Spokane Public Schools urging students to finish the school year strong

SPOKANE, Wash. — With about 40 school days left on the calendar for Spokane students, educators want your child to be as successful as possible. They’re providing as much support as they can from afar.

Spokane Public Schools wants you to know if your child is having problems at home, the same resources your student had when they were going to school in-person, they still have. You just have to get to them in a different way.

“An example of what the elementary learning plans look like. They are built around the concept of the board game, Connect Five,” said Adam Swinyard, associate superintendent for Spokane Public Schools.

SPS sent out a recommendation to help parents schedule how much time their kids should be spending on schoolwork at home.

“We’ve tried to work in, not only the core content, but free time, helping at home, social-emotional learning, art, music, health and fitness,” Swinyard said.

Teachers say they understand how hard this is, but students need to be trying their best.

“We get what it’s like to all of a sudden be expected to do this at your house. Just know that when teachers reach out, or ask you to work on things from home. It’s with the very best of intentions,” said Monica Lively, a kindergarten teacher at Logan Elementary School in Spokane.

Lively said she knows the pains families are going through right now trying to balance everything at home.

“Causing a lot of stress, I have a lot of sleepless nights thinking about those little babes and their families,” Lively said.

All Lively wants is to teach in her classroom again. But for now, Lively is comforted by a special letter from a special student.

“I got this letter today. And he says, ‘I’m so mad I can’t come to school. And then it says, I love you the size of Godzilla,'” Lively said.

Grading will be different this year. Students can choose a ‘pass’ or ‘not complete’ on their record. Or they can choose to get traditional grades – A, B, C, D. It all depends on the class. Students can also make a request for a waiver on a course.

SPS will also be sending out online surveys to families soon. They ask that you take your time filling it out and be completely honest. The school district will use the information to fix current problems and make improvements

Starting next week, SPS will start broadcasting lessons through KSPS. If your child needs a refresher or more content to jog their learning, this is an opportunity to get more schooling in. SPS will continue to do this until June.