COVID-19 calls for compromise in classrooms

SANDPOINT — A small step forward for Bonner County was achieved Friday through Forrest M. Bird Charter School’s draft of their fall school reopening plan. FBCS is one of the first local school systems to propose their own specific criteria for an in-person education model, a model seeking resilience in the face of a well-known unknown tearing through communities — COVID-19.

“I’ve been working on this plan for about two months, looking at research, looking at recommendations coming out of different organizations, speaking to lawyers as well as our insurance companies,” Mary Jensen said.

Jensen has been FBCS’s charter administrator for the past eight years. Despite Idaho State Board of Education releasing their framework Thursday, Jensen’s plan was well-matched to their guidelines and did not need any adjustments. “I can’t even tell you how relieved I was after all that work,” she said.

Building a solid plan required countless hours and a clear mind. At one point, Jensen decided to disconnect her television, stay off social media and direct her sole focus to the resources and science in front of her.

“Everyone seems to be a scientist or doctor,” Jensen said. “They all have their set ideas and that didn’t help, that won’t help. I just turned everything off and focused on the documents.”

A combination of expert guidance from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Academy of Pediatrics and ISBE’s framework was utilized to create the FBCS draft that detailed changes deemed necessary for a safe and efficient school year. Although in-person learning will resume in September, three out of the five school days will continue as remote learning.

Students should expect a non-traditional classroom dynamic in the fall, where their classload will decrease from nine classes to a seven-period daily schedule and classrooms will be limited to 10 students per a regular size room. To allow for social distance protocol, the school building will only hold 50 percent of the student body, or two days of attendance weekly per student. Friday will be a designated Required Online Access Days for Success (ROADS) for all students and teachers.

In agreement with ISBE’s framework, the charter school has also outlined the three categories of community transmission of COVID-19 — no transmission, mild to moderate transmission and substantial transmission. These three categories will dictate whether school will be fully in-person, blended online and in-person learning or fully online.

Jensen does not foresee making changes to her plan prior to September. She said the plan’s three levels or categories give ample room for flexibility. She’d like to see a new level added — Level Zero.

“When the world is back to normal, everything is good,” Jensen said. “Now we are in Level Two, so who knows what level we will be in September?”

Some major recommendations included in this proposed fall school plan are ventilating classrooms with open windows when possible, minimizing shared objects, using arrows to indicate one-way direction in hallways, individually wrapping cafeteria food and shutting water fountains off. Instead, students are expected to bring their own water bottles and will use water stations to discourage contact by mouth.

It is likely that some students or teachers will be considered health vulnerable as school is opening, and the option for full remote learning and teaching will be provided. However, if more than 15 percent of teachers are unable to return to in-person learning then the entire school will have to move to a complete online learning model.

This percentage was calculated after a previous shutdown years ago following the need to disinfect the school. Jensen said more than five out thirty teachers absent had overtaxed the school system and there were not enough substitutes to take their place. “It would be very difficult for us to have school at school and in our buildings at all,” she said.

Staff can also request their classroom space be a mask-wearing designated area, but students with health needs will be able to attend school without wearing a mask, along with staff and visitors. The school will also keep 400 masks and 400 face shields on-hand when school opens, in case people forget to bring their mask to school or do not already own one.

A quarter of FBCS staff falls within the high risk range for displaying more severe COVID-19 related symptoms, as well as the families that they live with. “We want to make sure that our staff feels safe and they feel like healthy precautions are taken so they can continue coming into the building to teach,” Jensen said.

Three criteria points were provided in this plan for students and staff returning to school, should they fall ill and suspect possible COVID-19 transmission based on symptom guidelines. The criteria mandates three days of no fever without medication, clear improvement of respiratory symptoms and a minimum of seven days since symptoms first occurred. No person will be allowed in the school with a fever greater than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

FBCS’s 11-page plan was introduced Friday morning through a Facebook Live video call where audience members could comment their questions and concerns. Jensen said the majority of comments during the call were positive, from parents who are pleased to see their children slowly moving back to in-person learning.

“It won’t matter what kind of plan we have, no one will like it 100 percent just because it’s not what we like in our education system at Forrest Bird,” Jensen said. “But, I know that we are going to make it through this.”

FBCS’s new school schedule will stay the same the entire year, if the draft is finalized. The plan will be voted on at FBCS’s July 21 meeting at 4:30 p.m.

School officials may reevaluate increasing student capacity on campus during the third semester, if the state of the nation improves.

But for now, it’s a long year of six feet apart social distance protocol, vigorous hand washing and hand sanitizer at each corner.

Aly De Angelus can be reached by email at adeangelus@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @AlyDailyBee.