Making changes for school reopening

POMEROY–School District Superintendent Rachel Gwinn presented the Reopening Washington Schools 2020: District Planning Guide, the most recent information from the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) for the fall opening of schools, to the School Board at the meeting on June 29. The Guide’s purpose is to provide a framework for school districts to form their own reopening plans, based on Department of Health requirements, while meeting local community needs.

In addition, it also requires each district to have an alternative plan to return to “full continuous remote learning” if the need arises and is mandated by the local health authority or Governor. Reykdal also asks the individual districts to call for input from “parents and guardians, students, teachers, nurses, counselors, community-based organizations,” as well as others.

Gwinn stated as they have begun planning for Pomeroy’s reopening of schools, they have determined the high school classrooms will be able to accommodate 15 to 17 students while maintaining the appropriate social distancing. This may require making some scheduling changes so that class sizes can be kept small enough. She is currently working on plans to spread out desks in the elementary classrooms in an appropriate manner, or look at some other alternatives to keep students separated. Students will need to wear masks every day, however, masks can be removed while students remain in their seats, because of the distance between desks.

The district will have to plan for some time-consuming activities that will be mandated, such as temperature screening of every child at the beginning of the school day. More hand-washing stations will be needed, and Gwinn plans to have some in the playground area. Teachers and janitorial staff will be responsible for sanitizing classrooms, restrooms, etc. at the end of each day, and completing a daily report of their sanitation activities. The food program will consist of “grab and go” meals as have been provided in the past. There will no longer be a morning assembly at the beginning of the day. All staff will be screened each day as well.

No one other than staff and students will be allowed entry to the buildings during the school day unless absolutely necessary. Students who ride the bus to school will be required to wear masks on the bus, and will sit spaced apart from one another. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) will be ordered through the ESD, and there is a possibility that hats with face shields may be available for the younger students to wear, rather than face masks.

Once a plan for the Pomeroy School District is completed, it must first be approved by the School Board, then the Garfield County Health District, and finally by the OSPI and State Board of Education.

In the Planning Guide, State Superintendent Chris Reykdal included a letter stating, “We will do this together, keeping student and staff safety and well-being as our highest priority in the reopening. To be very clear, it is my expectation that schools will open this fall for in-person instruction.”

A major difference from the shutdown in the spring, if the district is required to return to a distance-learning plan, students will be held fully accountable for all required school work, which will be used to determine a grade for each class. Gwinn has stated that if students must attend school from home, teachers will remain on campus and be available during the school day. Also, if the winter time should bring any snow days, the distance-learning plan will be put into action so that no class time is lost.

As Reykdal has requested in his Reopening Planning Guide, this is an “opportunity over the next three months, to not just reopen schools, but to make changes you have wanted to make for years or to make permanent a practice” that is “simply a better practice.” He also added “There has never been a bigger moment to examine our education system and improve our practices to further close opportunity gaps.”