Students moved to distance learning model at special school board meeting
Tue, 11/03/2020 - 1:50pm
admin
By:
Bonnie Kirchman
In a special meeting held Monday, October 26th, the Clearbrook-Gonvick School Board voted to move both elementary and high school students to the distance learning model. The district hopes the change will be for a one-week period that would allow time to halt and turn around the rising numbers of coronavirus cases in the community. If the “reset” period works and case numbers decline, the district will gradually bring the students back, starting with the hybrid model for the elementary students.
The decision was a difficult one for the board to make as they weighed the effects of kids learning at home against the advantages of classroom learning. But in the end, the board chose to follow the recommendations provided by the safety committee. School staff, community members, and county health personnel have been meeting one or two times each week. This committee has been following data on cases in Clearwater County, focusing on cases that affect the school’s staff and students.
“The safety committee met again this morning to go over that data,” Superintendent Jeff Burgess said, “County health recommends that we go to distance learning until we see a reduction in cases for our community. Our safety committee agreed with that county health recommendation.”
Tracy Imle represents the school board on the safety committee. She explained that the recommendation from the county health staff is in response to the high number of coronavirus cases in the county, the continuing increase in cases, and the movement of the cases into the Clearbrook-Gonvick area. They hope a short period of distance learning can help stop the spread.
“The other concern is that based on state guidelines, we are way above where we should be. What is our liability as a school-to the community, the students, the teachers and staff?” Imle added.
The state guidelines were issued during the summer to help districts make the difficult decisions about which model the school should be teaching under at any time during the school year. Under these guidelines, Clearbrook-Gonvick would go to distance learning when the case rate reaches 50. The current number of cases is 73.
Superintendent Burgess shared more information on how case numbers are affecting the school. As of Monday, around thirty students were quarantined. One elementary class was sent home last week after possible exposure. The coronavirus is also affecting the staff, with one active case and eight quarantined staff members. Two of the quarantined staff are considered probable cases.
Burgess was asked about the staffing situation. He explained that while the administration has been able to cover for staff who are out, there are fewer substitute teachers available this year. He also pointed out that in a normal year, most teachers miss one or two days at a time due to illness. But when quarantined for coronavirus exposure, the teachers miss fourteen days.
A plan for distance learning has been in development since the summer. But the district has had to scramble to get the tools to implement it. Chromebooks have been on back order for weeks. Burgess told the board they received enough Chromebooks just last week to cover the needs of students in fourth through twelfth grade. They are still waiting for iPods for the younger students, but Burgess explained that these students tend to use more paper activities in distance learning than the older students.
The change to distance learning will begin on Monday, November 2nd. If coronavirus cases improve, the district will move the elementary students to the hybrid model on November 9th. Numbers will have to decrease even more to bring the high school students back into the building.
“If people are taking those precautions out there and doing some of the things they’ve been talking about, it probably would help us get our number where we need them to be to operate,” Superintendent Burgess stated, “We want kids here, it’s where we want them to be.”