ASD will begin fall with distance learning

The Arlington School District will begin the school year with distance learning with a plan in place to phase in reopening if COVID case numbers drop in the county.

The school board approved the reopening plan on Aug. 10 by a 3-1 vote with board member Michael Ray as the sole dissenter. The plan includes six 'Steps' of reopening that the district can move between depending on safety needs.

They are starting on Step Three.

"That means enhanced distance learning for all students, but it also includes the opportunity, under the direction and guidance of the health department, to serve small selections of students who need special support," said Arlington School District superintendent Chrys Sweeting.

"I think all the districts are grappling with how you identify those students," she said.

District officials decided to start at that step because of the high number of COVID-19 cases currently in the county.

"They really looked at how we can open schools safely and in compliance in the requirements from OSPI, the Department of Health," said Sweeting.

"We're very committed to opening schools safely and do it as quickly as we can," she said.

Both the Snohomish Health District and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee recommended that a county should be below 75 cases per 100,000 people in a two-week period for schools to reopen safely.

"The Governor identified Snohomish County as a county that was at high risk and also recommended instruction at this time take place at a distance," said Sweeting.

As of Aug. 13 the county's rate was at 87.3 cases per 100,000 people.

"If those cases go down to the moderate, which is 26 to 75 cases, they still recommend distance learning, but move to in-person learning for elementary students," said Sweeting.

When the district moves to Step Four the plan is have students from preschool to second grade attend in-person instruction two times a week.

In Step Five all students will attend school two times a week and Step Six is fully reopened five-days-a-week instruction.

The district is branding the fall as 'Distance Learning 2.0' as they intend to improve on what they did in the spring.

School district officials are still working out the details of exactly what that will mean according to Gary Sabol, director of communications for the school district.

He said that is expected to include more access to internet connections, more teacher training, more support for parents and a helpline for staff, students or parents.

Connectivity issues remained a concern for many.

"What is the plan for those that aren't able to connect?" asked board member Michael Ray. "How are we going to get them in the classroom, which would be preferred, or provide them with that equitable education."

Internet connection can be a problem for teachers as well.

"I didn't hear much about what are we going to do for those teachers who have connectivity issues at home," said Kent Prairie teacher Donnica Farnsworth during public comment at the school board meeting.

"I was one of those teachers and I had to commute to Bellevue every day," she said.

Mark Ehrhardt, director of technology at the district, estimated about 20 percent of students had barriers to good internet access.

"Arlington is a difficult area because we have a lot of rural areas that have very limited connectivity," he said. "What I have found in working with families is that a lot of them have internet access, but a lot of that is not adequate and not really broadband access."

The school district recently invested in purchasing Chromebooks and will be able to provide them to students this year, he said.

Distance learning can get more difficult for families with multiple children.

"I was concerned with families' frustration levels at the different levels of kids," said local Megan O'Brien during public comment.

"If they have a elementary kid and a middle school kid and a high school kid … be better to possibly not having these things overlap each other," she said. "It's a really great time to think about doing the later start for the older kids."

Instruction done through the Zoom platform can also be accessed through phones.

"You should always be able to make a phone call and at least get audio even if you have connectivity issues," said school board member Marc Rosson.

Others commented that distance learning is difficult for English language learners and will be hard for younger students, especially kindergartners entering a school system for the first time.

"Educators will be strangers to them and that poses a unique concern from my perspective and for the students who I will be educating," said Colleen White, a kindergarten teacher at Kent Prairie Elementary.

"I'd like to advocate for the board to consider kindergartners as one of those unique populations that may need special instruction," she said.

Students in elementary school will receive "narrative-based" feedback instead of traditional grades, while those in middle school and high school will continue to receive a traditional A through F grade, although the district hopes to emphasize feedback more than grades.

"We still want verbal feedback to carry more weight than a numeric score," said Kari Henderson-Burke, director of teaching and learning for the district.

Henderson-Burke also said that the district would be "narrowing standards" and are currently looking about what to focus on.

"We're defining what are our essential standards for Arlington," she said.

"Our teaching has to be fundamentally different when learning is fundamentally different," she said.

The school district's plan includes health protocols which clean buses after every use, not just at the end of the day, and screenings for staff and students to be implemented when they return to school.

"That will help us make sure that everyone entering the building is less likely to be transmissible," said Brian Lewis, director of operations at the school district.

The school district is purchasing self-serve kiosk tablets for school staff that will read temperature.

Officials have also altered school district hallways and classrooms to create more space between students, said Lewis.