Eatonville pre-K through fifth-graders set to return to school

The Eatonville School District announced recently that elementary students enrolled in any of the district’s three elementary schools may return to school in-person at the end of the month if Pierce County continues to meet COVID-19 targets set by the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department and state Department of Health.

According to the school district, students will return following a hybrid model, in which students attend school for two days and three days at home, with Wednesdays continuing from home using the current “Wednesday Distance Learning Schedule.”

All students will be required to wear a face covering all day. The Eatonville School District will be following all safety and health guidelines from the Department of Health.

The school district will follow the listed schedule but may change based on COVID numbers.

• Sept. 28: A Group attends half day in person, in the morning — no live instruction in the afternoon to allow teachers to prep. School hours on a half day: 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

• Sept. 29: B Group attends half day in person, in the morning — no live instruction in the afternoon to allow teachers to prep. School hours on a half day: 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

• Oct. 1-Oct. 2: B Group attends full days

• Oct. 5-Oct. 6: A Group attends full days

• Oct. 8: B Group attends full day

• Oct. 9: No school — state inservice day

Typically students in the A group will attend Mondays and Tuesdays, while B groups attend Thursdays and Fridays.

Parents should refer to the calendar for the month of October specifying exact A and B dates.

In the shift to the hybrid model, students will be on campus from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Parents should not drop off children at school earlier than 8:50 a.m. On non-in person days, children will receive home plans from their teachers. These will include supplemental materials to complement the learning that took place in the classroom.

Preschool resumes to in-person instruction, Oct. 5. Preschoolers will remain in their originally assigned Monday/Tuesday or Thursday/Friday program. Hours are 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Contact the special services office for specific questions about preschool.

Special education students, kindergarten through 12th grade who are self contained, will begin to attend four days a week, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, starting Oct. 1. 

Kindergarten through fifth-grade Resource Room students will begin to attend four days a week, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, starting Oct. 5.

Families who don’t want to send children to school in person may enroll them in the Elementary Virtual Academy or Mount Rainier Parent Partnership. Parents should complete the Transfer Request form to initiate this process.

Through Dec. 31 all students will be offered a free breakfast and a free lunch every school day. When students are released from the bus or vehicle at 8:50 a.m., students may pick up their breakfast from the building's designated area.

Sixth through 12th-graders will return to in-person instruction possibly mid- to late October. They could return to in-person learning two days a week, following the same hybrid model at kindergarten through fifth-grade: either Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday in-person. Students would spend the other three days learning from home.

For more information, visit https://www.eatonville.wednet.edu/ees, call 360-879-1000 or email communication@eatonvilleschools.org.