Washington’s Schools are moving forward with plans for this summer and next school year, but school leaders are still not certain what things will be like in the coming months and are making plans that are tentative. Washington’s Superintendent, Dr. Dan Roach, said the Jr./Sr. Prom is still tentatively scheduled for July 10, and the Graduation Ceremony for the Class of 2020 is still tentatively scheduled for July 11.
Currently, plans are for the Prom to be held in the Jr.High Gym, and Commencement will be held in the Hatchet House.
School Superintendent Dr. Dan Roach told the Board that because of several unknowns, summer school is still a question mark.
As for the start of school for the 2020-2021 year…
Roach also said that they are considering whether registration for next year will be by appointment or partially done on-line. Forms from the Federal Government still have not been received and the school system is still working things out based on expected guidelines.
Dr. Roach did say that the State of Indiana and the IHSAA have lifted the ban on sports practices beginning July 1. The IHSAA has also lifted the moratorium week and provided some guidance to Indiana’s schools. Roach said that although it will be possible for student athletes to begin to get together, there are still a lot of unknowns.
Dr. Roach told the School Board on Thursday that the schools’ custodians have continued to work. Janitors are sanitizing the buildings each time staff members have been inside. They are stockpiling and looking for sources of sanitizing supplies for the next year. The staff has also continued to work on maintenance projects in the systems schools.
The School system also announced that the weekly food distribution will continue thought the end of August. Eben Lips, local manager for Sodexo Food Service, which operates the Washington Schools cafeterias, said that his staff has really stepped up in distributing food to students during the time that the schools have been using e-learning. He also said the ways the cafeterias deliver food to students when school resumes could be different than in the past.
In personnel items, two longtime Washington educators have decided to retire. The School Board accepted letters of retirement from elementary teachers Susan Chambers and Barb Ulrich. The Board also accepted the resignations of Jackie Esch and Sara Graber. There will be four new faces in the Washington Schools, Elizabeth Hilt will be teaching social studies at the Jr. High, Austin Stowell will teach English at WHS, and Emily Worland and McKenzie Norton will be teaching in the elementary schools