Tri-Cities schools plan more at-home learning this fall. Wrong answer, say some parents

If Benton County doesn’t move to phase 2, thousands of Richland students won’t be returning to classrooms.

While many of the details in Richland School District’s first draft of its reopening plan remain in flux, planners made one thing certain.

“If Benton County remains below phase 2, students and their families, as well as staff, should be prepared to begin the 2020-21 school year in a full at-home learning model,” the plan said.

While Kennewick and Pasco have not laid out their own specific plans if the county remains in modified Phase 1, it is possible students could still return to class with added restrictions from the Benton Franklin Health District.

The health district is working with the schools, but no details have been finalized.

While state and federal leaders may be at odds about how schools should restart, the conflict has not filtered down to the local level where Kennewick, Richland and Pasco school leaders are working with parents, teachers and staff on plans for the fall.

Richland’s and Pasco’s initial plans laid out a combination of having students in class as well as taking classes online.

The format of this hybrid approach is still being hammered out, and is being met with trepidation by some parents who simply want their kids back in school.

“I can’t work with online schooling,” one Richland parent said. “I would have to quit my job completely to make this work and then my household would suffer from lack of income.”

Another parent called for students to go back to normal calling all of the current options “psychological war” on children.

Others are hoping for a half-day option or just believe that the kids can handle the change well.

State requirements

The state requires districts to have a plan in place two weeks before the beginning of class. That document must answer how the schools will slow the spread of the coronavirus.

That includes plans for how students and staff are checked for fever and other COVID symptoms at the start of the school day, a way to space students 6 feet apart while they’re in class and making sure students wear masks.

School assemblies and high-risk activities will look different, as well.

“This is a public health crisis,” Pasco Superintendent Michelle Whitney said at a recent online town hall meeting. “It has challenged us to lead from a place of compassion, communication, collaboration and common sense.”

Schools will face another set of wrinkles — students need to attend class for 180 days, and spend an average of 1,027 hours in class this year.

Teachers will be taking attendance and schools will be reporting how many students are enrolled. All of these requirements were waived by the state last year.

Pasco schools

Pasco leaders sent out a survey this week that suggests students will be returning to class for two days a week.

The rest of the time parents would be asked to continue with an improved distance learning program, though they are likely to get more help from the district in how to accomplish that.

Whitney said they heard from parents that they would like additional training, and that children and teachers want clear expectations.

“We certainly recognize that our hearts are in having our students back in a traditional face-to-face instructional program. That’s what we believe in. That’s what is in our heart,” Whitney said during a June 30 town hall. “We also recognize that this environment with the compliance requirements is making that challenging.”

This comes after they sat down with students, families and staff to determine what they need while they were waiting for state to formulate guidelines.

This week, the district is holding a series of focus groups to look at a variety of issues that they will need to address, including safety, nutrition, transportation and athletics, before heading back to class.

They expect to have a final plan to the school board by July 28, and then it will be approved on Aug. 11.

Richland schools

While Richland officials know that students will be spending some time at home, it’s not clear how many students they will be able to bring in at a time.

“We are still developing proposals on what that will finally look like when it comes to how many students are in a building at any given time and the structure of the school day,” said Ty Beaver, the district’s communications director.

“Our operations department is also acquiring needed supplies and determining how we would provide everything from transportation to school meals depending on how we may need to alter our school schedules,” he said.

They also are improving their continuous learning model to better serve the students and the parents.

Part of this is developing the Richland virtual school — an online and teacher-directed program for parents looking for an alternative.

Kennewick schools

Kennewick officials continue to plan with the goal of having as much face-to-face time as possible.

Much like the other school districts, they are trying to solve the 6-foot requirement.

Officials are looking at the schools to determine how many students can be in a classroom at a time, the district said. They plan to have recommendations for the school board meeting July 15.

They will be reaching out to parents on July 20 for feedback.

They also have a four teams working on the issues of health and safety, athletics, operations and instruction.

Submit questions and feedback through the district’s website.