Message From Lake Washington School District Superintendent

Press release from the Lake Washington School District:

December 7, 2020

Dear LWSD Staff and Families:

"Over the past two weeks, I have received a number of messages from staff members and families asking why we have not provided you with an update since November 16. There were a number of reasons why I felt that sending a message over the past two weeks would not be beneficial. We will continue our weekly messaging on Monday afternoons moving forward. Messaging will pause during Winter Break (December 21) and start again when we return in January.

Today, I want to share some reminders that I have shared with some that have recently emailed me but felt it was important to be transparent in my communication. This information focuses on how Lake Washington School District is making decisions and many of the complexities that are present.

Guidance and Decision Making: 

We have the authority to make decisions for our school district about whether or not to stay in a remote learning model. With that said, there are layers of complexity that enter into decisions. In a response to a constituent earlier this school year I provided this information: 

We are currently operating under guidance and requirements from a number of agencies: 

• Washington State Department of Health – guidance to K-12 schools for returning to in-person learning 
• King County Public Health – guidance and recommendations related to COVID-19 
• Governor – Emergency order, phased reopening – requirements 
• Labor and Industry – requirements 
• Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction – guidance and requirements 
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration – requirements 

In addition, we must conduct impact bargaining with our labor unions to specify the working conditions of staff. 

Additionally, we have an insurance provider that helps inform our implementation of the myriad of recommendations, guidance, and requirements.  Ultimately, they say it is best to follow the recommendations of the experts (such as public health) as this is not an area of expertise of the District. This doesn’t mean we can’t implement in-person learning but it means we need to rely on experts as we make our decisions. 

Washington State Department of Health and King County Public Health are charged with accessing, analyzing, and providing guidance related to the Center for Disease Control guidance. This process is in place due to local conditions varying across the country.  

Since late July, I have stated that we will continue to follow our State and local Health guidance. Specifically, Washington State Department of Health released the Decision Tree which provides school districts with guidance for how to plan for returning to in-person learning. As recent as last week, a press conference was held to indicate that the Washington Department of Health is considering a modification to the Decision Tree. While the Seattle Times Article uses the term “loosening guidelines” I believe it is better stated that they are updating guidelines as the Department develops an understanding of the virus and the implications in K-12 environments.

As I am sure you are aware, our state, starting with Governor Inslee, has taken a conservative approach to addressing COVID-19. When comparing with other states across the country we are similar to some and distinctly different from others. Last week, there was additional news related to a meeting that Governor Inslee held with Washington Education Association leadership related to updates to the Decision Tree. I have been asked for my opinion about the statements. Without knowledge of the actual meeting I cannot speak to that directly. I do implore every person or group charged with decision making in Washington state to do so based on science and data. Our students depend on decision makers across the state.

Over the last few months, I have reported data related to the spread of the virus often in the weekly updates. This data comes from the King County Public Health Data Dashboard. I link to this site each time I reference it so that all members of the community know exactly where we are accessing data for analysis and decision making. When analyzing these data, we must consider our role in minimizing or reducing the spread of the virus while also considering our responsibilities as an educational organization for 31,000 students and an employer for over 4,000 individuals. Currently, the data shows the following: 

• Significant increase in COVID-19 cases across the county 
• An increase in the rate of hospitalization due to COVID-19 
• An increase in the rate of death due to COVID-19 

We also review the data for our local communities. These data are found in a different place on the King County Public Health Dashboard. The following provides the link and steps to access our local data: 

• Daily Summary Dashboard 
• Select the “Geography over time” tab 
• Select “City” at the middle of the page 

If you hover over the communities in our school district you will see the rates per 100,000 over the last 14 days. Currently Kirkland, Redmond, Union Hill and Sammamish have rates of 258, 168, 123 and 170 per 100,000 over the last 14 days respectively. 

Additionally, we also review regional data knowing that over 50% of our staff live outside of the school district boundaries with some traveling from regions with significantly higher spread of the virus than we do locally. 

Finally, in regard to decision making, we are held to account for agency recommendations and guidance even as it changes. This has implications for planning, bargaining, and implementation. 

Remote Learning Model: 

We have implemented a “Block Schedule” for remote learning versus a traditional 1-6 (middle school) or 1-7 (high school) period schedule daily. Block schedules are standard practice across school districts and are typically decided (in Lake Washington) at the building level. As we analyzed the impact of six or seven classes each day, we decided an instructional model that provided live instruction with asynchronous learning/work time made the most sense. This allows students to not spend six hours a day in live Teams meetings but also accommodates for when students need to check in with a specific teacher. These check in times can occur during asynchronous blocks and scheduled with the teacher. In developing this model, we looked at a number of different options and variables to determine the model to implement. The LWSD model is very similar to other districts within our region. 

Timeline: 

A question that I consistently receive is, “what your timeline for moving forward”. As you know, when the case rates dropped in late August, we started actively working to bring Kindergarten and 1st Grade students back for in-person learning. This was in alignment with the Decision Tree and Public Health guidance given the current conditions. When case rates started to rapidly increase, it caused us to pause our implementation but not our planning and bargaining related to the return. We will continue to follow guidance related to returning students to in-person learning. I engage with our Public Health officials almost weekly and continue to advocate for strong and decisive guidance that is holistically considerate of the impact of the current situation for our students. As a district we are also thinking about how to better address needs of students. We know our staff are working tremendously hard in this remote environment but also know there are students that are not accessing, able to learn and are experiencing health/mental-health concerns."

Respectfully,

Jon

Dr. Jon Holmen
Superintendent
Lake Washington School District

This press release was produced by the Lake Washington School District. The views expressed are the author's own.