Bethel School District announces return-to-school timeline
The Bethel School District announced Wednesday it intends to return to in-person learning as early as mid-October for preschool through second-grade children.
District spokesperson Doug Boyles said the district wanted to let parents know the plan as soon as they could while not making promises they can’t keep.
Students have not been in the classroom since March in a state effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
On Monday, the director of health for the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, Dr. Anthony Chen, told superintendents they can begin to bring back elementary students in a phased approach.
The state recommends counties with case counts between 25 to 75 per 100,000 over 14 days begin incorporating hybrid models of in-person learning and online school while monitoring COVID-19 case counts.
As of Wednesday’s count, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department reports the 14-day rate per 100,000 is 59.
Like many school districts, Bethel will reopen schools with a hybrid A/B model that divides the classroom into two groups. “Cohort A” will alternate between full in-class instruction on Mondays and Thursdays and remote learning Tuesdays and Fridays. “Cohort B” will be on the opposite schedule.
Both groups will have remote learning on Wednesdays.
“The “A/B” model offers an easier transition back to remote learning if COVID-19 cases increase and also makes it easier to transition back to a normal full-time schedule for all students,” Boyles said.
Schedule
Mid- to late October: Students in preschool through second grade would return to a hybrid in-person “A/B” schedule.
“An official start date will be decided as early as possible,” Boyles said.
About one week later: Students in third through fifth grade would return to a hybrid in-person “A/B” schedule.
Families with preschool and elementary students would be asked to fill out a survey on in-person hybrid learning, Boyles said.
Return for middle and high school students would be determined at a later date based on data and health department guidance. Bethel would wait three weeks before adding additional students to the schools in accordance with its phased approach.
If Pierce County’s COVID-19 case numbers change significantly, the district might change its phased approach.
In tandem with hybrid learning, the Bethel School District created the Bethel Virtual Academy for students who choose to remain in full-time remote learning.
These students are asked to continue the online school program as others slowly return to the classroom. If families decide they want to return to a school, the district said there would be transition dates determined at a later time.
Other districts like Tacoma and Puyallup are starting next week with similar models. Bethel would be watching others implement A/B hybrid models, Boyles said.
“We have that benefit of seeing other districts implement their in-person hybrid plan, but we are also focused on what our community is seeing,” he said.
