At Home At School

For the past two weeks, authorities and school officials in western Washington have been responding to threats at several schools in the region.

Friday morning, State Superintendent Chris Reykdal will deliver the first annual update on Washington’s K–12 students, instructors, and schools.

Reykdal is anticipated to speak about a variety of issues, including student mental health and learning, health and safety, graduation rates for the Class of 2021, assessment scores for the autumn of 2021, education financing, and more.

During the 10 a.m. press conference, no announcements on school facility closures will be made.

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Internet access and personal devices were once privileges in schools. Today, they’re essential drivers of education.

“When a family comes to us asking for help in getting internet access, it’s the same as asking for a book,” said Scott McDaniel, Battle Ground Public Schools’ director of technology services.

“It’s no different than asking for a pencil.”

One federal funding program, the Emergency Connectivity Fund has helped to provide tech resources to facilitate remote education for disadvantaged students and those in rural areas throughout the pandemic — but it has one problem.

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Temporary school closures will be likely in the coming weeks as the state faces a series of obstacles — from COVID-19 to staffing shortages to inclement weather, state Superintendent Chris Reykdal said Friday.

His main goal, however, will be to continue in-person education across Washington throughout the school year.

As students and teachers return from winter break this week, Clark County Public Health officials are identifying ways to maintain the highest level of safety while continuing in-person education.

Among those plans is the continuation of the state-recommended 10-day isolation period for those who test positive or have a close contact who tests positive.

On Dec. 27, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new isolation guidelines for the general public, shortening the recommended quarantine period to just five days. That timeline, however, has not yet been recommended for K-12 schools, according to the Clark County Public Health Department.

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The Camas School District is investigating allegations of racist taunting at a high school girls basketball game last month.

The investigation follows a complaint by Eric Knox, girls basketball head coach at Portland’s Benson High. He said his team, which is predominantly Black, was subjected to taunts and racist slurs from the Camas student section during a game on Dec. 10.

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When their teacher asked them to design images that symbolized where they came from — and where they hoped to go — to paint on shoes, many of the Jemtegaard Middle School students in art teacher Dani Allen’s class struggled with the assignment.

Allen admits her assignment, which she called the “Roots and Wings” project, was not easy.

The Cornerstone Christian Academy for Learning and Leadership, a Vancouver-based private school, is expanding to add a second location in Battle Ground.

The new facility, at 715 N.W. Onsdorff Blvd., has been home to the CAM Academy — an alternative school in Battle Ground Public Schools — since 1996.

RIDGEFIELD — Jael Benedick, a seventh-grader from View Ridge Middle School, won first place in the Superintendent’s Holiday Greeting Card Art Contest. Her artwork was selected by judges as the entry that best exemplifies this year’s theme, “The Gift of Kindness.”

Jael’s design was featured on the cover of Ridgefield School District’s greeting card. She also received a $50 cash award at the Dec. 14 school board meeting.

RIDGEFIELD — After Battle Ground Public Schools received a large donation of Disney/Hyperion books, the district donated 40 of the boxes to Ridgefield School District libraries.

In addition to being borrowed, there are enough books to give some away as prizes.

At Union Ridge Elementary, the reading incentive program is called Library Ninjas. Ninjas model good library behavior, encouraging students to be stealthy and silent as they seek out books. The program also has an element called “Ninjas Read” that encourages students to read new books each month. A bulletin board outside the library is loaded with brightly colored worksheets showing the students’ reading choices.