Friday, December 4, is an early release day to provide teachers time to upload grades for the end of the trimester.  The schedule follows:

Everyone, we know this may be a tough holiday season for a lot of families, including many who are impacted by the pandemic. If you are among them, don't hesitate to fill out the form below. Make sure your family has a celebratory meal on the table for Christmas and gifts under the tree. Download, print and complete the form by clicking on the link below. 

Downloadable form.

If you are unable to print it, contact julie.larson@lyleschools.org or 509-365-2211, ext. 126, and she will get a paper copy to you. Please return the completed form to Julie by December 5.

Can you help with gifts for families in need this holiday season?

Visit Mugs Coffee in Bingen, just across from the Post Office, and pick an ornament off of their Christmas tree.  These have information about the children in the family and a code. Those with an "L" indicate it is a family from Lyle.  Use the information on the ornament to shop for the family, then return to Mugs with the gifts wrapped and marked with the code.  

Gifts and holiday meal preparations will be handed off to families (discreetly) on the last day of school before the holidays.  Please have presents wrapped and back to Mugs by Wednesday, December 17.

We are unabashed Mugs fans!  They are marvelous community partners, partnering with us year after year to help our students have a few special things for the holidays.  Please consider purchasing a coffee or other beverage and a treat while you're there!

Parents, we've had an individual at Lyle School test positive for COVID-19. Our team is working closely with the Klickitat County Health Department to identify anyone who might have had close contact with this individual.

Anyone identified as a close contact will receive another notification, in addition to this letter, with information on required actions and support resources. If you do not receive an additional notification, then your child was not identified as a close contact and their risk of infection is low.

Our plans for instruction next week are to continue with the hybrid in-person/remote learning schedule. If this changes, we will let families know as soon as possible.  Should you choose to keep your child home, let us know and we will have them switched to fully remote for the week. You can call the office at 509.365.2211 or email support@lyleschools.org

Due to federal law, we cannot provide any identifying information for this individual. Please do not ask our staff. If you or your child are identified as having close contact, the health department will contact you. Please read the parent letter below.

Parent Letter 11.6.20

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Nos estamos comunicando con usted para informarle que un individuo en Lyle School ha dado positivo a COVID-19.

Nuestro equipo está trabajando en estrecha colaboración con el Departamento de Salud de Klickitat County para identificar a cualquier persona que pueda haber tenido contacto cercano con las personas que dieron positivo a la prueba de COVID-19.

Cualquier persona identificada como “un contacto cercano” recibirá otra notificación, además de esta carta, con información sobre las medidas necesarias y los recursos de apoyo. Si no recibe una notificación adicional, su hijo no fue identificado como “un contacto cercano” y su riesgo de infección es bajo.

Nuestros planes para la instrucción la próxima semana son continuar con el horario híbrido de aprendizaje en persona / remoto. Si esto cambia, se lo haremos saber a las familias lo antes posible. Si decide mantener a su hijo en casa, avísenos y lo cambiaremos a completamente remoto durante la semana. Puede llamar a la oficina al 509.365.2211 o enviar un correo electrónico a support@lyleschools.org.

Debido a la ley federal, no podemos proporcionar ninguna información de identificación de esta persona. Por favor, no pregunte a nuestro personal. Si se identifica que usted o su hijo tienen un contacto cercano, el departamento de salud se comunicará con usted. Lea la carta para los padres a continuación.

Carta a los padres 11.6.20

Today is Election Day.

Haven't turned in your ballot yet? We suggest you put it in one of the county's ballot drop boxes by 8 p.m. tonight, November 3. In Dallesport, that's in the Community Center parking lot. In Lyle, it's in the Lions Club parking lot. In Bingen, it's the City Hall parking lot.

There's a full list of other locations in the county (and you can use any of them), a county elections guide, and other helpful information on Klickitat County's elections page.

In Washington state, the long-standing rule has been your ballot will be counted if it's postmarked today, but recently, the USPS recommended mailing a week early. If you are taking it to the post office, you may want to walk it to the counter to make sure the 11.3.20 postmark is on it.

If you've already voted and want to check on the status of your ballot, go to VoteWA.gov. Check the Secretary of State's webpage at sos.wa.gov/elections/ for more fascinating elections resources, state voters' guide and more.

Parents Can Complete Registration Forms and Update Information Online

Lyle School District has just switched over to a completely online registration system, giving parents access to all of the forms they have filled out on paper in the past. This move will save staff time and allow parents to ensure their children's information is input accurately.  Called "Family Access," this new feature is part of Skyward, the same program currently used by parents to access students' grades, absences information and other ongoing student data. The system provides more security; only people who need and are authorized to see this information have access.  Parents can update contact information there as well to ensure they get timely communications from the school.

