Moses Lake schools able to keep classrooms open

GRANT COUNTY, Wash. — The Moses Lake School District opened its doors in September.

Some students and staff have contracted the novel coronavirus since schools reopened. But the district insists all of the transmissions happened away from school.

Nevertheless, the district managed to get students back in class during the pandemic.

In this, the largest city in mostly rural Grant County, its namesake a 19th century tribal chief, something is happening that is exceedingly rare in Eastern Washington.

At least half the students in the Moses Lake School District are back in the classroom.

“I’m not going to lie,” said Vicki Swisher, principal of Chief Moses Middle School. “It was stressful and there was some anxiety that came with it.”

Swisher says getting here hasn’t been easy.

“But that’s where you lean on your team,” she said. “And when you do that you can get through just about anything, including opening up a school during a pandemic.”

Students get a health screening when they arrive.

“There’s ropes in there,” said Ronni Roylance. “We rope it off. There’s two stations.”

Roylance, a bilingual paraeducator at Chief Moses Middle School, is usually here to greet them with a long list of health questions.

“In the last 24 hours, have you experienced any of the following symptoms not normal for you?” she recited, from memory. “Fever, chills, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing?”

Once cleared, students rarely take off their masks or leave their classroom.

Instead, teachers rotate in and out. The kitchen staff brings them lunch. The students get outdoor “mask breaks.” Their creative juices get a workout, too.

“We were concerned with the social, emotional well-being of a lot of our students,” said Kristi Hofheins. “And a lot of our families had voiced that they wanted their students to be able to return to school.”

Hofheins is the district’s executive director for teaching and learning.

“So then that’s when we really started working toward figuring out all of the logistics that were involved in safety protocols and whatnot for the return to some in-person instruction,” she said.

What they settled on was a three-tiered system: fully remote learning, five days of in-class instruction, or a hybrid.

Ultimately, the district decided on what tier for which student, with input from parents.

But people have gotten sick. When KIRO checked the district’s COVID-19 dashboard, there were nearly 300 cases in all, more than half involving students. Still, the rate is under 5%.

And most parents give the plan a passing grade.

“I don’t think online is a very good way for them to learn,” said Homero Chavez. “It’s not. It doesn’t work very well.”

His son, Ayden Wheeler, agrees. “I feel really great,” he says. “It helps me a lot. And like when I was on remote, I was so confused. Like I didn’t really get anything right. Like nothing was happening.”

But teachers have had to adjust.

“It’s hard to teach six feet apart and in a mask,” said Jay Mather, president of Moses Lake Education Association. “So they’ve been working very hard at it. But overall, I’d say we’re doing all right with it.”

To be sure, the people here in the Moses Lake School District say they weren’t certain themselves that this would work.

In fact, they used to joke that they’d probably be in class for about two weeks and then have to return fully to remote learning again.

But that didn’t happen. And they say what did happen, could serve as a model for the rest of the state.

“I see an appreciation,” said Swisher, of the students. “They’re just happy to be here. And they’re happy to socialize with their peers. It’s a lot to miss.”

And it is something these students in this Eastern Washington community are missing no more.

Cox Media Group