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Back-to-school plans approved

Back-to-school plans approved Back-to-school plans approved

Colby students to be split into two groups this fall

By Kevin O’Brien

Colby students will attend in-person classes for two days a week this fall as part of a Return to School plan passed by the school board Monday Though it was not the top choice of either parents or administrators, the plan did receive the endorsement of Clark County public health officials who are trying to slow the spread of COVID-19, said superintendent Steve Kolden.

“I had the conversation about bringing the kids back full time, and she said ‘I can’t endorse that,’” he said, referring to county health officer Brittany Mews.

So, instead of going to school five days a week like normal — or receiving all of their instruction online like they did last spring — students will participate in a hybrid model that allows the K-12 campus to stay half-empty on any given day The student body will be split into two groups, also called “cohorts,” with all members of the same family staying within the same cohort to avoid scheduling problems for parents. Cohort A will attend classes in person on Mondays and Tuesdays, while Cohort B will come to school on Thursdays and Fridays.

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When they are not physically in school, students will be learning online, using Google Classroom and other programs first implemented last March after schools were shutdown statewide.

No students will be in the buildings on Wednesdays, which will be used for staff development, virtual office hours and deep-cleaning of facilities.

Accommodations will be made for special education students and English Language Learners to ensure their needs are being met, according to the plan.

Extra precautions when serving school lunches and transporting students to and from school. All bus drivers will be required to wear masks, and students will be strongly encouraged to wear them while on the bus, according to the plan.

Burnett Transit plans on wiping down all “frequently touched surfaces (handrails, seats, window latches, overhead parcel racks) once per day with disinfectant wipes. In addition, all buses will be “deep cleaned” and fogged once a week.

Each bus will also be equipped with thermometers, and drivers may check kids’ temperatures as they board in the morning. If a student’s temperature is over 100.4 degrees, the student will not be allowed to board the bus.

Kolden said this last provision may need some tweaking, as he’s not sure what would happen if a young child was not allowed to get on their bus and their parents were no longer at home.

Colby’s plan also includes a provision for students to continue receiving all of their instruction online if families don’t feel comfortable sending them to school.

Administrators themselves would have preferred to have all students return to school for five days a week of face-to-face instruction, but Kolden said they did not formally recommend that due to concerns from health officials.

At the same time, administrators said they would only go back to online-only instruction if ordered to do so by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services or county officials.

The hybrid model was presented as a the best possible compromise.

“There isn’t a perfect answer,” Kolden said. “Ideally, you’d like to be in one place with all of the kids being in school.”

The plan approved Monday will be in effect through at least the first quarter of the school year, which ends on Nov. 4. Under the motion that was adopted, Kolden is authorized to bring more students back into the schools for in-person classes if local COVID numbers drop signifi cantly before Nov. 4.

Kolden said he’s confident staff can resume full face-to-face instruction “in a heartbeat,” but having to switch to a hybrid system later would be tougher. Also, he’s worried whether schools can expect to stay open the full school year.

“I don’t know how realistic that is or how long that can last,” he said. “Even with our social distancing plan, I think it’s possible or probable that the state will shut us down again.”

Parents weigh in on survey

Nearly 70 percent of the 344 parents who responded to a recent district survey said traditional in-person instruction was their top preference for students returning to school in September.

The idea of having students continue to do 100 percent of their learning online was the least popular option, with just 8 percent of the respondents marking it as their top choice. The blended approach was the most popular second choice for respondents, with 64 percent saying they would be OK with that option if a traditional reopening was not possible.

When asked how comfortable they are with sending their kids back to school for in-person instruction, 40 percent said they had “no concerns” and 29 percent indicated “some concerns.” Just under 5 percent said they were concerned enough to not send their child back to school in the fall.

The survey results also shown a light on the issue of at-home internet access, with nearly 17 percent of respondents (58 parents) saying they do not have reliable enough internet to access instructional materials provided by teachers.

