Gov. Inslee orders schools closed for remainder of 2019-20 year

OLYMPIA - Gov. Jay Inslee and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal on Monday, April 6, closed schools fore the remained of the 2019-20 school year.

The order keeps both public and private schools closed in accordance with the governor's original March 13 quarantine order.

The governor's executive order prohibits in-person instruction through June 19, with exceptions for students with disabilities and English language learners for whom distance learning would present challenges.

Facilities remain accessible for limited use, including providing child care and packing take-home meals for students' families to pick up.

All activities must follow state Department of Health social-distancing guidelines.

"This closure is guided by science and is our greatest opportunity to keep our kids, educators and communities safe," Inslee said Monday afternoon during his press conference. "If there is any opportunity to bring students back for a few days, including graduation ceremonies for our seniors, we will continue to explore that option.

"That opportunity will be guided by our collective behavior and the success we can achieve with the choices we make today."

The announcement generated questions.

Davenport School District Superintendent Jim Kowalkowski said he and several others listening to the governor's remarks are hopeful that at least some form of graduation might be saved for this year's seniors.

That hope was dashed with the word "no."

"At least we know now, and it should help us proceed," Kowalkowski said. "It's very disappointing, but I understand why the governor is doing what he did. He wants to keep students and staff and community safe, and parents. I get that."

School staff have been working on developing online curriculum since Inslee's original order last month, addressing issues of content but also of access as some families lack the technology needed for online instruction, he said.

Many districts such as in Cheney, Medical Lake and Davenport have issued Chromebooks to students, along with assessing some families' internet capabilities to ensure they have enough bandwidth for two, three or more students to be online at the same time.

There is no question about it: Our educators and school staff are absolutely dedicated to continuing to provide supports for students and their learning," Reykdal said. "We have already seen districts step up to provide meals for students in need and child care for the children of essential workers. Over the past three weeks, they have prepared for and begun providing continuous learning for students â€" and this will only get better and more sophisticated over time. We will continue serving our students and we will persevere through this."

"We will have a ton of learning moving forward during this process," St. John/Endicott Superintendent Suzanne Schmick said in an email. "I'm just wanting to keep the focus of full support to the students, families, and staff during this time. We want to keep a positive outlook going forward. There might have to be some adjustments we will need to make along the way, but my biggest focus will be supporting these students, families, and staff."

- Ritzville-Adams County Journal Editor Katie Teachout and Whitman County Gazette reporter Victoria Fowler contributed to this story.