Wilson Middle School's campus is closed through 11/24

Yakima Online School's campus is closed through 11/24

Garfield Elementary School's campus is closed through 11/30

Eisenhower High School's campus is closed through11/30

Franklin Middle School's campus is closed through 11/30

Hoover Dome Preschool campus is closed through 11/30

McClure Preschool campus is closed through11/30

Hoover Preschool campus is closed through 11/30

Roosevelt Elementary School - 2 classrooms are closed through 11/30

Whitney Elementary School - 1 classroom is closed through 11/30

Yes. COVID cases have increased in the nation and in the state of Washington, back to a similar level to when school buildings were closed in March of 2020. The Governor's recent COVID restricts encourage Washington residents to take precautions over the holidays by isolating prior to social gatherings (with people outside of your household) and quarantining after holiday travel and/or social gatherings. For all of the details regarding these restrictions, click here.

The CDC and Washington State Department of Health recommend residents to receive flu shots so that our hospitals do not become overburdened this winter. For information regarding the flu vaccine, click here.

Taking as many precautions as possible could reduce the number of cases and thus create a healthier community to support in-person schooling.

It is important to clarify how the recent announcements regarding an increase in positive COVID cases and increased restrictions in Washington state impact the Yakima School District. The District will continue to offer some in-person support for all students on a modified schedule beginning the second term, which is the week of January 25, 2021. That plan, which was announced in August of 2020, is still in place.

As planned, we have carefully introduced very small groups of students for some in-person support this semester, and this will continue. When we have an outbreak in a school building, we immediately advise those impacted and will close the wing or building for cleaning and quarantine when necessary.

We are currently gathering feedback from all stakeholders to determine specifics about our in-person support model planned to begin the week of January 25. We will announce this model to staff and families the week of December 7-11. All families will be automatically enrolled in the in-person support model. For families wishing to opt-out of any in-person support, that option will be given the week of December 14-18 (stay tuned for more details).

We know this is a very challenging time for all, and we take seriously our charge to protect the health and safety of students, staff, and community while working with our students and families to support their learning and emotional well-being. Thank you for your continued support and understanding. We appreciate you.

Trevor Greene
Superintendent
Yakima School District

SAVE THE DATE!

The Yakima School District plans to return students to the school buildings for some in-person support the week of January 25, 2021. The model and schedule for that support will be announced by December 10th.

Join Superintendent Trevor Greene and Deputy Superintendent Dr. Rob Darling in a virtual question and answer session.

Parents of Elementary (PK-5) Students - Tuesday, January 5, 2021

English - 6:00 PM - 6:50 PM

Spanish - 7:10 PM - 8:00 PM

(Meeting links are forthcoming)

Parents of Secondary (6-12) Students - Thursday, January 7, 2021

English - 6:00 PM - 6:50 PM

Spanish - 7:10 PM - 8:00 PM

(Meeting links are forthcoming)

YSD Staff - so that there is plenty of room in the parent sessions, we request that you only attend the following, optional, staff Q & A session with Mr. Greene and Dr. Darling:

Monday, January 4 from 6:00 - 7:00 PM (login will be required; link is forthcoming)

Do you need assistance with paying rent? See this link for more information. https://www.yakimacounty.us/2453/For-Tenants-and-Landlords

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As we prepare for some in-person support starting the week of January 25, 2021, we need your help!

We have conducted many listening sessions with staff, parents, and students and have now sent out our annual survey where we included some important questions regarding distance learning and in-person support so that we understand your preferences.

To take this survey (families, students, and YSD staff), please go to www.YSD7.org/surveys. If you prefer a paper copy, just call us at 509-573-7000 and leave a message with your name and address and we will mail one to you. You can also pick up a paper copy at 104 N 4th Ave Tuesdays or Thursdays from noon - 4pm.

The survey opened on October 29 and closes November 15th. It takes about 10-15 minutes to complete.

After the survey closes, district leadership will work to determine the best model of hybrid learning for our school district. We plan to announce that model the week of December 4.

Following that announcement, should you choose to opt-out of any in-person support for your student, you will have one week to opt-out and register for the online program that will be offered (programming will be announced the week of Dec 4).

When we return from winter break on January 4, families who have not yet had an in-person orientation to in-person support, individual orientations will take place for two weeks. Then, we plan to take a week to make final modifications in our facilities and then open our schools to in-person support the week of January 25, 2021.

We miss our students and look forward to providing in-person support. Of course, these plans depend on variables such as the health status of our community and recommendations by the department of health, the governor's office, and the CDC.

Sincerely,

Kirsten Fitterer

Chief Communications Officer

NC means NO CREDIT and that the class will have to be taken again.

It is important that students engage with their distance learning school work. Lessons, assignments, and Google Meets need to be completed daily.

Parents of Yakima School District students do not need to buy school supplies for this semester. Thanks to community partners like the United Way, local radio stations, and others, free school supply kits for home learning have been issued to students from each school. If you did not receive supplies or need more, please contact your school's office.

Different from Spring, the state of Washington requires schools to report student attendance during remote learning. Teachers will take attendance and will regularly grade student work.

Please make sure your phone number and email are up-to-date with your child's school.

On Thursday, October 8 at 6:00 PM, YSD resumed robocalls to households for students who did not participate in distance learning the previous school day. In other words, the child was absent from school.

Students can participate in one or all of the following to not be considered absent during distance learning.

1) Daily logins to learning management systems (Google Classroom for elementary and Canvas for secondary);

2) Daily interactions with the teacher to acknowledge attendance (including messages, emails, phone calls, or video chats); and/or

3) Evidence of participation in a task or assignment.

It is advised that students participate in all three ways above. Participation does not mean a student is meeting standards in a class. Student grades are determined by the teacher and are reflective of the student meeting or exceeding standards in the class.

Embracing the new digital culture means new learning and communication platforms. Although some of them can text you (like the Remind app) or send you push-notifications (like our mobile app), many platforms work best when parents have an email address on file at school and commit to checking that email address regularly. Contact your school via www.YSD7.org/LetsTalk

(Posted 9-24-20)

In light of recent announcements by neighboring districts of their potential return to partial in-person learning this fall, we have received a few inquiries with regards to plans for the Yakima School District.

As indicated in our original announcement in August, we have begun to invite a very small number of students, most negatively impacted by remote learning, to return for some in-person support.

Also as announced in August, the Yakima School District plan is to remain in remote learning through the end of the first semester. We will continue to monitor the situation and would like to offer the following information.

During remote learning, with only some staff in the buildings and additional sanitation measures, the Yakima School District has experienced a number of positive COVID-19 cases. This has required intermittent building closures as well as additional staff being quarantined. We remain concerned that increasing the number of persons on our campuses in the near future will negatively impact the health and safety of our staff, students, and community.

Note: For those tuned into athletics and activities, YSD's plan to return to partial in-person learning at the second semester supports the return of YSD athletes to the WIAA's seasons 2, 3, and 4.

Please look online for answers to your technology questions. If you cannot find them, please contact our student account technical support line at (509) 573-7120 or studenthelpdesk@yakimaschools.org

Remember all of those paper flyers and notifications that students would bring home in their backpacks each week? They are going digital!

Parents will have the opportunity to view flyers on their email, through a reminder from the Remind App, on the YSD mobile app, or on their student's school website. Please look for these notices and scroll through the flyers to see which ones interest you. Flyers will be from school, the district, and community partners.