Monday, August 16, 2021

Good Morning Washington Local!

This is it! The week we've been anticipating all summer. We are so excited to welcome back our students in First-12th Grade with last names beginning with A-K on Thursday and L-Z on Friday. Kindergartners should all have scheduled individual appointments over those two days. Please check with your school's secretary if your Kindergartener has not scheduled an appointment for Thursday or Friday. We are so excited to see you.

Everyone certainly had hoped that this year would look a lot closer to normal than it currently does. Last Thursday, we released our Return to Learn guidelines. We know people have strong opinions on both sides of the issues. Please remember that our primary goal is to ensure that our Panthers stay healthy so we can be in school five days a week all year long. That might mean that we have to shift our protocols from time to time. This is an opportunity for our kids to watch us all handle adversity with grace. Let's all try to remember that this is temporary. We will get back to a more normal routine as soon as COVID stops spreading so rapidly. Because we have a mask protocol in place for K-6, we do not anticipate quarantines for those students under the current Ohio Department of Health Guidelines.

Please also remember that the first few days of transportation are always a challenge. Even though each child doesn't necessarily use transportation, all have to be scheduled so we can be sure we don't miss anyone. This means that routes take longer in the beginning as we figure out who is riding and who isn't riding. We will have 1,600 more students in our schools this year as many of our Panthers return from virtual learning. This will also mean that drop-off/pick-up lines will be longer. Nothing is more important than the safety of our kids. Please be patient and plan extra time in these first few days to be sure we aren't stressed.
Construction at Jackman and Shoreland will also cause some delays so please plan accordingly. Federal law requires students, bus drivers and monitors to wear masks while riding school transportation.

We welcomed the news from the State and Federal Government that breakfast and lunch will continue to be available at no charge for all students. We are welcoming back our lunch staff and they are planning some great new lunch items for our students to try!

We want to make this the best year of our Panthers' lives! We have a lot of fun activities planned for everyone K-12. Welcome back, Panthers! We look forward to a happy and healthy 2021-2022 school year!

Every Student Matters; Every Moment Counts!

Kadee Anstadt, Ed.D.
Superintendent/CEO
Washington Local Schools
3505 W. Lincolnshire Blvd.
Toledo, OH 43606
419-473-8220