As public schools continue to bring more students to campus, Catholic parochial schools are proud to say they lead the way in returning to in-person learning. With every school now back on campus at least part time, the Catholic schools of Eastern Washington have shown our community what a safe and scientifically sound path back to in-person instruction looks like.

As of January, every school had all its students on campus, and only a few large classes still maintain hybrid education.

“I am so pleased to have almost all of our students back home at St. Mary Catholic School where they belong. Simply put, we are better together,” said Ben Walker, principal of St. Mary Catholic School in Spokane Valley.

Most of the parochial schools in the diocese began the school year with only kindergarten through second grade on campus full time. A few smaller schools were able to start with more students. At the end of October 2020, the schools began to phase in more classrooms every two weeks.

“The past year hasn’t been easy, and the work to bring our students back to campus and keep them here has been and is a massive logistical undertaking that has tested our creativity, flexibility, and ingenuity at nearly every turn, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat if it means our students can learn in person,” Walker said.

The diocesan school saw no large spikes in COVID cases since re-opening, and to date have not found any confirmed cases of COVID-19 transmission on their campuses.