State Superintendent Chris Reykdal posted a YouTube video Wednesday addressing the hope of reopening schools in the fall.

He says they are monitoring data on the pandemic with the hopes that they can have in-person instruction as soon as possible with five criteria.

"Daily screening, everyday checking or testing to the safety and health of our staff as they come in including temperature checks. A cleaning regiment, more robust cleaning of our facilities particularly common areas using CDC guidance and a very prescribed publication on how to clean and the proper contents of cleaning. Hand hygiene; washing our hands in a regular routine."

There will also be face covering and physical distancing requirements.

Reykdal says it's important to be involved with your district, but also patient as they plan.

"We now have a planning framework no matter what model is chosen by districts where there will be daily attendance, daily and weekly schedules for students. There will be a contact and connection for everybody. A high expectation of engagement that we didn't have in place last time because it happened so rapidly."

Reykdal says there has been a lot of anxiety over sending kids back to school with concerns that we don't have adequate testing and contact tracing but they are working to alleviate that as much as possible.