UPDATED Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Dear Students, Families, and Staff,

I want to take this opportunity and share information with all of you regarding recent grading guidance from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, or most commonly referred to as OSPI. Late last night, OSPI released their grading guidance for school districts to follow during the Governor’s extended school closure. Puyallup School District leadership has reviewed OSPI’s guidance and the following grading framework will be applied during the school closure:

 • Preschool – Grade 8: Students will not receive number or letter grades during the extended school closure. Students are encouraged to complete the activities assigned by their teacher(s). Teachers will provide students with performance-based feedback that addresses students’ successes and areas needing growth. Students will move on to the next grade, unless by mutual agreement between parents/guardians, teachers, and school administration they agree to repeat a grade level or a portion of learning missed.

 • Grades 9 – 12: Students will have opportunities to improve their grades at the time of the school closure (March 16, 2020) by completing weekly activities assigned by their teachers. Every high school course taken during the school closure period will be given a statewide designator on the high school transcript to denote the unique environment in which the course was taken. Teachers will assign letter grades or in rare circumstances an “incomplete” at the end of the semester. A letter grade of “F” is not an option and will not be assigned. Additional information related to the district’s school closure grading scale will be shared with the community early next week.

In accordance with rules established by OSPI, high school students will not receive a “pass”, “fail”, or “no credit” for any course. Again, all students are encouraged to do their best and complete weekly activities assigned by their teachers. Weekly attendance will be taken for all students, preschool – Grade 12. Students will be marked present each week for actively participating in their learning (e.g., turning in an assignment, attending a virtual class meeting, responding to an email or phone call from their teacher, etc.).

As shared in previous messages, the Puyallup School District is committed to the success of all students during this extended school closure. Our instructional leadership team comprised of district directors, school administrators, our Educational Technology staff and teachers continue to support families with access to technology and meaningful activities and assignments for students. Please reach out to your school administration or teaching staff if your family is still struggling with access to technology, connectivity to the internet, or paper copies of instructional materials.

Once again, we want to thank all of our students for their excellent demonstration of grit and resilience during this unprecedented school year. We also want to say thank you again to parents, guardians, and Puyallup School District staff for their remarkable ability to juggle the higher than normal demands and responsibilities that life is currently delivering to our community, state, nation, and world.

Stay safe and well,

Dr. Vincent Pecchia

Administrative Designee to the Board of Directors for the Puyallup School District.