Many students in Lewis and South Thurston counties have one more weekend left of summer break, but kids in several area districts have already gone back to school.
The Oakville, Morton, Winlock, Toledo and White Pass school districts have all adopted a balanced calendar for the 2024-25 school year, which spreads the 180 days of school instruction required by state law over the course of a year, instead of over nine months, with the goal of reducing summer learning loss and increasing the learning opportunities available for students.
Modified calendars typically shorten the summer break and add “intersession” breaks throughout the year, where students can choose to either take the time off or partake in additional learning opportunities and enrichment experiences at school.
The Oakville School District’s modified calendar had students return to school Aug. 15, while students in the Morton, Winlock, Toledo and White Pass school districts went back to class Aug. 27.
The modified calendar is an option made available as part of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s (OSPI) Balanced Calendar Initiative, a grant program funded through Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) dollars that OSPI has earmarked for learning recovery.
Districts that have adopted standard calendars for the 2024-25 school year, including the Centralia, Chehalis, Mossyrock, Napavine, Onalaska, Rochester, Tenino and Tumwater school districts, resume classes after Labor Day.
Centralia grades 1-12, Chehalis grades 3-12, and all grade levels in Mossyrock, Napavine, Onalaska and Rochester schools begin class Tuesday, Sept. 3.
Chehalis first- and second-graders, as well as all Tenino and Tumwater students, begin Sept. 4.
Kindergarteners in the Centralia and Chehalis school districts begin Friday, Sept. 6.