There's no doubt that coming back to school or enrolling in a new school requires a lot of paperwork. And there's nothing worse than filling all of those forms out, then misplacing them or having them go missing when you send them to school with your child. Now, instead, parents can do this all online, as they have time, and go back to confirm that the information is right.  

See the attached PDF for directions in how to use Family Access and the Online Registration and Information Update features. 

In addition to the Contact and Health Updates, the school is required to collect the following forms/information. Many of these impact services that families can receive outside of the school setting, like EBT cards for food benefits or assistance in obtaining housing.

• Verify Military Status
• Verify Ethnicity/Race. The state has added several additional race categories. Feel free to change it if you feel your race is better identified than as previously reported
• Housing Questionnaire
• Media Release-We are required to inform you of your right to allow or disallow certain information to be published or released outside of the school
• Home Language Survey
• Food Service Application. Please review this application. There are certain programs that use this application for benefits such as: Pandemic EBT, ASB Waivers, Running Start Fee Waivers, and others.  IF you do not qualify, please mark the form accordingly
• Income Verification. This is VERY IMPORTANT. To meet our Community Eligibility for FREE meals for our students, we must get an Income Survey from families.  All information is kept strictly confidential and is only released to the Authorized Food Service Administrators for the District. Please help us keep all of our kids fed without charge.

Need help? Have questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at support@lyleschools.org or at 509.365.2211.

Virtual Parent-Teacher Conferences are taking place during the week of October 19.

Teachers are reaching out to parents to schedule them.  If you haven't heard from your child's teacher by Friday, October 16, please call the school at 509-365-2211, extension 120.

Times are available:

• Wednesday, October 21,  noon - 3 p.m.
• Thursday, October 22, noon - 7 p.m.

The school will have early release at noon on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, October 23.

Lyle Schools Offers Effective Hybrid Learning, and Safe, Effective In-Person Instruction

Throughout the Columbia Gorge and across the nation, schools are grappling with the best and safest way to deliver educational services during a global pandemic. Many education staples such as in-person classroom learning and meal services that have traditionally required face-to-face interaction were no longer permitted early in the pandemic due to concerns over COVID-19 transmission. Essentially, education transformed to remote learning overnight, something few schools were prepared for.

By the end of the summer, Washington’s Governor Inslee released a new framework for returning to in-person education, which allowed students and teachers to return to the classroom in small groups as long as COVID-19 remained low in the surrounding county. At that point, Klickitat County, whose population is under 25,000, had fewer than 200 recorded cases. The town of Lyle had a single recorded case, while Dallesport had seven, which were quickly contained.

To the Lyle School District reopening team, which included administrators, teachers and support staff, bringing back small groups of students that needed the most support with distance learning seemed a logical and important first step.

The team worked closely with the county health department, maintaining a laser focus on state-required safety precautions as it developed a plan for hybrid learning. This involved small groups of students rotating through the school building for in-person instruction on select days each week and participating in class remotely outside of those specific on-campus hours. Before classes started, parents and students came to the school for pre-arranged mini-conferences with their teachers. They checked out new laptops and learned how to log in and where to find their classes. The process for participating in class is the same each day, whether the student is in the school or at home.

The reopening team developed protocols for monitoring the health of students and staff for return to school, as well. Staff self-monitor and attest via a written form that they are well each day. Students arriving at school receive a quick health screening, including a temperature check. Safety protocols also emphasize mask-wearing, hand-washing and physical distancing throughout the day.

To support remote instruction, the district was able to purchase Smart Boards for every classroom in addition to the personal laptops, expenditures that were possible thanks to CARES Act funding. Teachers attended multiple days of training in using the devices, and continue to train in Microsoft Teams software and best practices in remote instruction.

Unlike larger districts with more staff, Lyle doesn’t have the option of assigning one grade-level teacher to remote learning and another to on-site instruction, because there is only one teacher per grade level at the elementary level, and one per subject at the secondary level. Lyle teachers stepped up to the challenge and agreed to simultaneously instruct students physically in their classroom and those logged in remotely.

“While our goal is to keep students and staff learning in person as much as possible, our team is prepared to transition to remote learning quickly, if needed.” Superintendent Ann Varkados explains. “Using technology like Microsoft Teams for simultaneous in-person and remote instruction allows for less disruption if we need to pivot to online learning.”

In fact, on September 14, 2020, less than a week after the start of the school year, Lyle School students and teachers proved that point by quickly moving to all-remote instruction when wildfire smoke led to a five-day halt to all in-person instruction in Klickitat County schools. By then, most students had at least one day of in-person instruction that involved logging in and using their devices. It was a crash course in live remote instruction, but by the end of the five days, teachers were expressing new-found confidence in their skills.

