Districts to continue remote learning for the remainder of the school year

Kalispell Public Schools will continue with remote learning for the remainder of the school year, which ends June 9.

The school board’s unanimous decision on Tuesday does include a provision for building administrators and staff to determine if a student should be invited to come into a school building for educators to check in with them regarding academics or provide emotional/social support.

“It would not look like typical instruction,” Kalispell Superintendent Mark Flatau told the Daily Inter Lake on Wednesday.

In addition to meeting at school with a student who might be struggling with the remote learning environment, the provision might be used to help staff work on the farm at the H.E. Robinson Ag Education Center and student-built home, for example.

Trustees asked if the provision would raise equity issues with allowing some, but not all students into schools. Flatau said he didn’t think so, and noted that running a farm “is a different beast,” with baby animals to care for and crops to plant. He said the ag center and the student-built home program were “never intended to be operated and run by the small staff that are on-site.”

“That’s just the situation we’re in. The opportunity is there based on the governor’s orders,” Flatau said during the Tuesday board meeting.

“Students will still have online work and online responsibilities that will continue. So we’re not changing the online support in remote learning,” he later added.

The Kalispell school district is working on a framework of what that process would entail, and it’s expected to be ready by Friday. If a student is brought into the school, social distancing and other state guidelines Montana Gov. Steve Bullock outlined for the phased-in reopening of the state as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic will be followed.

As part of Montana’s phased-in reopening, Bullock recently announced the statewide school closure directive would end May 7, leaving local school boards to decide whether or not to reopen.

Evergreen, West Valley and Whitefish school boards also unanimously decided this week to continue remote learning through the end of the school year, which varies for the respective school districts between June 9-11. Schools are planning the majority of new content will be taught by May 22, which would be the case under normal circumstances. Teachers will then continue providing academic support for students to complete any missing assignments while planning with administrators for next school year. Time also will be allotted for students to pick up any belongings still at schools and drop off textbooks and district-issued Chromebooks.

Informing the school board decisions was a letter from Flathead City-County, Lake County and Lincoln County health department officials on April 27, in addition to a document with state and Centers for Disease Control guidelines schools would follow if they reopened.

The guidelines cover items such as limiting class sizes and social distancing of shared spaces (lunchroom, gym/locker rooms, playground, for example); cleaning and disinfecting spaces; personal hygiene; screening and implementing temperature checks; contact tracing and quarantine; use of face masks and consideration of vulnerable populations who may be at higher risk for developing severe complications from COVID-19.

“We recognize that many of these components will be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve in a short time frame. However, we think they are necessary to keep the students and staff safe,” the letter from the health departments stated.

“Given the complexities associated with a full reopening we support the superintendents’ recommendation that schools should continue with online remote learning until the end of this school year,” the letter concluded.

The Montana Nursing Association (MNA) also issued a statement dated April 24, regarding Bullock’s plan to reopen the state by easing stay-at-home and closure directives. The statement noted its main concern was the potential of schools reopening:

“Schools are not designed for social distancing. Many students have underlying health issues such as asthma and diabetes, not to mention poor hand hygiene that comes with just being young. We support MFPE (Montana Federation of Public Employees) along with any school superintendents and school boards that recommend to keep our schools closed for this school year and focus on ways to safely resume in the fall.

“MNA will continue to advocate for citizens to continue to stay home. This is how we have flattened the curve and why our infection numbers are low. We are protecting ourselves and each other every day while we adhere to social distancing,” the statement read.

During a meeting of the Northwest Montana Association of School Superintendents, which includes Flathead Valley superintendents and lead principals in rural schools, Flatau said “... there was not one principal or superintendent in the room that felt that going back was the right decision to make.”

The four superintendents shared with their respective school boards they received responses from staff and community that overwhelmingly supported continuing remote learning, but there were responses advocating for schools to reopen.

During Kalispell’s board meeting some parents expressed frustration with children not getting immediate responses from teachers; parents struggling to provide help with advanced coursework; getting better internet access; or accessing musical instruments and recording spaces for All-State Band, Chorus and Orchestra Festival auditions.

In this instance, where student health and safety is concerned, Flatau noted, “It’s not that whichever side has the most support is what we go with, this is something from a superintendent and administrative standpoint — we just have serious concerns about returning and what that looks like and the requirements and limitations that we would have to face.”

One parent asked if there could be a limited or “soft opening” of schools where students came to schools once a week. Flatau reiterated the logistical challenge of meeting state guidelines on social distancing, checking temperatures to obtaining masks. He also said busing would be problematic with the number of employees who fall into the vulnerable population.

“We would want to provide masks for certain situations,” Flatau said in regard to Kalispell Public Schools, “but we barely have enough masks now for food service [and] custodial staff.”

“I would like nothing more than to open our schools back and bring our kids back in. We all miss them dearly. We just, again, there’s a reason why every school district in the valley, and certainly the AAs are making the recommendations and the decisions they are,” Flatau added, a statement Evergreen, West Valley and Whitefish superintendents echoed in their respective school board meetings.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.