Coupeville Schools Superintendent Steve King
Despite recent increases in COVID-19 cases in Island County, the Coupeville School District plans to transition to the second part of its reopening plan.
Superintendent Steve King issued a letter Thursday alerting families and staff members that a K-2 hybrid plan will launch during the school week of February 1-5.
This follows on the heels of Coupeville schools bringing back some students Jan. 19 for a restart of in-person learning.
That first group included special services students, kindergarteners, and others identified as “furthest from educational justice.”
The decision to proceed to step two, and launch the K-2 hybrid, was made after careful consideration.
“While we have had some recent increases in COVID-19 rates in our county, the overall case counts are well within the moderate-risk range of the state reopening metrics found on page eight of the K-12 Metrics and Toolkit,” King said.
The district received a letter of support from the Island County Health Department, as well.
For families who choose to send their students to school, the K-2 plan runs four days a week, Monday through Thursday.
The schedule:
8:45 to 9:00 — CES doors open to students for health screening and entry
9:00 to 11:30 — In-Person classes for Group A
11:30 to 12:45 — Teacher lunch and planning; room sanitization
12:45 to 1:00 — CES doors open to students for health screening and entry
1:00 to 3:30 — In-Person classes for Group B
The first week back will see a bit of a difference however.
“While in-person school will look very different with all of the mitigation work and guidance we are following in our schools, this is good news for our students and families,” King said.
The first three days back, Feb. 1-3, will be “transition days.”
“These days will be devoted to teachers having meetings with students and families who are either leaving or joining their classrooms,” King said.
“We will also spend time working with our families to carefully go over daily expectations and routines, as they are very different from past years due to all of the safety guidelines we are following.”
The regular schedule kicks in Thursday, Feb. 4, with Fridays continuing to be a distance learning day.
At the end of the first week back, King plans to review with staff how things went, with an eye on making any necessary adjustments before students return to class Feb. 8.
If the plan holds, grades 3-5 are scheduled to start a similar AM/PM hybrid Feb. 22.
Target dates for a return to in-person education at Coupeville Middle School (grades 6-8) and High School (9-12) are currently Mar. 8 and 15, respectively.
“There are many more details to come as we transition to in-person learning, so please watch for information coming from your schools and from the district,” King said.
“Please know that we will continue cautiously phasing in our students to in-person learning if we are able to continue to prove we can follow all safety guidelines and demonstrate ability to limit any transmission of COVID-19 in the school environment.”
