A look inside the Spokane schools preparing for the year ahead

August 25, 2021 7:29 PM

Posted on August 25, 2021 7:29 PM

SPOKANE, Washington – In eight days, thousands of children will be walking down the school hallways again. They are starting their third year of school in the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Last year didn’t feel like school in many ways,” said Adam Oakley, principal of Longfellow Elementary.

Students can enjoy a more normal school year this time. The children will again be in class in person five days a week.

“I’m excited. It’s going to be really cool having kids back and being together again,” said Chris Dunn, the director of Shadle Park High School.

Learning during a pandemic still has its challenges and limitations. One thing that’s different this year: the seating arrangements.

“The last year was really tough for us because we had a social distance of two meters as a requirement. Children all had to point in the same direction. So if you went to a kindergarten classroom you saw rows and that’s just not what we know best about kids, ”said Oakley.

The students couldn’t share last year either. They had to have their own materials on their desks. That is not the case this year.

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“When you walk into a classroom this year, you will see children in groups and you will see children take turns using glue sticks and scissors. Those are the things that are learned in school, and interacting with others is really important, ”said Oakley.

During this year’s break, the children can also play with students in other classrooms instead of just with those in their class. Last year a grade had to take a break, which Oakley said meant there were about 60 students outside.

Oakley says he had to plan a lot last year to figure out what doors students had to go through for break and what play equipment they could use for the day.

“We had to come up with a schedule where the kids would have to be on the big toy today and be on the field and play soccer tomorrow and the next on the tarmac to play basketball and wallball and do all those things. Well, a kid, if they want to play basketball every day, great, ”said Oakley.

The hallways will revert to what children were used to. While it is easier to control the students walking down the hallways in elementary schools, it could be a little difficult in middle and high schools.

Last year high school students had to stay to one side of each hallway during the transition period, but Dunn says it won’t be that “tough” this year. Staff will monitor students and make sure they can keep social distance “as much as possible”. This is the same thought in distancing students in high school classrooms.

“Maximizing social distancing is our goal, and that’s a part our guards went through trying to keep desks a meter or more apart, if possible,” Dunn said.

Lunch in high schools was significantly different last year than in elementary schools. Students had set numbers and had to sit in chairs three feet apart for lunch in secondary school.

In elementary schools, students had to eat lunch at their desks. Oakley says this will be the case for the Longfellow Elementary. The district says it is still working on guidelines for a few other schools and hopes to update that information by the end of the week.

Some other changes in the coming school year: health checks are not required; Lockers are not used; Schools will continue to sanitize rooms every day; and instructions for classes in which children change rooms every hour are still in progress.

Please visit the Spokane Public Schools Frequently Asked Questions page for more information on any changes. A district spokesman says they will continue to update it as the details on other guidelines are finalized.

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