Schools remaining closed will create challenges, opportunity for systemic change, says Yakima's Greene

Extending statewide school closures through the remainder of the school year will create hurdles for districts and opportunities for systemic change, said Yakima School District Superintendent Trevor Greene.

Gov. Jay Inslee announced Monday that a weekslong mandated closure of public and private schools would be extended through the end of the academic year to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

The initial order announced in mid-March was expected to end April 24, but Inslee extended it through May 4 last week and finally through the end of the year Monday. Districts were, in the meantime, expected to provide remote learning

opportunities for

students.

Greene lauded the governor’s decision to keep schools closed for the duration of the school year, saying it allowed districts to ensure safety for students and staff and better plan for the remaining months of school, which were previously in limbo.

“There’s no going back now,” he said Monday. “It forces us to move forward and not live in that kind of nebulous of ‘when we return to school,’ so I do greatly appreciate the leadership.”

He echoed the governor in saying education would not be perfect during this time, but he said he believed the district and state were up for the challenge of providing high-quality distance learning.

District staff in Yakima had stepped up to provide imperative services to the community, from meals for students to child care for first responders and health care workers, he said. Teachers were also beginning to roll out instruction for students.

“Now, it’s a more intense focus around (not only) maintaining what we’ve already implemented, but continually refining how we’re delivering instruction, how we’re monitoring the success of students, how we’re connecting with individuals and maintaining relationships,” he said.

There was concern about student engagement or remote “attendance,” he said. Yakima’s truancy rate is above the state average, which is among the highest truancy rates in the nation, he said. But while campuses are closed, schools don’t have the same ability to monitor student attendance. Instead, it will be up to teachers to ensure they are connecting with and providing support to each student.

Within the district’s distance learning plans for this school year, teachers are expected to have two-way communication with each of their students at least once a week.

Greene also said observing graduation would be a challenge that Yakima, like every other district, would have to address. The district canceled its contracts with the Yakima Valley SunDome and The Capitol Theater for graduation ceremonies, he said. Moving forward, the district would weigh pushing back the graduation date or hosting commencement virtually.

“We simply need to become creative about it,” he said, emphasizing that a ceremony would take place in some form.

Greene, who joined the district as superintendent in July, said this was not the school year he had imagined. But while it was not an ideal ending to the school year, he said it might provide an opportunity for systemic, long-term improvements in education.

“I’m amazed at the way this (pandemic) has galvanized educators across the state and really exposed some of the challenges that are inequitable … across the state,” he said.

An example, he said, was the disparity in learning resources and access between communities with high internet connectivity and those districts like Yakima that have many students without broadband access.

During school closures, internet access meant the difference between immediate and high-quality remote learning in some districts versus delayed and/or inconsistent resources between students in others. Students without internet access lack the ability to use online portals or join virtual video classrooms, for example. Several Yakima County districts are offering paper packets for students, or a combination of online and paper resources, due to a lack of access to devices or the internet.

“How can this change education? The exposure of inequities is something that will not go away anytime soon,” Greene said. “There are some things that now people cannot hide from. This is out there. It’s evident. It’s something that hopefully will not go away (unresolved) once we’re back in our classrooms — our schools.”