School District Moves Forward on Reopening Schools

October 30, 2020

Elementary schools district-wide expected to reopen before winter break, PRHS expected to reopen on Jan. 5th

The school board unanimously voted to allow a hybrid classroom schedule on Oct. 7, following suit of 13 private schools and the Pleasant Valley School District, according to KSBY. Jan. 5 will mark the first day of hybrid school, where half of students will alternate between distance learning and in-person classes with the other half of students.

The majority of PRHS students are ready for the transition to a hybrid learning schedule. In a 52 person survey, 90 percent of the students surveyed said that they’d return to school if required while 10 percent said that they’d transfer to Independence or another program. Students haven’t attended school in person since Mar. 13 when the entire country shut down in a state of emergency.

If there isn’t another spike in COVID-19 cases through the winter, the school board agreed to Option B of the hybrid school schedule in which students will attend school similar to the block schedule. The district plans to move the Wednesday schedule to Monday, in which students would attend each of their six classes asynchronously for 20 minutes each. On Tuesdays, students in ‘Group A’ will go to their respective 1st, 3rd, and 5th period classes while ‘Group B’ will attend a 15 minute meet and 65 minutes of individual assignments. On Wednesdays, ‘Group B’ will flip places with ‘Group A’ and attend in-person classes. The same process will occur on Thursdays and Fridays with periods 2, 4, and 6.

WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE: This is the schedule that the school board has decided on for PRHS. On Monday, everyone has distance learning sessions and then Groups A and B will alternate in school and distance learning sessions.

This potential return comes with many precautions. Students will still have to follow social distancing regulations and will be required to wear masks. When asked whether students would respect social distancing and wearing a mask, 93.5 percent said they would follow regulations, while 6.5 percent said they would not wear a mask. When asked about whether or not their peers would follow regulations, one freshman explains, “I would like to believe students would follow the regulations. However, for most of us it is the first time we will have seen our friends since March, and it will be tempting to want to break certain rules.” As much as students want to return, it will prove to be difficult and “tempting” to follow regulations.