Several dozen parents and students gathered in front of the Washougal School District office on Dec. 17 for an informal rally, waving signs in front of honking automobiles and calling for the district to reopen its buildings for in-person instruction.
One girl, a fifth-grader, held a sign that said, “All I want for Christmas is school.”
Washougal schools superintendent Mary Templeton saw the sign through her office window, went outside, approached the girl, nodded to the sign and said, “We’re on it. We have new information, and you’ll be back in the classroom with your teachers very soon.”
The next day, on Friday, Dec. 18, the district announced that it will offer its first-, second- and third-grade students in-person instruction two days per week starting Jan. 19, 2021.
The district said it hopes to bring back fourth- and fifth-graders “shortly thereafter.”
“I think that everybody — myself, the entire staff, the families and the students — feels optimistic and excited about these next steps as more children return to us in person,” Templeton said. “That’s always been the goal, and we always knew it would happen. We just didn’t know when. It will be so exciting and so wonderful to see that many children back in the buildings. We’re looking forward to it.”