Clark County’s school districts grapple with the complexities of the expansion of personal learning
Despite the difficulties, many districts are slowly introducing plans to increase the number of students who can attend in person
CLARK COUNTY – In a year of twists and turns and complex adjustments, Clark County’s school districts are preparing for at least one more major change before the end of another weird school year.
School districts across Clark County are working on plans to expand personal learning, but there are many challenges. File photo
With the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Washington Department of Health (DOH) recently revising guidelines to reduce physical distancing requirements from six feet to three feet in classrooms, districts are now performing complex calculations, to expand access to personal people learning.
Following this news last week, the Washington Association of School Administrators acted cautiously.
“Some districts will need more time to adjust and plan under this new guidance,” Executive Director Joel Aune said in a press release, “although this development puts everyone on the path to fully return schools to face-to-face learning by the fall to open.” ”
Currently, Woodland Schools are the furthest ahead of the times. Since the guidelines were changed, primary school students learn in person for primary school students five days a week.
The Hockinson and Camas school districts have been studying in person for elementary school students for four days since last month, as has Green Mountain.
Larger districts face a more complex puzzle, however, as staff-to-staff and staff-to-student interaction and lunchtime require six feet of space.
“People hear, ‘Oh, it’s six feet to three feet, so now we can just double the number of students there,” said Wendy Smith, director of the Vancouver Public Schools board, during a working session Tuesday. “It just isn’t so easy.”
Scenes like this one in Hockinson High School are likely to be out of the norm for quite a while, even as personal learning increases. File photo
Jim Gray, executive director of teaching and learning at VPS added that even before the governor’s announcement, school principals were working to take stock of space at each school and how they could increase class size without risking people to increase.
“For example, desk sizes and seating,” said Gray. “We have two person, five foot desks in our schools. Even with three feet, it is possible to bring two children to this desk. “
Schools would also need to figure out how to fit more students into physical education, as well as into the band and choir, which would require an additional two meters.
“You can get more kids up to three feet in classrooms, but once you have to expand them to six feet, where do they go for lunch?” summarized Board Director Kathy Decker. “Because some kids eat lunch in their classrooms.”
VPS has not yet set a date for expanding hybrid learning, but the information should be in next week.
“I think the idea of bringing kids back for more class time and getting more kids into the building at the same time is energetic,” said Smith.
The Washougal School District announced Wednesday that all elementary school students in K-5 will expand hybrid in-person learning to four days per week starting April 12, while 6-12 students will start April 19.
“We are working with teachers, staff, administrators and public health officials to ensure we can deliver safe learning environments to larger numbers of students,” said Mary Templeton, WSD superintendent. “Employees will be working in the coming weeks to implement protocols for areas where the six-foot social distancing rule still applies, such as: During lunch and time, and in some classrooms where students exhale more often, such as B. Sports, choir and band. Until then, all district employees had the opportunity to be fully vaccinated. ”
The district will be kept as an asynchronous, completely removed day on Wednesdays and will continue an hour late for K-5 students to give teachers time to connect with students who are completely removed.
“Our goal is to continue providing personal service to both hybrid and fully distant students through the end of this school year,” said Templeton. “We also strive to provide the least possible disruption to our students and families on this final transition for the school year. As we plan for the next school year, we plan to offer five days of full-time face-to-face learning to grade K-12 students unless they are enrolled in the new online Washougal Learning Academy. We are pleased that WLA is available for families who need flexibility or are unable to study in person. “
On Tuesday, Battle Ground public schools confirmed to parents that they are working towards face-to-face learning five days a week from April 26, but warned that details are still being worked out.
“We wanted to share our transition date and study schedule so families can prepare for a more traditional school model,” Superintendent Mark Ross wrote in an update to parents. “Students still have the option to study remotely if they so choose.”
Ross said the district expects to release more detailed information about their plans before the end of this week. However, students who stay in complete distance need to prepare for less direct interaction with teachers, many of whom are also teaching a classroom at the same time.
Evergreen Public Schools hasn’t announced any plans yet, but spokeswoman Gail Spolar said she hopes to get information to parents before the end of this week.