Two more Whatcom County school districts announce plans to begin returning to class
Two more Whatcom County school districts announced plans to start bringing some students back into buildings for in-person learning over the two weeks as they begin to reopen from last spring’s COVID-19 closures.
The moves mean that four of Whatcom County’s seven public school districts currently plan to have their youngest learners in classes before the end of the month.
Meridian School District will welcome the district’s kindergartners and other students with high needs into Irene Reither Elementary beginning Monday, Oct. 19, according to a message posted by Superintendent James Everett. A week later on Oct. 26, the district’s first and second graders will head back to in-person classes.
The Nooksack Valley School District, meanwhile, is planning to begin bringing kindergarten through fifth grade students back for in-class learning beginning Tuesday, Oct. 13, using a hybrid model, according to a post on the district’s website.
The Blaine and Lynden school districts previously announced plans to begin bringing some students back into classrooms beginning Monday, Oct. 12.
An update by Lynden Superintendent Jim Frey posted Oct. 1 said plans to start bringing students in kindergarten through second grade is still on track and will begin with a modified schedule the week of Oct. 12, with students actually in the building Oct. 13 and full days beginning Thursday, Oct. 15.
Blaine Superintendent Christopher Granger said in a message that his district also is still planning to begin bringing kindergartners into the building Oct. 12 using a hybrid model.
All school districts around Washington state, have been wrestling with how to educate their students during the coronavirus pandemic since Gov. Jay Inslee announced March 13 that he was closing all schools in the state in an effort to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
After getting kindergarten through second grade back in the building, Everett wrote that the Meridian School District plans to wait two to three weeks before bringing in third through fifth graders. Grades middle and high school students will follow after similar windows.
“After each transition to bring students back to campus, we will be monitoring case increases, community transmission, and guidance from the State and Whatcom County Department of Health,” Everett wrote.
Everett admitted that the district was moving forward quicker than originally planned after Meridian “received additional guidance to bring students back in smaller groups after ensuring it can be done safely.”
Under Nooksack’s plan, students that return to the building will do so using an hybrid model, alternating in-person and distance learning every other day, with Mondays reserved for at-home learning for everyone.
“This will allow teachers and students to learn and practice the routines for health and safety in smaller groups in preparation to move to four full days per week,” the district wrote.
Oct. 27 is the tentative date for all kindergarten through fifth grade students to return to four full days per week in class, with Mondays still reserved for learning at home, according to the post.
Middle and high school students would return for a hybrid model beginning Nov. 3, according to the post.
The Mount Baker School District is phasing in Career Technical Education, preschool and elementary special education programs and School Aged Care, according to a letter from Superintendent Mary Sewright, but the district has maintained a cautious approach for returning to class. Sewright wrote she would share a complete phasing plan in next couple of weeks.
“We have been cautioned to not go too fast, so we can continue moving forward without increasing the cases of COVID-19 which could overwhelm our county,” Sewright wrote, adding that despite a recent increase in COVID-19 cases in Whatcom County the past couple of weeks, the county remains in the “low moderate” range in the Washington State Department of Health’s Decision Tree for in-person learning.
Whatcom County Health Officer Dr. Greg Stern offered guidance to schools in an Aug. 31 letter encouraging Whatcom County schools to utilize the Decision Tree, Whatcom Unified Command spokesperson Amy Cloud told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
Dr. Stern remains in frequent contact with the school district about their plans, Cloud reported.
