District eyes three options for reopening

CHENEY – School district officials are evaluating the pros and cons of three proposed models for reopening schools this fall.

The first is onsite/in-person instruction, a direction 70 percent of respondents to a recent survey indicated they preferred. Option two is a K-12 hybrid that features a split schedule of in-person instruction with online learning, while option three would provide K-5 onsite learning with a grades 6-12 hybrid.

All three options are being evaluated by three separate committees, who are due to report on their findings by Thursday, July 23. The school board is slated to approve one of these options at a special meeting Aug. 3, which would subsequently be announced to the entire public then and sent to the state’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction by Aug. 12.

Superintendent Rob Roettger said the district is also planning an all-online option – “Virtual Learning 2.0 – such as what the district instituted in spring when Gov. Jay Inslee ordered all schools to close their facilities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Online instruction would expand and improve on what the district quickly instituted in spring, and the board approved stipends for 67 teachers who engaged in “remote teaching training” this summer at their July 15 meeting.

“The key to all this is flexibility,” Roettger said, acknowledging the changing circumstances of the pandemic. “We know that something we put out on Aug. 3 may be different by Aug. 20.”

Similar changes may be taking place with parents. While the June survey indicated 18 percent of respondents preferred full-time online instruction, Roettger wrote in a July 14 message on the district’s website that parental feedback over the July 11-12 weekend indicated “some families that originally said they would prefer in-person instruction are reconsidering due to the increased number of recently confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our region.”

Any in-person reopening plans must include the wearing of cloth face coverings, regular testing and adherence to physical distancing requirements of six feet. To see how that works in a classroom setting, Assistant Superintendent Tom Arlt worked with principals to set up several mock classrooms in each building using those guidelines.

To augment this work, Roettger said he has had regular meetings with Spokane Regional Health District Health Officer Dr. Bob Lutz and staff on the virus and changing conditions of its spread.

The district has also purchased 370 laptops for teachers to work remotely along with 2,500 additional Chromebooks for students. Combined with those purchased in spring, it gives the district approximately 4,800 Chromebooks – almost one for each student.

Roettger said the technology was paid for by funding provided in the capital levy along with $550,000 in federal CARES Act money.

The district has also been stocking up on sanitizing supplies along with personal protective equipment (PPE) that will be needed should any form of in-person instruction resume.

While the logistics and seemingly constant changing health issues surrounding the coronavirus spread have been challenging, Roettger said the fact that aspects of containing the pandemic have become politicized hasn’t helped. The district has tried to find options that would create “wins” for everyone of all political and cultural beliefs.

“I just don’t see that possibility,” Roettger said. “For me, it’s what’s good for our students and community. We need to be regional and community-minded in our approach.”

— John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].