Vancouver Public Schools unveils plan for middle and high school students to return to classrooms | ClarkCountyToday.com

January 31, 2021

Vancouver-Starting Monday, students in grades 3-5 will return to the Vancouver Public School District, marking the expansion of the third grade of elementary school to a mixed model.

Students whose parents choose to send back will have classes two days a week, group A will have classes on Monday and Tuesday, and group B will have classes on Thursday and Friday. Wednesday will be reserved for distance learning, as well as time for teachers’ in-service time.

For most schools, the hours are 8:30 am to 1:50 pm, while Lincoln and Minnehaha Elementary Schools are 9:10 am to 2:30 pm

The school district also opened classrooms for senior students who are in danger or struggling to maintain grades.

Vancouver Sheriff Steve Webb told the school board at a work meeting this week: "Our school does not have a single case of COVID-positive student transmission." "We had four incidents at the regional site. A positive case of employee communication, all four cases have been identified as adult-to-adult transmission."

According to state guidelines issued on December 18, the COVID case rate must be less than 350 per 100,000 in order to allow students in grades 6-8 to return to the classroom.

The current rate is only 401 per 100,000, but the number of cases has continued to decline in recent days.

If the rate drops to 350 or lower next week, the fastest sixth grader may return to the classroom on February 16.

The seventh and eighth grade students will return next week.

Weber said: "We hope we can transition from February to Grade 6 to Grade 8, and from March to Grade 9 to Grade 12." "Of course, it depends on countywide indicators."

Establishing a system to protect students and teachers will

Used to reach the lower grade level

This includes a health questionnaire for parents to fill out using the app, and use thermal imaging cameras and other inspection tools after students arrive at school.

Students whose temperature exceeds 99.7 will be transferred to the isolation room where they will be tested again. If they still fail, family members will need to pick them up.

In addition to meal times, masks will need to be used, and students will find signs in most corridors and stairwells to prevent them from passing each other when they move during class.

For example, in the lunch room of Discovery Middle School, a table will include multiple students, but there will be a plexiglass partition between them. They moved outside after eating to disinfect the table.

Until the case level drops below 200 per 100,000 people within two weeks, high school-level courses will not resume. The 9th grade students will return for a week before 10-12.

The principal of Columbia River High School Alex Otoupal (Alex Otoupal) said that since December, they have been working tirelessly to make plans.

Otoupal told the board: “We have invited our safety committee and employees to study our plan as transparently as possible, and invite people to join and make suggestions in the plan.” “As a process, they can identify possible problems and doubts. Or doubts so that we can resolve them as soon as possible."

Columbia River already has nearly 40 students on campus, allowing them to test some settings and figure out what works and what does not work.

Outupal said a change is trying to make better use of spaces such as gymnasiums and cafeterias to disperse students in one space.

Otoupal said: "So far, all the students I have seen who can come to campus are very sensitive to our expectations, and very sensitive to directions and expectations."

Jim Gray, the executive director of the Middle School Project in the region, warned that arranging students, especially those in advanced advanced courses, is still a delicate balancing act.

Gray explained: "The plan is based on the content area, so teachers need to have a specific grade level and content area recognition." "The plan also depends on the students' specific class elections to meet their personal needs, career path or passion field exploration ."

Gray said that many students in those grades need to move from one content area to another, which means allowing some teachers to stay remote while others are in the classroom, which is "non-scalable" and needs to be completely rebuilt Master's Program. Schedule during the scoring period.

Gray said students who are at risk from their family members may need to take the final exam remotely to make room for other students.

Students will also have the opportunity to remain fully remote or register for the Vancouver Virtual Academy through the Lieser campus.

Detailed information about the area’s evolving reopening plan is available online. 

You can view the complete board meeting on January 26

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Chris Brown worked as a reporter, editor and host for KXL News Radio and KOIN-6 in Portland, and came to Clark County today with 15 years of local news experience. In 2016, he won the Best Investigative Reporting Award for the "American Violent Youth" series issued by the Oregon Broadcasting Corporation Association. After the school shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, in 2015, he also won the Associated Press's Best Breaking News Reporting award and served as the editor of the Portland Morning News. Brown is the second-oldest of the eight home-educated children and graduated from high school two years earlier. After completing a few odd jobs, he got an internship opportunity at KXL Broadcasting Company and eventually became a full-time job. Brown has lived in Clark County all his life, and he is very excited about the opportunity now to concentrate on his backyard instead of "on the river." After a few years in Vancouver, he recently moved back to the battlefield with his wife and two young daughters. When he is not going to report the situation in Clark County, Brown likes to spend time with his family, play music, take pictures or work in the yard. He actually does like walking on the beach and watching the sunset.