Decision time for school districts: in-person or remote
Following Governor Steve Bullock’s phased state reopening plan announced April 22, all school districts across the state are allowed to choose their own path in regards to finishing the school year.
Under Bullock’s direction, after May 7 schools could resume in-person teaching if they can maintain specific rules of sanitation, hygiene and social distancing. Of the six school districts located within Lake County, two have officially made the decision to finish the year by continuing distance learning and the other four are still considering options.
On April 22, Charlo School District was the first in the county to announce publicly that Charlo schools will not be returning to onsite instruction. They held a special board meeting on April 27 to make the decision official.
The announcement also said the district is currently working on making plans for graduation and will have drivers education this summer with more details to emerge later. The district will continue offering meals, online instruction, learning packets and teachers will be in contact with students on a regular basis.
Two days later Arlee School District held a special board meeting and voted to continue e-learning through June 30. Arlee declared their own state of emergency within the district, which their announcement said will help them to continue receiving funding while off-site learning carries on through the next couple of months.
Polson School District has not made any official decision, however in a statement released on April 24, Superintendent Rex Weltz stated he was recommending to the board of trustees that schools should remain closed while continuing to teach students online. A date of a board meeting was not released at the time of his letter.
In the statement, Weltz said that there are many factors to consider while making this decision and that the process of keeping students socially distanced in classrooms presented a slew of issues.
“The requirements set by the Governor and local health officials would make the logistics of on-site instruction tremendously impractical,” Weltz said in the letter. “We believe our current remote learning plan will be more effective, and will be safer and healthier for all involved in the few instructional weeks that remain in this school year.”
On April 22 Ronan School District Superintendent Mark Johnston released a statement with no official decision as well, stating that the board would meet on April 29 to discuss the district’s options. In the announcement, he also expressed concerns of being able to safely enforce the protocols that Bullock stated in his phased plan.
Johnston said over the last few weeks the district is experiencing more success with its distance learning program and appreciates the willingness to adapt from all the students, parents and teachers.
“I feel we have come a long way and will continue to tweak our efforts to provide the best possible education for our students,” Johnston said in the statement.
According to announcements via Facebook, St. Ignatius Public Schools is also working on deciding the best plan of action to take moving forward. A proposal for the remainder of the school year will be presented during a special board meeting to be held on Thursday at 6 p.m.
The administration at Two Eagle River School has provided distance learning to students via Google Classroom and paper packets. Intentions for how the school will finish the year, whether online or in-person, has not been released yet.
Reporter Whitney England may be reached at 758-4419 or wengland@leaderadvertiser.com