For Tri-Cities private school students it’s back to class as public schools stay online

Erin Pavicic’s four kids will be going back to school this week.

While her children will be taking courses at a distance, hundreds of their classmates are heading back into the classrooms at Richland’s Christ the King School.

It’s a change that Pavicic is comfortable with.

“I feel like that Christ the King has done everything in their power to make the school environment as safe as possible,” she said. “People want to go back and we’ve been given this opportunity and respect what our school has done to make that happen.”

Christ the King is not alone. Private school students across the Tri-Cities and the state are starting in-person teaching with a variety of models they believe will keep the new coronavirus from spreading.

Tri-Cities public schools have chosen a different path for now based on the recommendations of state and local health and education officials.

They start the 2020-21 school year this week with distance learning, though in most cases, hundreds of teachers will be leading those virtual classrooms from their school buildings.

The state Department of Health is recommending schools wait until the number of new infections during a two-week period drops below 75 per 100,000 people. Benton County is at 136 new cases per 100,000 and Franklin was at 368 new infections over two weeks.

While the Benton Franklin Health District is sticking with its recommendation for now that schools start online, health officials are working with area private schools that want to start in person, said Kathleen Clary-Cooke, the health district spokeswoman.

“We stand by our recommendation, but it’s just a recommendation,” she said. “We recognize that private schools might be different because of the smaller number of students and the relationships they have with their families.”

In the Tri-Cities, Christ the King, Liberty Christian School and Tri-Cities Prep Catholic High School are among the schools offering in-person classes.

They are finding support from parents who don’t want to keep their children at home. Enrollment at Christ the King and Liberty Christian in Richland already is full.

And Tri-Cities Prep in Pasco had a large freshman class last year, and they have an equally big one this year.

3 schools, 3 models

While Christ the King, Liberty Christian and Tri-Cities Prep are bringing some students back, they are offering different models.

All of Liberty Christian’s 450 students will be returning to its 19-acre campus. They’ve turned the library and multipurpose room into classrooms so they can maintain a 6-foot distance among students, said Superintendent Jim Cochran.

“The parents were very supportive,” he said. “We have had a few that have decided not to attend, and we had a few that thought we went too far.”

The school also is offering resources for Christian online programs and some plan to home school alongside the curriculum the school is already using.

While many of the Christ the King students will be returning to class, they are offering distance learning for the parents who want that option.

Tri-Cities Prep doesn’t have enough space to bring back all of its 170 students at the same time. Instead, it’s divided them into two groups.

One group will be in school on Mondays and Thursdays and the other will attend on Tuesdays and Fridays. The school will be cleaned on Wednesdays.

When the students aren’t in class they’re learning online, said Tri-Cities Prep President Lisa Jacobs.

“We felt it was important to bring the students back on campus,” she said. “Students need to be among each other. Education is better when you can be in front of the kids.”

Precautions, temperature checks

All of the schools require a questionnaire to be filled out and a temperature check completed before a student can be in class.

The schools require masks to be worn and kids will be spaced 6-feet apart. By logging the information, it will make it easier for health officials if a student comes down with the COVID-19.

“The entire look and feel of how we’re doing school is definitely different,” Cochran said. “Everything from drop off, the entry is different, the entire schedule for recess. We’re not having kids go to a computer lab.”

Cochran and Jacobs said they are meeting regularly with the Benton Franklin Health District to talk about their plans including if a student gets sick.

Those plans are being changed as new information is available and situations develop. The schools are prepared to go back to distance learning if they need to, they said.

Many of the private schools in the area were ahead of public institutions when schools closed in March by being able to teach kids virtually.

“The key is to remain flexible and fluid,” Jacobs said. “Luckily, the Prep community has been supportive of that. We’re going to give it a go, and we’re going to do our best to keep kids safe. We’re asking the same of our students and parents. This can only work if we act as a team and as a community.”

While Liberty Christian has preparations in place, Cochran doesn’t think their system could be easily adopted by the much larger public schools. For example, trying to manage temperature checks for tens of thousands of students would be too overwhelming on a daily basis.

For Jacobs, who wrapped up orientation for the students last week, it’s been nice to have them back.

“I am so excited,” she said. “I missed them. I loved hearing their voices. .. It really was energizing to have the students back on campus.”