Kolden said that are areas northwest of Abbotsford and east of Colby near Cherokee where high-speed internet service is almost not existent. None of the “hot spots” provided by the major cell phone providers will work there, he said.

“No matter what we do, we’re going to struggle with broadband access for a portion of our students, so we’ll need to work on some sort of area place where those kids can go to get some form of access,” he said.

At Monday’s board meeting, which was held inside the high school theatre to allow for social distancing, three parents spoke to the board about their concerns with online learning and other issues.

Amanda Haupt said she’s worried about students with disabilities being “left in the lurch” during online learning, which is what she believed happened at the end of last school year. She wants to make sure that any virtual learning accommodates those students.

Cara Jeske, who has triplet boys going into their junior year, said they are mature enough to figure out the online courses, but she’s worried about them being deprived of the opportunity to compete in football this fall. She said sports motivates them to keep their grades up and supports mental stability.

“I speak on behalf of my three sons who work so hard,” she said. “They have not stopped training since March when school was let out. They have figured out ways to train with social distancing, and they have not given that up.”

Mother Kim Meier addressed the issue of kids being urged to wear masks, expressing concerns about bullying based on whether or not kids choose to wear one or not.

“Any time we have differences, kids are going to be picking on kids,” she said. “We already have adults acting like children with this whole situation, pointing fingers and whatnot.”

Meier also told the board that she does not have reliable internet access at her house, so online learning is not going to be workable.

“I can’t have three kids on the computer at a time in three different classes...” she said. “It’s not going to fly at my

home.”

Mandatory masks a possibility

Under a motion passed Monday, the superintendent can require masks to be worn when “deemed essential.”

Kolden said he’s confident that he can exercise this authority with staff members, but it’s “dicier” when it comes to students. Still, he said one staff member is undergoing chemotherapy and two others have family members with serious health issues, so their immune system risks need to be considered.

“When I start talking about staff members who have health issues and family members at home (with health issues), I believe it’s appropriate to require masks for those students,” he said.

The Return to School plan says “masks will be available to all students and are strongly encouraged.”

A couple of teachers spoke Monday about issues related to wearing masks.

While teaching summer school recently, phy ed teacher Mary Beth Fischer-Guy noticed that fewer and fewer of her students wore masks each day of class, and she did not feel like she could tell them to keep their masks on.

“A majority of them did take them off because they were uncomfortable,” she said. “If their parents knew they had them off, I don’t think their parents would really want them in that situation.”

Another teacher, Michele Stewart, said it’s very difficult for her wear a mask while teaching kids to read. She said she prefers face shields, since she can see kids’ facial expressions.

“I guess we just have to do the best we can; there’s going to be no perfect situation,” she said. “Not everybody’s going to be happy, but we’re all in this together.”

A tentative plan for fall sports

By a vote of 6-1, the board adopted a tentative plan to start sports practices on Aug. 18, with no competitions until September, resulting in the cancellation of a few games and scrimmages.

Kolden said this is a temporary proposal to buy the district some time until the WIAA offers more guidance to school districts on the fall sports season.

On a Zoom call last Tuesday, Kolden said WIAA officials conveyed the message that sports are a “local decision” and they are willing to support any school that wishes to run athletics.

“And then it was another hour and a half of people listening to them bash that Colby

idea,” he said.

The WIAA has also suggested relying on conferences to make decisions, but Kolden noted that Colby teams are in three difference conferences for fall sports, so that is impractical.

Board member Eric Elmhorst said many Colby athletes have continued to compete throughout the summer, so cancelling fall sports would not be justifiable.

Board member Cheryl Ploeckelman, who voted against the proposal, said she doesn’t like the idea of keeping the students apart during the school day but then allowing them to have direct physical contact for athletics.

Kolden agreed with her concerns.

“I have a hard time justifying to our community that we need to split our kids into two groups...but then say at 3:30 p.m. it’s OK to mix them all up,” he said.

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