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Everett schools outline phased return to classrooms, Feb. 8 target for youngest grades
Summary
Everett School District staff told the board Jan. 26 they plan a phased reentry starting Feb. 8 for kindergarten and first grade, with expanded stages for grades 2–5 and a later secondary plan; the presentation detailed staffing, substitute pools, safety procedures and data tools for monitoring student engagement.
Everett Public Schools officials told the board on Jan. 26 that the district is moving from planning into an active phased return to in-person learning, with Stage 3 — kindergarten, first grade and selected early childhood and self-contained programs — planned to begin Feb. 8.
The superintendent’s team emphasized the schedule is tentative and will remain “in pencil” until implementation, and that the district will keep about two weeks between stages to allow staffing and logistics to settle. “February 8 is when Stage 3 is planned to occur,” district presenter Mike Gunn said, noting the district separated Stage 4 into two sub-stages (4A: grades 2–3; 4B: grades 4–5) with roughly two-week gaps and that secondary (Stage 5) planning will begin with small cohorts and evolve based on staff and public-health guidance.
Why it matters: The plan affects families’ schedules, teacher assignments and the district’s staffing needs as it balances remote-learning continuity and in-person instruction for small cohorts of students who may most benefit from direct support.
Officials described the practical steps and supports the district is building. Human-resources staff walked the board through the staffing timeline and the staff-preference surveys used to place teachers into remote or hybrid assignments; principals used family-choice data to compose cohort rosters and remain responsible for local assignment decisions. HR noted the district has about 400 certificated substitutes (250 trained and ready) and 72 trained paraeducator substitutes but continues to face challenges recruiting special-education substitutes.
On safety, operations leaders outlined layered measures: classroom social-distancing calculations, daily staff attestations, a shared-attestation model for families, dedicated isolation “care rooms” for symptomatic students and on-site PPE supplies. “We have care rooms … where there’s a nurse or designated person with the highest level of PPE to wait with that student until parents can pick them up,” the district’s health staff explained.
The board also heard about metrics and tools to track more than attendance. Director of engagement Brian Beckley described an Insight report that flags students who may have high overall GPA and attendance but show missing work or absences in individual classes; the report prompted wraparound support at two high schools. “If we were to look at attendance and GPA, the student would not trigger as a concern,” Beckley said, describing how granular class-level views prompt targeted interventions.
Public comment included requests for clearer reopening criteria and teacher-vaccination information. Michael Bauer, in a public comment read into the record, asked the board to explain the evidence used to move to Stage 3 and whether political pressure or altered metrics played a role.
Next steps: Administration said principals would notify families of cohort groupings and teacher assignments the day after the meeting, and that the district expects to post updated reentry materials and timelines online. Board members asked that follow-up questions be handled via email and called for a Feb. 3 special meeting to provide an early check-in on implementation.
