Thursday, November 4, 2021
Woodland Public Schools is dedicated to returning kids to normalcy as quickly and safely as possible
While the Woodland community may be aware of some of the changes made by the dedicated administrators and staff of your Woodland Public Schools, we want to share with you the hard work and dedicated efforts made by your schools to make Woodland a leader in the return to normalcy for our students.
Woodland Public Schools was the first area district to return elementary students to full-time, in-person school
We understand the importance of in-person learning both to the academic achievement of our students but also to their mental health and well-being. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of our administrators, teachers, classified staff, and more, Woodland Public Schools was the first school district in our area to return all of our elementary students to full-time, in-person school.
Our team worked closely with the Department of Health to demonstrate how students could return to in-person learning, and to show how schools could operate in a pandemic environment using social distancing, mask-wearing, and contact-tracing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Less social-distancing, more social-experiencing
By collaborating with other school districts, we were able to demonstrate to the Department of Health that the social distancing rules of six feet of distance between students could be reduced to three feet and still effectively prevent the spread of the virus.
This reduction in social distancing helped our staff more efficiently organize learning spaces, and, perhaps more importantly, also let our students sit closer together for better social experiences that are such an important part of school for our children.
Woodland Public Schools collaborated to ensure high school students could celebrate homecoming
At Woodland High School, our staff collaborated with other school districts in our area and the Department of Health to make the school’s first Homecoming Dance in two years a reality. Thanks to big 40-foot-by-40-foot tents and space heaters generously provided by the community, our students celebrated homecoming in style.
Additionally, the tents will remain set up all year so students can enjoy the outdoors mask-free during lunch and breaks without concern of potential inclement weather.
Teamwork is key. Our staff works closely together with each other, with other districts, and with state agencies to find new ways to re-introduce normalcy to our students’ lives. As we fight the spread of COVID-19 together, finding ways to keep our students mentally healthy by providing social experiences remains a top priority while also preventing the spread of the virus.
Woodland Public Schools ushered in the return of extracurricular activities including music and athletics
We were among the first to bring back music classes and athletics. Additionally, by collaborating with the Department of Health, we have also seen the return of spectator-attended events including sports games and band concerts.
Our band and choir students wear specially-designed protective equipment and maintain social distancing in order to keep our music classes in session. Our staff deeply understands the importance of extracurricular activities and has dedicated a great deal of effort to ensure our students can participate in these important parts of the school experience.
How you can help
While still respecting the mandates and guidelines presented by both the Federal and State governments, we continue to affect change as a district to ensure our students can feel as normal as possible in these unprecedented times.
However, we can always use your help. We encourage community members to share feedback, ideas and suggestions with the Department of Health as well as our local state legislators.
While we are experts in education, we are not experts in health and safety. We cannot ignore or modify the mandates passed down by Washington State. In order to make change, our state legislature needs to hear from you – the citizens of our great state – so they know how to make the changes that will make a difference in our students’ lives.
We continue to make efforts not to just keep our students in school by closely following health and safety guidelines, but we continue to work hard to find ways to return our learning environments to normalcy as soon as reasonably possible.
Thank you, as always, to our amazing community for your ongoing support of your schools. Together we will make profound differences in our students’ lives!
Find out more about how Woodland Public Schools keeps students safe, healthy and in school by visiting our COVID-19 HQ at: www.woodlandschools.org/covid-hq