On Tuesday night, July 28, using the Zoom Meetings platform to connect to the public, Chinook School District #10 held a special meeting of the school board to review, amend, and vote on a Return to School Plan. A week prior to the meeting and with the purpose of seeking public review and in-put, the eleven-page plan was made available on both Meadowlark School’s and Chinook Junior and Senior High School’s Facebook pages, as well as on the school’s website.

Of the questions on an accompanying survey, one asked: “If the state is in phase TWO of reopening, will your child be attending on campus schooling in the fall or opting for off campus instruction due to COVID-19 health concerns?”

Sixty-five percent of the 113 respondents reported that their children would be attending on campus.

Another of the questions queried: “If there is a mandatory mask mandate from the state or county, will your child be attending on campus schooling or opting for off campus instruction?”

Fifty-one per cent answered yes to that question, 21% replied no, and 28% were still undecided.

After considerable discussion and based on the data collected from the feedback survey, as well as in response to concerns for those with special health considerations such as asthma or autism, the Board voted unanimously to NOT mandate masks. Instead, they will leave that health decision up to the parents’ discretion.

Although the school district will not be mandating masks, they will encourage and recommend their wearing or the use of protective face shields. Blaine County Health Department’s Health Supervisor and the School’s Nurse, Jana McPherson-Hauer stated: “Data shows that masks are protective and will keep kids healthy and in school learning.”

Several school board members wondered whether the mask issue could, in fact, disrupt the educational process. One member posed a question about the mask’s being a potential target for harassment. Another considered their becoming part of a student’s creative expression—with an individual perhaps choosing to dress as a pirate, bandit, or masked crusader.

In response to the latter concern, Principal Matt Molyneaux reported that any issues concerning the appropriate or inappropriate wearing of masks would be addressed under the school’s dress code policy.

The Return to School Plan (RSP) was outlined in phases, which align with the state’s reopening phases. “Since the state is currently in Phase Two of reopening, that means that we are planning to go ahead with Phase Two of our plan. If the state changes phases, we will shift our phase accordingly. Regardless of the phase the state is under, safety of students and staff is paramount,” School Superintendent Darin Hannum stated. “Students and staff not feeling well or running a temperature must stay home as per school policy #3417. Standard health protocols will be followed.”

The school board unanimously approved the RSP at Tuesday night’s meeting. Board Member Frank Billmayer concluded: “Our dynamic plan will mesh well with safety issues.”

Superintendent Hannum added: “As we enter into our school year, we will continually adapt the plan as necessary.”

Another document on the Board’s agenda for a first reading adoption and made previously available to the public on the school’s website was a 49 page text enumerating the district’s COVID-19 Emergency Policies. The document provides an Emergency Policy Framework as well as Administrative Procedures for Knowledge-Based Decision Making, and various additional clauses.

Among the Emergency Measures were provisions for alternative grading; various options for school district meetings, gatherings, events, visitors

and facility use; as well as the use of transportation funds during periods of emergency declaration. All of these clauses required Board review for potential adoption.

Regarding student, staff, and community health and safety, the Board considered options for physical distancing and determined that Option 2 was in the best interests of Chinook Schools. That option included the following provisions:

• To the extent possible, elementary school courses will be delivered to the same group of students each day, and the same teachers will remain with the same group in the same separate and designated room each day. If physical distancing is not possible during meal service and courses delivered in a separate area—such as the library, gymnasium, and music room—the service or course will be delivered in the designated classroom for each group of students.

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• Recess and use of playgrounds during recess are permitted on an adjusted schedule to maintain appropriate student groupings.

• Transportation services will be provided in accordance with cleaning and disinfection procedures outlined in this policy.

• Secondary school courses will be delivered using a restructured bell system to minimize student interaction in common areas. Upon arriving in a classroom, secondary school students will be provided disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray and disposable paper towel and time to clean their learning area or desk.

• Meal service for secondary students will be provided through a grab-and-go lunch that will be eaten in designated areas.

• Drop off and pick up of students riding with parents and caregivers will be completed in a manner (i.e. staggered in designated intervals by grade level through a schedule set by the supervising teacher or building administrator) that limits direct contact between parents and staff members and adheres to social distancing recommendations.

Other policies involved personnel cleaning and disinfecting, response to symptoms of illness, and student instruction and services. The latter arena required the Board to consider the school facility as an instructional setting versus an off-site and online instructional setting to ensure proficiency-based learning.

Hannum explained, “Using proficiency based learning in combination with on-site and off-site instruction protects funding if an audit determines that aggregate hours have not been provided. Proficiency determinations should not be used to cease instruction, only to backup and enhance instruction.”

A family who does not want their child or children to receive instruction and educational services on-site at the school may request to have instruction completed off-site and/or online by completing the Family On-site Instruction Opt-Out Form. Any family requesting to forgo on-site instruction at the school facility due to COVID related health issues for the duration of the declared public health emergency does so, however, with several understandings. Primarily that:

• they supervise their child’s education in a manner consistent with the methods identified by the school district,

• a student’s failure to complete work assigned may result in a determination that the student be retained or otherwise not earn credit, and

• the student may be ineligible to participate in all extracurricular activities associated with School District #10.

“Because of 504 policies, these incidents will have to be reviewed on a case-

by-case basis,” according to Hannum, “since Federal Law states we can’t exclude a student from extracurricular activities for a health issue.”

Several policies regarding Human Resources and Personnel were also considered on Tuesday night. Some of those included Work Schedules and Assignments for Certified Staff, Administrative Procedures for Employee Telework, and Personnel Use of Leave. For example, if an employee satisfies certain eligibility standards, that individual may be entitled to emergency paid sick leave in accordance with the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

Whenever the legal language in the policy offered options, which derive from the School Board Association’s legal team, the Board opted for the language that provided the greatest flexibility. These policies provide several assurances to the public. Mainly that

1. locally-elected trustees charged with the supervision and control of their local public schools, in collaboration with their staff leadership teams, make decisions that are in the best interests of students, staff and the community served;

2. measures are in place to protect the health and safety of students, staff and community members;

3. issues relating to student instruction and family engagement are addressed;

4. any barriers to learning presented by distance are considered and/or resolved;

5. improvement of instruction in on-site, off-site, and/or online settings takes place;

6. continuity of employment of school district staff and/or continuity of services provided by contract transportation providers ensues.

“We are accountable to families with children,” Hannum said. “So, to ensure

clarity and transparency, the Board has organized all emergency school policies into a temporary chapter.”

In Old Business, the Board voted 7-1, to approve the 2020-21 School Handbooks. The cell phone policy was a sticking point for some community members who took exception to the school’s allowing cell phones at all.

Current policy allows students to use their phones in the school hallways during passing times and in classrooms at a teacher’s discretion.

“Many teachers use the cell phone or another technology device to engage students with apps like Quizlet and Kahoot. These learning tools are employed at the teacher’s discretion to engage students in learning and to study for vocabulary,” for example, Molyneaux explained.

About the cell phone controversy, Billmayer stated: “This sounds like an administrative issue, and I don’t have any interest in micromanaging the teachers, but I do have a concern about those without cell phones and whether they will be left behind in the learning environment.”

Molyneaux assured the Board that instructional technology is always available in classrooms for participation in learning, which does not depend on a student’s possessing a cell phone.