Parents asked for input on reopening schools

Parents in the Weiser School District have been asked to provide input on a plan in development to reopen schools for the 1,560 or so students in the district next month.
 In an email to parents about the survey, superintendent Wade Wilson said input from parents will help in the development of the district’s overall reopening plan as well as plans that will be specific to each school building.
 Among the half-dozen questions, the survey asks if parents will send their child to school if a traditional design model is in place and schools will be able to open. The district has set Aug. 20 as the first day of school.
 In the survey, parents are also asked to provide input on what safety measures they think need to be in place at schools.
 Another question concerns what  learning environment they would choose if all options are available, including traditional classroom setting with daily school, blended learning of in-school and online or distance learning online.
 The school district will receive $228,402 in federal funds through the CARES Act to help mitigate financial impacts from the coronavirus pandemic. Parents are asked in the survey how they would like to see that money spent.
 In drafting their school reopening and operational plan, Weiser School District trustees and other districts across Idaho are following guidelines issued by the Idaho State Board of Education.
 The Idaho Back to School Framework was released by the SBOE on July 9 and endorsed by Gov. Brad Little.
 It sets expectations, establishes guidelines and best practices for school districts to use to reopen school buildings based on local COVID-19 conditions.
 Once the draft reopening and operational plan is complete it will be shared with parents and the public for input. School district trustees, school administrators and the superintendent are working on the plan, which will follow the SBOE and public health guidelines and be applicable to each school in the district.
 The SBOE framework for reopening schools describes three scenarios for local school boards to consider that include a traditional in-school model, a blended model that includes fewer students at school each day and a fully remote model of learning.
 What kind of instruction that will occur at Weiser schools will depend on the level of community COVID-19 cases and which direction the case numbers are going.
 The SBOE framework outlines recommended procedures based on the level of coronavirus transmission at any given time.
 For example, a school located in a category 1 area where there is no community spread occurring can use the framework as guidance on how to open the school.
 Conversely, a school located in a category 3 area where there is substantial community spread can find suggested considerations for school board decision-making, SBOE officials said.
 According to a news release from state education officials, school districts will have the opportunity to receive two streams of federal funding, distributed by the State Department of Education, designed to help them navigate the pandemic and begin the next school year with the tools and resources necessary to deliver blended learning.
 Last week, the SBOE approved Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra’s proposals for distributing $30 million from the governor’s Idaho Rebounds Coronavirus Relief Fund and $3.8 million from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund.
 “How and when students return to school will ultimately be up to each district or charter school working with parents and their local health districts. It is essential that we support that flexibility as we provide guidance,” Superintendent Ybarra said.