Pepper Fisher

PORT ANGELES – Barring a sudden surge in Covid cases in the next 2 weeks, Port Angeles School District officials intend to get kindergarteners back into classrooms on October 5.

They’re calling it Hybrid Stage 2.1, which puts half of the students in class on Mondays and Thursdays, the other half on Tuesdays and Fridays, and everyone learns from home on Wednesdays.

School officials say once they can assure that safety precautions and procedures are being followed, 1st graders will be admitted back to school, and second graders after that. As for the exact timing between stages, officials have decided to see how things play out.

Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry Unthank has said in the past that two weeks between phases might be about right, but district spokesperson Jennifer Sperline says there’s more to iron out than just assuring everyone is wearing a mask.

“Right. We also have the 6-foot social distancing aspect and figuring out how we’re going to do meals and lunch time to ensure that distancing. How does recess look? And so, there’s a lot that we need to ensure we can do safely for both staff and students. So lots of moving pieces.”

For more information on all of the District’s stages, please visit https://portangelesschools.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=142102&pageId=13476549.