As some Whatcom students return next week, another district reveals its in-person plans
A fifth Whatcom County school district announced plans to begin returning students to classrooms before the end of October, as the Ferndale School District revealed plans to restart in-person learning Oct. 19.
That leaves Bellingham Public Schools and the Mount Baker School District as the only Whatcom County districts not to announce when they plan to begin bringing students back into school buildings following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Like other districts, Ferndale said in a news release Thursday, Oct. 8, that it will begin welcoming its youngest students and those with the greatest needs first.
All school districts around Washington state have been wrestling with how to educate their students during the coronavirus pandemic and when it was safe to begin bringing them back on-site 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.
Whatcom County Health Officer Dr. Greg Stern offered guidance to schools in an Aug. 31 letter encouraging Whatcom County schools to utilize the Washington State Department of Health’s Decision Tree for in-person learning, Whatcom Unified Command spokesperson Amy Cloud told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
“We have been working on plans for bringing students back to school since last summer,” Superintendent Linda Quinn said in the release. “The 60-member Ferndale 2020 Reopening Task Force included models for in-person learning in the plan they presented to the School Board. Now that the Health Department has advised that we can begin to implement those models, we are looking forward to seeing some of our students on campuses.”
Ferndale’s plan begins with bringing in kindergartners whose parents choose and are utilizing a hybrid learning approach — two days per week of in-person learning and three days of distance learning — on Oct. 19, according to the release. Also being phased back in beginning Oct. 19 would be students in developmental pre-school, life skills classrooms and self-contained behavior classrooms, as well as students with complex Individualized Education Programs and emerging and progressing English learners.
A week later on Oct. 26, first graders whose parents choose would return using the hybrid model, followed by second- and third-graders Nov. 2 and fourth- and fifth-graders Nov. 9, the release stated.
The district is still working on plans for students in middle and high schools, according to the release.
“We may need to alter our plans or put them on hold if (1) we see a spike in community spread of the virus; (2) we experience outbreak(s) in a classroom, building, or district as a whole; or (3) we are unable to meet health and safety guidelines,” Quinn said in the release.
Other districts
The announcement by Ferndale is similar to what other Whatcom County districts have already announced:
Blaine: In a Sept. 25 letter, Superintendent Christopher Granger wrote that Blaine will welcome some of the district’s kindergartners and language learners on a hybrid model beginning Monday, Oct. 12. The district will then consider bringing in other grade levels in two- to three-week increments.
Lynden: The first Whatcom district to announce plans, Lynden decided to push them back by a week. The district is now planning to welcome some students in kindergarten through second grade back the week of Oct. 12, Superintendent Jim Frey announced in a letter posted Sept. 25. An Oct. 1 update by Frey said students’ first day back on a modified schedule will be Tuesday, Oct. 13, with the first full day being Thursday, Oct. 15. Older students will continue distance learning, though they will be phased into in-person learning in two-week increments, with all grades possibly back in the building by Thanksgiving.
Meridian: A message posted by Superintendent James Everett said kindergartners and students with high needs will return Monday, Oct. 19, with the district’s first- and second-graders heading to class Oct. 26. Older students will return in groups at later dates as the district monitors case increases, community transmission and guidance from state and county health officials, Everett wrote.
Nooksack Valley: A post on the district’s website said all elementary grades (kindergarten through fifth-grade) will return Tuesday, Oct. 13, using a hybrid model and moving to four days per week Oct. 27. The district on Friday, Oct. 5, provided health and safety protocols, that include daily health screenings, for how that return will look. The return date for middle and high school students is tentatively set for Nov. 3 on a hybrid basis, according to the post.
While no anticipated dates for Mount Baker School District students’ return have been posted, the district is phasing in Career Technical Education, preschool and elementary special education programs and YMCA School Aged Care, according to a Sept. 26 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 the next couple of weeks.
Bellingham Public Schools appears to be the furthest away from a return. According to a post Wednesday, Oct. 7, the district said it remains in Stage 1 of its Reconnect Plan but is planning for transitioning to Stage 2, which would allow for the return for “a small number of selected students.” It would not be until Stage 3 that the district’s youngest learners would return for in-person learning.
