Sitka schools opened on August 27, and administrators say things are going well.
The Sitka School Board on Wednesday (9-2-20) heard generally good reports from district buildings, and not a single complaint. Nevertheless, the administration remains vigilant, as communities elsewhere struggle to keep schools open.
The infection rate in Sitka tapered a bit in August, and that may have eased anxiety over Sitka’s 1,200 students returning to school — if only for half days, or an alternating cohort schedule.
District interim superintendent John Holst told the board that extensive planning and preparation by staff and teachers appears to have paid off.
“We’ve had maybe a few emails from parents who are concerned about something and just looking for more information,” Holst said. “But other than that, we have had no complaints from anyone.”
Sitka’s schools went with a cohort model, keeping small groups of students in elementary and middle school classrooms, and rotating in teachers for core academic classes. High school students were divided in half, with each half attending on alternate days.
The buildings have been mostly vacant since the governor ordered schools closed last March during spring break. Keet Gooshi Heen principal Casey Demmert said it was a little different vibe in the building under covid protocols, but it was a good vibe.
“It is just so nice to have people back in the buildings,” said Demmert.
There was significant concern about the return of classes at Baranof Elementary, and whether students in kindergarten and first grade would manage the covid protocols, including masking. Principal Jill LeCrone reported a smooth start there also, even saying that one parent had texted her to say that coming back to school was — in her son’s words — “the best day of my life.”
But Superintendent John Holst said that Sitka was not about to rest on its laurels. The district was continuing to plan for the almost-inevitable day when a positive case of COVID-19 is detected in school. A staggered testing schedule is in place, so all staff will be tested for the virus twice a month, on alternate weeks. He was counting on the support of the community in this effort. Although things are going well now, they could easily go the other way.
“We’re now in the ‘green,’” Holst said. “We’re down to four cases in the last 14 days. It’s very encouraging. And I think if everybody in the community is careful I think that we can stay this way. It’s really hopeful that we’ve gotten into the school year and not had any kind of serious outbreak in the community.”
Holst noted that since the beginning of the pandemic in March, Sitka’s cases have not been associated with any widespread outbreak, as has become common in large cities. Anchorage has had several spreader events where people were infected at the same location, and even the smallest communities can be susceptible: Angoon had six people test positive for the virus on the very day school was scheduled to resume on August 26.
A big drop in Sitka’s enrollment also hasn’t materialized. Holst anticipated about 5-percent fewer students in school this year compared to last — but he didn’t have firm numbers. He said enrollment in Sitka’s REACH Homeschool was continuing to climb — 80 students this year so far, versus 12 last year. Anchorage and Juneau, Holst said, have both been decimated by decreases in enrollment, along with many other districts.
“We’re in good company,” he told the board. “The only schools seeing increases in enrollment this year are correspondence schools.”
