CdA schools to start with blended learning
Kootenai County is seeing lower COVID-19 transmission rates, but they’re not yet good enough to send children back to buildings full-time, the Coeur d’Alene School District board agreed Monday afternoon.
During a 90-minute meeting, the board opted to begin the year with a blended learning model that will give students two days a week of in-person learning, with face masks and social-distancing required.
The board will hold a final vote on the reopening model during a workshop on Aug. 24.
The board also agreed to push the opening of the school year back 6 days, to Sept. 14, to give teachers and staff more time to prepare for the new framework.
Monday’s meeting began with board member Jennifer Brumley’s observations that transmission rates have dipped slightly in recent days.
When the month began, Kootenai County’s seven-day rolling average was 24.6 cases per 100,000 people; it’s currently at 18.5 per 100,000, raising hopes that it could fall below 15 – the district’s threshold for moving to the “yellow,” or moderate risk, level that would allow full reopening.
“That was my hope, that we could be in the yellow category and be open for five days a week,” Board Chairman Casey Morrisroe said.
However, officials from Kootenai Health and the Panhandle Health District noted that cases surged after Memorial Day and again after the Fourth of July.
They predicted more increases after Labor Day and the opening of school, plus the additional strain from the onset of the flu season in October.
That was enough to push board members toward caution. When school begins, it will be in the “orange” category, reflecting substantial risk.
The board also was swayed by Superintendent Steve Cook’s contention that in the event of a spike it would be “substantially more difficult” for schools to move from the yellow level back to the orange.
“Really, what Kootenai Health shared with us about the blips on the radar we’ve seen after the holidays and those sorts of things I guess gave me a little pause, that I feel more comfortable with opening in the orange,” Morrisroe said.
Added board member Rebecca Smith: “At this point I’d rather start slow … there are no winners on this.”
In a letter to parents sent Monday afternoon, the district said it was hopeful that “we will be able to recommend a shift from Orange to Yellow as soon as the community risk level supports that change.”
Under the blended learning model, students whose last names begin with A through K will attend in person on Mondays and Tuesdays, learning online the other three days of the week.
Those with last names beginning with L through Z will be in school buildings on Thursdays and Fridays.
The Coeur d’Alene model is similar to that of Post Falls, which is using the same color coding system and standards for movement between them.