SANDPOINT — In Tuesday night meeting for the Lake Pend Oreille School District, Hope Elementary school Principal Sherri Hatley said students in grades four, five and six were still meeting their academic growth expectations despite COVID-19. Younger students had a harder time, she said.

“Those are the kids that were hit the hardest [by changes due to the pandemic],” she said. “The weeds grew over their path a little bit more.”

Currently, the school is focusing most of its energy on math, reading and some science, she said. Children showed progress in their interim assessments, she said, and showed excitement to learn.

“Our children don’t dread taking them,” she said.

Hatley also gave an update on the 65 letters students sent to veterans for Veterans Day in September.

“[The veterans] tell me they were never recognized for their service, and they’re so honored and so proud that these kids are honoring them,” she said. “We’ve reached people differently that we’ve never reached before.”

During the public comment portion of the meeting, board clerk Kelly Fisher read letters from the public, as the meeting was limited to 10 people because of Idaho’s stage 2 limitations.

Several letters expressed frustrations over mask and quarantine requirements, while some made false claims about the efficacy of masks or claimed that the pandemic was part of a propaganda campaign.

One letter from a parent asked, “If a child tests positive within six feet of my child, why not give parents the choice [on whether to quarantine]?”

Geraldine Lewis, vice chair of the board, said in a statement later in the meeting that it was important to differentiate between quarantine and isolation.

“I know there’s some confusion about quarantining, based on one letter tonight I think some people don’t understand the difference,” she said. “On the CDC site, quarantine is keeping someone who might have been exposed to the virus away from others, for the protection of the others. Isolation is when you have been affected [by the virus] and you’re staying home.”

Another letter from two grandparents of LPOSD students praised the board for their efforts to keep children safe.

“In our opinion, you have needed to make some rules to maintain the safety,” they wrote. “Social distancing, sanitizing and face masks just make sense.”

Editor’s note: This article is the second half of a story that was published in full on Dec. 10 at bonnercountydailybee.com, but could not be published in full in our print edition due to space constraints.