Warden schools to start some on-campus instruction Oct. 26
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 5 months AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | October 19, 2020 1:00 AM
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 [email protected].
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Road closures, roundabout, mean construction season underway
EPHRATA — The grass is starting to turn green, the trees are starting to leaf out, construction crews are starting to build roundabouts – hey, it’s spring. At least one roundabout project is in its final phase, held over from fall 2025. The intersection of State Route 282 and Nat Washington Way will be closed the week of April 6 to allow crews to install permanent lights. “This really is the final (closure),” wrote Grant County Administrator Tom Gaines in a media release. “The roundabout will close at 6 a.m. Monday, and we plan to reopen by Friday, possibly sooner if the work finishes early.”
Ybarra announces run for Washington Senate
QUINCY — State Representative Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, has announced his candidacy for the Washington Senate. If he’s elected, he would replace Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, who announced her retirement in March.
Othello Community Museum to open April 25
OTHELLO — With a couple of new exhibits, a new heating-cooling system, rearranged displays and a thorough cleaning, the Othello Community Museum will open for the summer April 25. The goal, said Molly Popchock, museum board secretary, is to operate for a full season.