The West Bonner County School District is moving to hybrid learning following the announcement by Panhandle Health that the county has been moved back to the “orange” category —indicating a “moderate” risk.

In an email sent out by superintendent Paul Anselmo Thursday morning, the district announced it would not be having children attend school Friday to prepare for blended learning.

“This [move to orange] indicates substantial community spread in Bonner County and is determined by the number of cases weekly, positivity rate, and hospital capacity,” Anselmo wrote. “This action will put us into Category 2 of our district reopening plan.”

Beginning Monday, children will be moved to either A or B schedules — A students attending on Monday and Tuesday and B students attending on Wednesday and Thursday.

Parents who do not know which schedule their child has can contact the school, Anselmo wrote.

“We understand the inconvenience this puts on our families and will continue to assess the situation to get our students back in the classroom full time as quickly as possible,” he wrote. “We appreciate your continued support as we work through this pandemic together.”

At the Lake Pend Orielle School District, students will continue on their blended learning curriculums said Kelly Fisher, executive assistant to the superintendent.

In an email sent to parents early Thursday afternoon, LPOSD superintendent Tom Albertson wrote that the district expects the current model to be sufficient for school safety.

"We are confident that the yellow hybrid plan we are currently in meets the identified priorities of student and staff safety, maximizes the instructional time with teachers, and provides choices for parents," he wrote. "We ask you to please keep your students home if they are not feeling well and utilize classroom teacher's learning management systems to continue learning remotely."

More information on LPOSD'd COVID-19 protocols can be found here.