August 2022

Dear Families,

It is with a huge smile that I welcome everyone in Lyle to the 2022-23 school year. The start of each school year brings much excitement, energy, and perhaps even some trepidation.  We all feel this excitement in different ways. Students look forward to seeing friends, some of whom they may not have seen since June, and are excited about all that the new year will bring. Parents and guardians are thrilled to see their children off for the start of another successful school year, yet are amazed at how fast their children are growing.  Even staff members, re-energized from vacation and summer professional learning, may be trying to tame those nervous butterflies as the first day of school approaches.

Fall is a special time for those of us involved in public education because it allows us to develop new goals, build new relationships and embark upon new challenges. The goals this year will highlight both academic and social and emotional learning. While improving student achievement is of great importance to our mission, we know it is essential to focus on the social and emotional needs of our students as well. We are so lucky to have a supportive community and school team who value all students and encourage them as they reach their dreams and goals.

Please help me in welcoming our new teaching staff. Ian Monahan will be teaching K-12 music, Katie Layne is our new 2^nd grade teacher, and Ann Scott will be teaching secondary Art, CTE, and Computer Science. Also, Conor Ryan, who joined our team late last school year, will be returning as our Attendance and Reengagement Specialist.

We also have a few teachers that have moved positions within our building, so you’ll see familiar faces, in new places! Shelby Casey will be teaching middle school math, Jesika LaBryer has moved to teaching middle school science, Tim Foley is now our K-12 PE teacher, and Anna Seltzer has moved to teaching 5^th grade.

I continue to be honored to work with each of you, our Board of Directors, and our incredible team of educators as we work together to provide the best possible learning opportunity for Lyle students. Welcome back!

Sincerely,

Ann Varkados

Superintendent

The first day of school is almost here!   And here’s how to find the info you need.

Start with the school district website at www.lyleschools.org.  Important dates are on the calendar – it’s on the far right of the navigation bar. If you’re using your cell phone or other device, click on the three horizontal bars just below “Home of the Cougars” and select from the options there. You can also select from the “Dallesport Elementary,” “Lyle Secondary” and “Our District drop-down menus to find things like school lunch menus, staff names and emails, and bus schedules.

Need to register your student in Lyle Schools?

Come to our office in the school at 625 Keasey Ave., Lyle, between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Or call 509-365-2211, ext. 120.

The first day of school is August 24, and since it’s a Wednesday, the start time is 9 a.m. Students can start arriving at 8:30 a.m. so they have time for breakfast (free!) and to catch up with friends they haven’t seen for a bit.  On all other days of the week, school starts at 8 a.m., with students beginning to arrive at 7:30 a.m.  

Kindergarten starts on August 24^th, too, and continues to be a full-day program.

ECEAP staff will do one-on-one orientations with incoming families for 2022-23 school year from August 24-30. The first day of class for ECEAP is August 31. This year, ECEAP/pre-Kindergarten will be five days a week instead of four, with an all-day option. Please keep an eye on the front page of the website and on our Facebook page (@LyleSchools) for more information.

Supply Lists? Nope.

The school district provides basic education supplies – you don’t have to worry about pencils, erasers, lined paper and the like. Parents can supply a backpack, closed-toe shoes that are appropriate for playing outside, and a jacket for when the weather turns colder. Families of our younger children (K-2) should also consider leaving a change of clothes in their lockers in case of an accident. If you need assistance with obtaining school clothes for your children, reach out to us.

Health Requirements

A note about immunizations: Some are required to attend school, but note that the COVID vaccination is not required for students at this time. You can find these at www.lyleschools.org. Select “Health Information” in the “Our District” menu.

Looking for School Breakfast and Lunch Menus or Bus Routes?

Menus will be shared here.

You can find bus routes here. They will be posted a little later in August.

Want to email your child's teacher?

Go to the main navigation bar and click on either Dallesport Elementary or Lyle Secondary and pull down to the staff selection.

Athletics

Fall athletics gear up before school even starts. If you have a secondary student planning on joining the football or volleyball teams, check with our school office for more information. Game schedules will be posted on the district website (“Athletics” in the Lyle Secondary School menu) soon.

Also, if you enjoy coming to our games, know that this year we will begin charging admission again. We’re working with Home Town Ticketing to make it possible for Cougar fans to pay with a credit card online – also on the athletics page – or at the door. If you’ve ever had to scramble to find a cash machine before a game, you’ll know what a great idea this is!

We’re looking forward to seeing everyone back this fall.  We expect it to be the most normal start of a school year since 2019! Keep watching our webpage and Facebook page for introductions to new staff and other news. Go Cougs!

