Sunday deadline for Spokane parents to pick year-long distance-learning option

The school year is four weeks away, but parents in Spokane Public Schools have until Sunday to make a key decision about what distance learning will look like for their children.

The district will begin the year with distance learning only, but will offer two different models: a Real-Time Distance Learning Plan for parents who expect to send their children back to school buildings once COVID-19 infection rates fall to acceptable levels and a Year-Long Full Distance Model for parents who expect to keep them at home all year.

Parents don’t need to do anything if they prefer the first model, but must sign up by Sunday for the latter, which includes the Spokane Virtual Academy for grades K-9 and the OnTrack@Home for high-schoolers who might have attended the OnTrack Academy.

Those decisions aren’t necessarily final, but Spokane Virtual Academy students will probably be at the back of the line for return to buildings, should parents change their minds.

Overall, the two models are quite similar in curriculum and availability of teachers.

However, the virtual academies promise a more flexible distance-learning experience, plus a lower risk of exposure to the coronavirus when and if schools reopen.

In the Real-Time Distance Learning Plan, structured lessons occur primarily from 9 a.m. to noon.

“We know that doesn’t work for everybody,” said Heather Bybee, the district’s chief academic officer.

Bybee said the Spokane Virtual Academy will “provide a consistent school day” and flexiblity “in how they turn in their materials.”

Another plus is that students can work at their own pace with a “teacher check-in schedule that works best for the family.”

The district also promises that the academy will deliver “regularly scheduled interaction with teachers and other students to build a learning community.”

“We want to keep our district family together and strong,” Superintendent Adam Swinyard said. “And keep your student connected to the school that they belong to.”

Another plus in the virtual academy is what the district calls “monthly technical support sessions” for parents who would like to take a deeper dive into online programs.

Is that enough incentive to offset the decreased chance of getting back into schools, should they re-open and families have decided they want back in?

That depends on the student.

However, Swinyard said the district recognizes that families may have a change of heart – in either direction – when and if schools reopen.

“We know we’ll have interest in going back and forth,” said Swinyard.

In an effort to accommodate those changes, he said Spokane Virtual Academy students will be able to apply for in-person learning if space is available.