Parents and kids look for resources as Edison Elementary aims to help children continue learning during school closures as concerns over coronavirus rise Monday afternoon in Centralia.
Parents and kids look for resources as Edison Elementary aims to help children continue learning during school closures as concerns over coronavirus rise Monday afternoon in Centralia.
Jedidiah Hamilton smiles and holds up a coloring sheet reading, 'Wash Your Hands' as Edison Elementary aims to help children continue learning during school closures as concerns over coronavirus rise Monday afternoon in Centralia.
Parents and kids look through stacks free books as Edison Elementary aims to help children continue learning during school closures as concerns over coronavirus rise Monday afternoon in Centralia.
In the wake of Gov. Jay Inslee’s order that put all K-12 schools in Washington state on a six-week hiatus, Edison Elementary School students along with their parents had the option to come back to school on Monday to pick up personal belongings and other resources for activities to do in the interim.
Students and parents entered the front doors of Edison Elementary where they were greeted by the faculty as they collected their school supplies and medicine that may have been left at the school’s nurse’s office.
Resources — both print material and online links — provided to families ranged from free virtual field trips to toilet paper.
“Everything that we have out there has been (posted) on facebook from authors, zoos, other websites like Scholastic, about free materials for kids,” Edison Elementary Principal Andy Justice said. “They can get online and go on virtual field trips, they can get online and go learn about animals at the zoo, just activities that might help keep them occupied while they’re not with us.”
The school also gave out material not requiring internet like books and games for various subjects with instructions printed out.
None of the material being offered was required for the students to complete, Justice said the school felt it was important that families knew the school was still a viable resource.
“We won’t be providing new instruction or work that’s expected to be graded or anything like that, and that’s due to equitable access to technology especially in some of our rural areas,” Centralia School District Communications Coordinator Ed Petersen said. “We can’t offer it to everybody, so we really can’t offer it to anyone because it’s not fair. But we are doing what we can to provide resources to them if they want to continue to do things at home.”
Beginning on Tuesday, the school will be rolling out its take-home breakfast and lunch program. Students can come by the school between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to pick up lunch for today and breakfast for the next day, Monday through Friday for the duration of the school’s hiatus.
And on Thursday and Friday, teachers will begin online parent-teacher conferences.
“We’re going to be making sure throughout the whole thing that our teachers are in touch with families and students and are checking in on people,” Petersen said. We’re not shutting down operation of the district, we can’t all be in the same place at the same time anymore, but we are going to keep making sure that (students) are staying connected to the classroom.”
Petersen said he has received no indication that school activities would be suspended for any longer than April 24, but Justice expressed confusion about students supposedly returning to class on April 27 when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that people do not gather in groups of 50 persons or more for the next eight weeks.
“It’s really difficult for us to know where this is going to go ... it’s an ever changing situation,” Peterson said.