In Spite of Everything, the Class of 2022 Excelled

The Lyle High School Class of 2022 held their commencement ceremony on June 4, 2022, in a traditional ceremony in the school gymnasium – the first class to do so since 2019. The normalcy of that simple ceremony was deceptive, because for these kids, high school has been anything but normal.  (See video of the ceremony here.)

When the COVID-19 pandemic started in early 2020, they were in their sophomore year. They have participated in remote learning for nearly one-half their high school years and missed experiences common to the 9^th-12^th graders. Athletics were cancelled and returned only on a very limited basis in the Spring of 2021. Proms and other social events were cancelled until the Spring of 2022.

Yet, this class somehow not only survived, but excelled. We say with all sincerity, the Lyle High School Class of 2022 deserves respect with a capital “R.” Here’s a little more about each student.

	Myeengan Syrette earned the rank of Class Valedictorian and the Principal’s Leadership Award. He also received Excellence in Social Studies and English Language Arts. Myeengan will attend Central Michigan University this fall to pursue a major in Environmental Science and a minor in Native Studies. Myeengan is a skilled Native dancer who shared two dances and spoke about their cultural significance with the school’s student body in November.  Myeengan has earned the Multicultural Advancement and Cofer Scholar Award of Distinction award from the university.
	Only a fraction of a point in grade point averages separated Myeengan and Sophie Kilian, the class Salutatorian. Sophie earned the Female Athlete of the Year and Principal’s Leadership Awards. She was awarded $500 for the Ron Halverson/Alumni scholarship, $750 for the Lions Scholarship and $1,000 for the Pamela Jane Oldenburg Memorial Scholarship. Sophie was recognized as the Washington State University Top Scholar based on her achievements in high school. Her academic achievements placed her in the top 10 percent of the incoming freshmen; as a result, she received the Distinguished University Achievement award for $4,000. She also received the WSU Regents Scholars award for $4,000 for four years. She plans to study nursing at Washington State University in Pullman and has already earned credits toward that degree by her participation in the Running Start program.
	Arturo Gutierrez received Excellence in Science and English Language Arts awards. He received $750 for the Lions Scholarship and $1,000 for the Pamela Jane Oldenburg Memorial Scholarship, and plans to pursue a degree in electrical-mechanical studies at Columbia Gorge Community College.
	Hannah Hunsaker, a strong science student, also will be attending Columbia Gorge Community College this fall.
	Haylee Hunsaker is off to Montana State University. Like her sister, she has shown an aptitude for science during her high school years.
	Wyatt Jones, who received an Excellence in Science Award, will participate in an electrician apprenticeship this year.

Two students were recognized by Principal Lori Smith with Mountain Climber Awards. These students overcame some significant challenges to achieve great things:

	Dakota Stubbs, who will attend trade school to pursue a degree in a medical field,
	and Cody Zaugg who overcame a significant credit deficit to graduate early and now plans to pursue his dreams in California.

The class had several more students who all earned college credit as a result of their participation in Running Start, a free early college program. Some earned enough to graduate with an Associate of Arts (AA) degree in addition to their high school diploma.

Running Start students include:

	Angelina Quinterro, who also received an Overall Academic Excellence Award and will attend Texas A&M with a goal of earning a degree in Equine Studies.
	Aaron Smith, also the school’s Male Athlete of the Year. He plans to enter an electrician apprenticeship following high school.
	Carly Tatro, who is also planning on entering the work force and pursuing a real estate license.
	Alana Hail, who earned an Excellence in Science Award. She is the recipient of the Beverly Ann Bryan Memorial Scholarship for $1,000 and the Lions Scholarship for $750. She plans to attend Idaho State University.

Please help us congratulate our 2022 graduates!

The Class of 2022 Commencement Ceremony!

During a special board meeting on May 31, 2022, the Lyle School District Board of Education approved Lyle School District working with White Salmon Valley and Klickitat School districts in developing a transportation co-op. 

Staff pay, benefits and other specifics pertaining to transportation employees will be bargained with the Public School Employees local. Our bus drivers have done a valiant job of covering multiple routes this past year. With the input of our drivers and their union representation, we expect the co-op to ultimately provide more stable work conditions, benefiting our drivers as well as students, instructional staff and families.

The approved co-op agreement provides for the operational, managerial and organizational functions of the three districts' transportation functions. This includes route scheduling, reporting mileage to the state, providing an official dispatch center and other non-driving activities.  The maintenance and repair of district buses has been handled by the White Salmon Valley School District bus garage since 2018 and will continue under this agreement. 

There are multiple reasons for pursuing the co-op arrangement.

