Public schools are resuming classes this week during a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has reached new heights in numbers of cases across the North Olympic Peninsula.
All of the nine districts in Clallam and Jefferson counties are following guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the state Department of Health and county public health departments to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Students and teachers are required to wear masks indoors; social distancing of 3 feet apart is in place; and sanitizing protocols are in place, public school officials have said. The state masking requirement for schools is independent of local regulations like the Clallam County mask mandate.
Districts also offer remote opportunities for those who want to study from home.
Two school districts resumed classes Monday. The Quilcene School District used an earlier start date to allow it to offer a Thanksgiving break of a full week and a new mid-winter break in addition to the standard winter holiday and spring breaks. Brinnnon School District, a K-8 school, followed suit because most Brinnon high school students attend school in Quilcene.
Two Peninsula school districts resume classes today. They are the Sequim School District and the Quillayute Valley School District in Forks.
On Thursday, classes will resume at the Port Angeles School District, Crescent School District in Joyce and Cape Flattery School District in Clallam Bay and Neah Bay.
Port Townsend School District and Chimacum School District will begin the fall semester Sept. 7