Dieringer District News
February 15, 2022
Educating every child for confidence today and contribution tomorrow.
The Dieringer School District will provide all students with appropriate high-quality programs in a safe, challenging and inclusive school environment. This mission will be undertaken with respect for and in partnership with families and the community.
Thank You Voters!
Thank you for your continued support of our students, schools, and staff. It has been one week since the February 8th special election, and while Pierce County still has one more day to count ballots, the results released today will almost certainly be the same results that are certified come Friday the 18th. Proposition 1 and Proposition 2 are passing, ensuring four more years of funding for a host of services and staff that aren't funded by the state or federal government. Thank you for the commitment to our nursing staff, clubs and activities, our special education programs, and our technology. Proposition 3, a new capital levy for facility improvements, HVAC upgrades, a new track, and turf fields, is not passing by just 12 votes. I will work with our school board members to analyze our needs and options in the future. We will be reaching out to community members and parents to learn more about why this measure did not garner more support. Again, thank you for supporting Dieringer's students and allowing us to continue the tradition of excellence that you have come to expect.
Thank you,
Michael Farmer
Superintendent
Changes to Test to Stay
If your child is quarantining at home due to a Covid exposure that occurred outside of school, they are now eligible to attend school if they are symptom free, and test negative on an individual or series rapid antigen tests, depending on the time frame and date of possible exposure. Call your child's school if this applies to your family or if you have questions.
If your student has Covid-like symptoms, the health department will now let us accept a rapid antigen OR a PCR Covid test (however if your student has had Covid in the past 90 days, a rapid antigen test should be done, as a PCR may show positive for up to 90 days). If a rapid antigen test is negative, a second rapid antigen test must be done no sooner than 24 hours later and up to 48 hours later to confirm the result. If the rapid antigen test is positive, a single test is sufficient.
If you are using home rapid antigen tests, please email the results to your building nurse or health technician with the date and time of each test.
Additional information on Test to Stay can be found on our website at: https://www.dieringer.wednet.edu/departments/health-services/covid-19.
Upcoming Changes to Masking and Other COVID Mitigation Strategies
The last two years certainly have been challenging for us all. Through it all, with every twist and turn, and thanks to the hard work of everyone of our team and with the support of our parents and community, we’ve stayed committed to providing a safe and quality education for every student.
After listening to Governor Inslee and Superintendent Reykdal last week talk about lifting mandates and rolling back restrictions, we are all curious how any upcoming changes will impact our schools. From the very beginning of the pandemic, we have followed the guidance from our state and local health authorities to guide our decision making. While opinions varied about those decisions, they were made in accordance with the Department of Health, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Labor & Industries guidelines and requirements.
The upcoming announcements from the Governor, and the other groups mentioned above have us a bit anxious. Our team will work as quickly as possible to understand how decisions made at the state and local level will impact our students and staff. Locally, the Pierce County Superintendents are meeting with Dr. Chen from the TPCHD this week to gain a better understanding of what might be headed our way. With mid-winter break coming up next week, the timing will be interesting. Whatever comes down the line we will follow the guidance as we have for almost two years now.
We will continue to provide updates as we receive them. We are hopeful this is the significant next step we’ve been waiting for in the course of the pandemic, and that the next few weeks see us move into the endemic phase of COVID-19. In the meantime, we will continue to follow our current mitigation strategies to keep everyone safe.
New Online Tip Reporting System
1. Text: Text your tip to 360.889.8660
2. Email: 2134@alert1.us
3. Web Portal: http://2134.alert1.us
You and your child can easily report tips on bullying, harassment, drugs, vandalism, threats of violence, or any safety issue you're concerned about through Vector Alert. When you submit a tip, be sure to use our district’s identification code: 2134 in your communication.
Every tip Vector Alert receives about our district is immediately logged in the system and our administration is notified so that they can investigate and take appropriate action. And, tips may also be submitted anonymously if you prefer.
Together, using Vector Alert, we can make our district a safer place to work and learn! Thanks in advance for your support.
February School Board Meetings
Meeting schedule, public comment, and minutes information can be found on the website.
- Monday, February 28th : Regular Board Meeting
- Monday, March 28th : Regular Board Meeting
Contact Us
District Office Hours : 7:30am - 4:30pm (Mon-Fri)
Fax : 253-862-8472
Superintendent : Michael Farmer, mfarmer@dieringer.wednet.edu
Email: communications@dieringer.wednet.edu
Website: https://www.dieringer.wednet.edu/
Location: Dieringer School District, 178th Avenue East, Lake Tapps, WA, USA
Phone: 253-862-2537
Facebook: facebook.com/DSD343/
Twitter: @DieringerSD343