The Kodiak Island Borough School District has finally mailed families its long-awaited plan for the coming school year — a plan that its superintendent, Larry LeDoux, says is designed to be changed at any moment should the need arise.
“We want to make it normal,” said LeDoux. “Every time we want to do this, we find out we can’t. We don’t know what’s going to happen. We’re preparing for the unknown.”
Groups of parents, teachers and administrators worked all summer to figure out how best to navigate through the un-chartered waters of the coronavirus pandemic. The plan maps out how to prevent the spread of the virus and what to do if the community gets hit with a wave of new infections.
The district, for now, is in “green” status. Unless that changes, when school starts on Sept. 8, this means students will attend class with other students and their teachers, as they normally would. But even then, LeDoux says it won’t be quite the same.
“In many ways, it will be a much more austere environment,” LeDoux said, “but it will be an environment, where kids can finally see their friends, talk to them and be normal teenagers, during a year that is not normal.”
LeDoux says high school and middle students will notice many changes from the very first day of school. They will be divided into two different groups and each use a different entrance.
“When they come in, we will have people to check their temperatures. We actually have wall-mounted temperature checkers. And kids will be asked how they feel,” LeDoux said.
To discourage students from congregating, they won’t be assigned lockers this year and the benches in the foyer have been removed. Instead, they will be asked to head directly to class, and they won’t be allowed to hang-out after school, unless they have a scheduled activity.
So what would schools look like under “yellow” status? The superintendent says it would be triggered by widespread community transmission.
At the start of the year, LeDoux says students will be divided into two groups so they can more easily transition to a new schedule, should the district move to “yellow” status.
“At the high school level, one group will go on Tuesday-Thursdays. And the other group will go, Wednesday-Friday. That’s the same for the middle school,” LeDoux said. Monday would be an in-service day, to give teachers time to plan ahead and consult with parents.
Elementary school students, though, will go to school every day, but on a split shift. LeDoux says it’s important for younger kids to see their teachers every day.
There are also a lot of changes for high school sports. For indoor games like basketball, no audiences will be allowed. Students sitting on the sidelines will have to wear masks and spread out on the benches. The district has already done away with travel for teams this month — and when it resumes, new restrictions will be in place.
“We are not going to travel to any community that is yellow or red right now. And we’re not going to travel to any community, if we have to go through an airport in a community that is yellow or red,” LeDoux said. “Nor, will we allow anybody to come here from a higher risk community. Because we don’t want to bring it (COVID-19) into our community in the name of sports.”
LeDoux says school is opening a week later than usual to allow time for more teacher and parent training in case the epidemic forces schools into “red” status, which would bring an end to in-person classes. During the last school year, when the governor closed schools statewide, parents and teachers struggled with distance learning, which utilizes computers and tablets to teach children remotely.
The superintendent says parents have three choices for the coming school year. During green status, they can opt to send their children to school. If they’re uncomfortable with that, they can home school or have their children attend school remotely.
LeDoux warns parents to be prepared for changes in the plan, which may have to be adapted to respond to changing circumstances. In another few weeks, he says, it could be a different scenario.
“We’re prepared to open in green, yellow or red and to make the switch,” LeDoux said. “What I’m really hoping for is that our students and staff will be safe, and that our community will continue working together to keep COVID out of our community.”
