Students across The Dalles returned to almost regular School today, Monday, Aug. 30 as classes are meeting in full and teachers and staff are now instructing in person. It has been about 18 months since this has been possible, due to the pandemic.

“We’ve had a great first day of school,” said Ann Varkados, Lyle School District Superintendent. “Kids are excited to be there and teachers are excited. We’re looking forward to having kids in class every day.”

North Wasco County Public School District 21 hosted a listening session to hear staff and community questions and concerns about returning to full-time in-person learning on August 30th. Stakeholder feedback was then incorporated into D21’s 2021-2022 Back to School Plan during the school board work session.