• Reflecting the hiring issues widespread across the country, Lyle School District has had difficulties keeping enough drivers on staff to cover all four routes and transportation for multiple extracurricular activities. Students, particularly those riding the "Panda" route to and from Dallesport/Murdock have been delayed throughout the school year. Parents' schedules and plans have been disrupted, too. Although the district has recruited heavily, it has picked up only two additional drivers during the school year, one of whom is not fully licensed yet. The district lost several drivers in the same time frame.
• Training, testing and licensing a new bus driver is a complicated process. It typically takes two to three months if the prospective driver has no previous commercial driving experience.  Lyle School District sends new potential drivers to Vancouver for training and testing. The co-op, using White Salmon’s current process, will conduct training and testing on site and will be able to complete the process more quickly. 
• Lyle School District has not had a transportation manager since last fall. The position has changed radically in the past few years, due in part to the nature of new buses.  Like cars, they now require high-tech diagnostics, maintenance and repair equipment, which requires special training.  Where the district's transportation manager once performed mechanical work on the district's buses, it's now almost incredibly difficult to find someone with those skills willing to work part-time. To find such a person who could perform the other parts of the job – the paperwork, state reporting, routing and so on -- is even harder. The co-op will provide all of these functions.
• Transportation funding from the state has long been inadequate for small, rural districts. However a co-op receives far more stable and predictable funding due to state rules. As before, levy funding received from our property owners will be used to fill in where state funding to the district is inadequate.
• But ultimately, this decision is about our students and their education. Neither our staff, administration nor board want to put students and families through another year in similar circumstances. Students need to be in school on time to learn with their peers. Families need to depend on buses being on time and running regularly. 

Watch for more news about our new co-op throughout the summer.

The Lyle High School Class of 2022 returns to a more traditional graduation ceremony this year when its members walk across the stage in the Lyle School gymnasium to accept their diplomas. The ceremony begins at 2 p.m., June 4, 2022. Extended family members and friends are welcome and encouraged to attend but, if they prefer, can instead opt to view a remote feed of the ceremony.

With the easing of pandemic regulations, graduating seniors were given the choice of the more traditional ceremony or the outdoor ceremony on the football field, which was provided for the past two years’ graduating classes.

The members of the Lyle High School Class of 2022 are Arturo Gutierrez, Alana Hail, Hannah Hunsaker, Haylee Hunsaker, Wyatt Jones, Sophie Kilian, Angelina Quintero, Aaron Smith, Dakota Stubbs, Myeengan Syrette, Carly Tetro, and Cody Zaugg.

Honors and scholarships will be announced during the graduation ceremony.

Parents and teachers will be meeting in person or by Zoom for conferences on Wednesday, April 27, and Thursday, April 28.  Conferences will take place from noon to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, and from noon - 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Students will be released at noon  on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, April 29.  

Parents, if you haven't scheduled your conference yet, email your child's teacher or advisor, or support@lyleschools.org.

Dear Families and Community,

On April 13, our school district learned that the COVID-19 vaccine will not be a required vaccine for Washington State public school students this fall. Immunization requirements for students in the 2022-2023 school year will remain the same as past school years.

The Decision-Making Process

The Washington State Board of Health, which determines immunization requirements for students in K–12 public schools, organized a Technical Advisory Group to consider the issue. The group was made up of doctors, public health officials, school partners, and other community members. In late February, the group concluded their work and recommended to the State Board of Health that the vaccine not be required. In today’s State Board of Health meeting, the group’s recommendation was reviewed and the board agreed with the recommendation. 

At this time, there are no changes to the governor proclamation requiring school employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. 

We will continue to share information about state and local pandemic requirements. We appreciate your partnership and support of our public schools.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ann Varkados

If you are planning on enrolling your child in Lyle Schools for the first time in the 2022-2023 school year, we encourage you to do so now before the fall rush.

All grade levels are welcome to register now through June 10. Come to the school office on the upper level of Lyle School, 625 Keasey Avenue, Lyle, between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday – Friday.  

This is a great time to complete the enrollment process, for several reasons: 

• If you get it done now, you won’t have to stand in line with the crowd this this fall.
• If your child needs any immunizations, you’ll have plenty of time to get them done before school starts.
• You’ll give us time to order and receive school records, so we place your secondary student in the right level of classes.
• You’ll also help us have an accurate count of students by grade level for the coming year. By registering now, you can give us time to pre-plan what our classroom space will look like and hire any staff needed to serve our students.

If you miss registration at this time, it will open again August 15.  Questions? Call 509-365-2211, ext. 120, or email support@lyleschools.org.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

You’ve probably heard that the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has released new guidance for schools, child care, and other youth activities.

The big news is that wearing a mask indoors is no longer required– but there are other changes in what schools must do. This guidance reflects the state’s continued COVID-19 recovery efforts and a new phase of the pandemic.

Read our letter for a summary of some of the major changes, and a list of what's not changing. 

It will take some time for our school district to review the new guidelines in detail and make adjustments to all of our practices.

We ask for your patience and promise to share information with you as quickly as possible.