Douglas County School District reopening plans approved by board

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - School districts across the country are working on how to safely open for the fall term. Some are going completely digital, some are electing to have in-person classes, and other are considering a hybrid of both types of learning. Besides guidelines from states, districts have to consider further guidelines from local health officials as they create a plan.

The Douglas County School District Board of Trustees met Tuesday and voted unanimously on a reopening hybrid learning plan for the 2020-21 school year that will be submitted to the Nevada Department of Education as required by Governor Sisolak.

There are over 5,400 students in the District's 12 schools, along with 805 staff members. Two of the schools, Zephyr Cove Elementary (grades K-6) and Whittell High School (grades 7-12) are at Lake Tahoe.

In the favored plan, the District would employ a hybrid model of learning until Nevada and the current health protocols allow for all in-person learning. At the Lake Tahoe schools they may be able to start off the year with all in-person learning due to the enrollment, class size, and staff at Zephyr Cove Elementary and Whittell High Schools. The district will notify parents by August 17 on which grades can held be in-person.

District Superintendent Keith Lewis said he understands the hardship of distance learning and doesn't believe it is in the best interest of students, staff and families to keep schools closed completely to in-person learning.

In coming up with a reopening plan, Lewis and his team had to take into consideration Nevada's current guidance and regulations stating buildings had to be at less than 50 percent occupancy, keep six feet physical distancing, avoidance of gatherings over 50 people, and face coverings for students age 10 and over (though they chose to go with face coverings for all students and staff).

They also had to create a plan for the current fluid situation surrounding COVID-19. Directives from the state could change the District's plans at any time.

The District had to come up with three plans to submit to the state - in-person instruction following protocols, distance/digital education, and a hybrid of the two. Douglas County added a fourth plan, one for complete on-line learning with students not going into the classroom at all. Not all families and students would be ready for in-person learning. Lewis said they recognized the fact that no one plan would satisfy all students, staff and families.

In the plan submitted to the state:

Professional development days will occur August 10-14
School starts August 17 for valley students, August 31 for lake students
Face coverings will be required for ALL ages
School bus capacity will be at 50 percent

They will also take each student's temperature at the start of each day.

The favored Hybrid Learning Model puts students in an A/B rotation with half instruction in person, half online. Every 10 school days a student is in the classroom five days and digitally in school from home for five days. There would be two groups, A and B, where one group attends school when the other group is online. The District would also accommodate families with more than one student so they'd all be on the same "cohort," or rotation.

They will focus on trying to get grades Preschool-3 to be in-person and not under the Hybrid Learning model.

The district would notify non-Lake Tahoe school parents by August 3 on which grade levels can be in-person.

With a goal of safety, if an outbreak is identified a shift to digital learning would be warranted and plans are in place. The District will ensure all students, not just the older ones, get Chromebooks to take home for school use. They have also taken into consideration meals for all students, no matter the learning plan they are on, and continuation of wrap-around and counselor services.