Plan expected to be finalized this week
by Dennis Rahm
It appears likely that students in the Lake Chelan School District will not be returning to the classroom when school begins next month. School Superintendent Barry DePaoli said the current COVID transmission rate will play a major role in a final decision as well as strong concerns raised by the Chelan-Douglas Health District.
DePaoli told LakeChelanNow that much has been learned since the District was forced to close school and implement a distance learning curriculum last Spring. You can listen as he explains that schools will be better prepared, including acknowledging that more live instruction will be needed.
“Flipping the switch last spring was extremely stressful and difficult.” – Barry DePaoli
The district has conducted a number of meetings to discuss options for the new school year as well as conducting both parent and teacher surveys. Options involved returning to in-school teaching with health safety protocols in place, a hybrid plan that would involve a combination of remote and in-school learning, and starting the year with a total remote teaching model.
A final decision regarding choosing a plan for the start of school is expected to made during a special meeting of the school board on Thursday night. DePaoli said it has been a really difficult decision to arrive at, but it is likely that the distance learning model will be used to begin the school year. He said it’s a situation that certainly creates challenges. Listen here for more from DePaoli.
“We need to be extra careful now and really work together” — Barry DePaoli
Other area districts have already made the decision to begin the new school year with a distance learning model including Wenatchee, Eastmont, Cascade and Entiat. Noting that at least one student and one staff member has contracted the virus over the summer, DePaoli said it’s important to be extra careful moving forward.
The Manson School District is also meeting on Thursday in a workshop that will likely determine their model of opening school. Superintendent Yvonne Walker said several models have been studied and noted that remote distance learning is high on the list of options.
