Evergreen, Bigfork, Columbia Falls, Kalispell and Whitefish school districts will open in August for the 2020-21 school year unless otherwise directed by the state or county.

School districts are working in line with Montana’s phased approach to managing the COVID-19 pandemic as it evolves. The five school districts have outlined similar general safety and health measures and on-site/remote learning plans for phase zero to three that set the framework for drafting specifics such as procedures.

Evergreen, Bigfork and Whitefish school boards approved their respective plans this week, while Columbia Falls and Kalispell presented them to trustees with plans to take action in the coming weeks. Approved plans are subject to change if new recommendations or requirements from the state or county are made.

“What this allows us to do is get to that next level,” Whitefish School District Interim Superintendent Dave Means said.

Evergreen School District Superintendent Laurie Barron described the framework as the “what,” and now comes the work on developing the “how,” which will be accomplished by teams or task forces in the respective districts.

Phase three is the closest to school resuming as normal — buildings are open, learning is on-site and no limits on group size. On the other end of the spectrum, phase zero means school buildings are closed and remote learning will take place.

The state is currently in phase two. If schools open in this phase, group sizes are not to exceed 50, which means schools will adjust activities such as lunch or assemblies, for example. The five districts plan to deliver instruction on-site, but families could opt for remote learning for health reasons.

The districts have sent out, or are planning to send out surveys this week, to gauge how many students are planning to return, or want to do remote learning.

In phase two, face masks may be required in common and high-traffic areas such as passing times and on buses. At this time, Whitefish schools are requiring staff and students to wear face coverings.

Schools will rely on Flathead City-County Health Department to handle issues such as contact tracing should someone test positive for COVID-19 — and whether that means closing a grade level or an entire building(s) to clean and disinfect.

In establishing a framework, school districts began with Gov. Steve Bullock’s plan to reopen Montana and developed what those phases looked like in a school setting. Districts also took into consideration guidelines from the Montana Office of Public Instruction, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Flathead City-County Health Department.

Despite the planning that has taken place over the summer, the COVID-19 pandemic remains a fluid situation and plans may change by the time school starts. On July 2, for example, additional school-specific guidance from the governor and Office of Public Instruction was released.

Columbia Falls School District Superintendent Dave Wick summed up what other administrators have echoed: “We need to be nimble and flexible for upcoming phases that could occur,” Wick said. “It’s a rapidly evolving situation.”

Information on how COVID-19 affects children is limited.

“Children are less likely to become ill with COVID-19 and they seem to be less likely to spread the virus to others, but we’re continuing to collect more information,” said Dr. Kate Connor, assistant professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “We still need more information in kids’ role of spreading the virus.”

Much of the information out there on children and COVID-19 comes from other countries where schools are completely or partially closed, which means children’s contact with people is limited more than normal. Connor said transmission needs to studied more, specifically in situations where children are going about their normal activities.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention older adults and people with severe underlying medical conditions are at higher risk for developing serious complications from COVID-19.

When reopening schools safely for both children and adults, besides good hand hygiene and wearing face masks, Connor and organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend establishing cohort classes to minimize the number of people an individual comes into contact with during the school day. A cohort means the same group of students would attend each class together.

Despite all the measures a school takes, transmission of COVID-19 between all age groups remains a possibility.

“Schools aren’t a closed system,” Connor said.

When the last bell rings, students and staff return to their lives outside of the school day.

This means it takes community effort and infrastructure to slow, or contain, the spread through easy access to testing, free testing and contact tracing.

“What we want to see is a low percentage of positive tests and we want to see decreases in hospitalizations and deaths in the community,” Connor said. “We want to make sure there’s a public health infrastructure in place that allows kids and adults to be tested quickly and get results quickly.”

Most infected children under 12 experience mild to no symptoms, while high school-aged teens may be a bit more likely to be hospitalized, according to Connor. It is rare for children under 12 to experience severe symptoms. She said there are several theories to why this might be — whether it has to do with characteristics of a young child’s immune response or their past exposure to coronavirus-type infections.

One of the most important things staff and students should do to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Connor advised, is “if you are sick don’t come to school; don’t come to work; and that’s going to be critically important,” Connor said. “Make sure family and staff have access to good information on what the signs and symptoms of COVID are.”

“I think one really important piece of this is that schools are working incredibly hard to come up with creative ways to educate students effectively and keep them safe,” she said. “We need to support that. We need to ensure they have the funding and supplies and protections in place to ensure they can implement this guidance being thrown at them,” Connor said, noting that health professionals such as school nurses or school-based clinics also play a critical role in managing COVID-19 in schools.

For more information on the symptoms of COVID-19 visit www.cdc.gov.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.