With the county’s COVID-19 infection rate now even lower than on the first day, the school is gradually increasing the number of days students can be in school. On Monday, October 5, all Kindergarten and first grade students – both exceptionally small classes of 7 or less -- returned to the building full time. Additional grade levels through middle school will be phased in, with students in grades 2-8 coming to the building at least twice a week.

At the high school level, students’ individual needs and learning styles are guiding decisions about who should receive more on-site instruction. Students who lack adequate Internet access are especially high priority for attending school in person.

Lyle Education Association Co-President Cody Magill is excited about the learning model, explaining, “The adoption of this program puts teachers in a position to be more flexible. We can more readily tailor our approach for each student, addressing individual gaps by accessing resources in a manner that promotes equity. It puts us at the forefront of education moving forward.”

Providing instruction under these circumstances, even in a small district, is not simple. Administrators in other districts have taken notice of what Lyle is doing. Principal Lori Smith recounts first hearing from a staff person whose spouse operates a daycare and sees first-hand how area districts are providing remote instruction. Lyle, she said, was “rocking it,” on par with another, much better-funded, Gorge-area school district. Since then, Principal Smith has heard other positive comments and even fielded calls from administrators in other districts, asking about the school’s approach.

Nevertheless, parents’ fears around the pandemic and in-person instruction have hit Lyle hard, something else it has in common with districts across the country. The absence of 25 students means a quarter-million dollar loss to the school’s operating budget. Staff are eager to get the word out that great things are happening in Lyle, in hopes of reassuring parents who have been hesitant to enroll students this year. That could include parents who have been trying to homeschool their students or who have enrolled them in the larger, less personal remote learning programs, or Kindergarten parents who simply decided to wait out the year. For families who want to continue learning remotely, the district will accommodate them through at least the end of this school year.

The school is also accepting out-of-district transfers for all grades. Out-of-district parents must take responsibility for transporting their children to and from school. Call 509-365-2211, extension 120, to learn more about enrolling.

“We can all agree that in-person is how kids learn best,” said Superintendent Ann Varkados. “I’m proud of our team for creating safe and sustainable practices for bringing kids back to school and encourage families to learn more about the good things happening at Lyle School District.”

Join us live and in-person in the Lyle School Cafeteria on Tuesday, October 13, at 5:30 p.m. to get that FAFSA application finalized. 

Sara Viemeister, who runs the Columbia Gorge Community College Financial Aid Office, will be available to help our seniors register for the FASFA. Sara provides assistance free of charge no matter what college or trade school the student is considering.

Sara has lots of information and understands the best way to get you the most funds for education! If this date and time absolutely does not work for you or if you have questions, contact Julie Larson at 509-365-2211 x126 or julie.larson@lyleschools.org

PLEASE BRING:

• A mask for each person (no exceptions!)
• A copy of 2019 tax returns (student's and parents')
• Social Security Number 
• Date of birth for student and parent and significant dates like marriage dates
• Your FSA ID (Save time by going to fsaid.ed.gov or downloading the MyStudentAid app and registering.  Then bring your assigned ID and password to FAFSA Night!)

DOWNLOADABLE FLYER

Dear Cougar Families,

We have some GREAT news to share! The Department of Health has given us the go-ahead to have more students at school as we move forward in October.

This is thanks to you and to our neighbors, who have been masking up, physical distancing, washing hands and keeping surfaces clean – all those safety measures that have helped keep the number of COVID-19 cases in our community, and in the county, low.

Assuming the county’s COVID-19 infection rate stays low, what you will see over the next couple of months is a gradual increase of students in the school, starting with our youngest learners. Health authorities suggest this approach, noting that younger children struggle most with distance learning, are at a critical stage in their development, and appear to have milder disease and transmit COVID-19 less.

Currently, our plan is that, beginning October 5:

• Kindergarten and first grade students will attend school in person and full time, and;
• All students in grades 2-8 will receive in-person instruction at least twice a week.

We will implement this plan gradually, one or two grades at a time with time in between, so that we can monitor and review any potential safety issues and adjust as we go.

In grades 9 through 12, we are taking a more individualized approach. We will increase numbers as we can, based on safety requirements and students’ individual learning styles. The cohorts your child/ren are currently part of will be maintained and expanded judiciously.

Also, don’t panic if you want your child to continue learning remotely.  Families who prefer to keep their students at home can do so, regardless of the child’s grade level.

There's more detail in the letter we're sending home with students today and next week. You can read it here, too.