On March 30, Governor Doug Ducey and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman announced an extension of the statewide school closure through the end of the school year. Additionally, this afternoon, the Governor issued an executive order to “Stay home, Stay healthy, Stay connected,” which encourages Arizonans to limit their time away from home, and if they do go out, to ensure social distancing. Our leadership team is continuing to meet regularly and we will share answers based on these announcements.

Parents can find a link for educational resources at wesdschools.org/students. The page will provide educational resources to support ongoing enrichment. These activities are recommended as they can help keep children engaged in learning during school closures. WESD will continue to review options for providing educational resources to families and will provide updated information.

Washington Elementary School District has created a collection of online educational resources and printable activities to support our students’ learning opportunities and enrichment during the closure of our schools. We highly recommend these activities and resources to keep children engaged.  

Starting Thursday, April 2, we will post a new set of digital materials online and provide printed materials at all schools for families to pick up on Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to noon.  New digital grade-level materials and printed grade-level copies will continue to be available every Thursday for the length of the school closure.  We are working on developing advanced classes, Algebra and Geometry opportunities for our seventh and eighth grade classrooms, special area, EL and gifted resources for additional grade levels.   

Additionally, our teachers will provide support for your student. Beginning Wednesday, April 1, 2020, teachers will be using the platform, Google Meet, to provide opportunities to interact with your student.  Scheduled times will be set up and shared so that your family can plan to participate either online or by phone.  Teachers will communicate their scheduled times early next week.

During these challenging times, it’s important that our teachers and students stay connected. Teachers will be reaching out to their students to check-in and see how they’re doing. They will use the same communication strategies that they’ve used all year; whether it’s SchoolMessenger, Class Dojo, Remind, email or a phone call. Teachers will also be gathering information about Internet and device availability at home.

The WESD will continue to provide free Grab and Go meals for children 18 and younger at 13 of our locations from 10:30 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday. 

Meals will be available by drive-through or pick up. Children can pick up one sack lunch for that afternoon and one sack breakfast for the following day. Per USDA regulations, children must be present to receive meals. Meals will be distributed outside at each location and, for the safety of all involved, not be consumed at the site. Please see the flyer below for a complete list of pick up locations.

On Monday, March 23, WESD Health Techs will be available at all schools for families who wish to pick up essential medications. Parents should go to the front office of their child(ren)’s school between 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Medications may only be picked up by the child’s parent. For safety purposes, we will be practicing social distancing and limiting the number of people in the Health Office at one time.

We are currently working on ways to meet all of our students’ educational needs while the schools are closed.  Things will look different since we cannot hold in-person classes, but we are exploring other options for meeting your child’s needs. The majority of our students with IEPs needs can be met through accommodations to what we will be providing for all children and we will be working with our special education team to find ways to support children who need further modifications.

If you have specific questions regarding your child’s special education needs you can reach out to Dr. Koba via email, Jeanne.koba@wesdschools.org

Your child’s special education provider will be reaching out to you to discuss options for holding your child’s meeting. While schools are closed we will not be having any in-person meetings.

The WESD Art Show at ASU West scheduled for Tuesday, March 24 has been canceled and the two community meetings regarding boundary/grade configuration changes at Desert View, Royal Palm, Maryland, and Ocotillo have been postponed.

All WESD athletics including practices are suspended through the end of the school year. We will continue to update.

 The free registration date of April 1, 2020, for the 4-year-old Early Childhood Enrichment Program, will be rescheduled. We will continue to update.

Our facilities managers conducted a deep clean of schools during the break, disinfecting high touch areas. Additionally, Nutrition Services and Facilities staff will continue increased precautions to ensure the health and safety of students and staff during the preparation and meal delivery program.

We have additional resources available regarding COVID-19 on this information page. This includes tips for talking to your child about the virus and some coping skills. There is also information for families who are seeking community resources related to food insecurity.

As we receive more guidance from local, state and federal officials, we hope to make informed decisions and answer additional questions. Please feel free to send your questions to us by emailing wesdcommserv@wesdschools.org. We will do our best to monitor and answer questions and add them to this Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section.