14 MHCE
14 MHCE News SEPTEMBER 2020 EDITION WWW.MHCE.US
15 MHCE News SEPTEMBER 2020 EDITION B.P. Schools Adopt Hybrid Plan for Reopening in Sept. by Kurt Nesbitt Students in Belle Plaine Public Schools will attend classes in person and online this coming school year, now that the district school board has adopted the plan presented online to the public earlier this week. Groups of middle and high school students, who are not already in full-time distance learning, will be following an AABBC schedule. The A group would go to school on Mondays and Tuesdays while the B group is synchronously logged onto their devices at home. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, the schedules are flipped with the B group in class at school and the A group learning online synchronously at home. Classes on Fridays (represented by C in the AABBC schedule) will take place entirely online. Students in kindergarten through sixth grade, who are not in full-time distance learning, will attend classes in school five days a week. Elementary students will be spaced out and divided according to the requirements of a hybrid model. The plan also outlines cleaning procedures and provides for Personal Protective Equipment for the district. The vote comes as school districts across the state are making similar decisions about how and when their schools will reopen, as the traditional start to the school year is about two weeks away. Districts largely closed their buildings and moved classes online and used distance learning platforms after the pandemic was declared this past spring. The Belle Plaine School Board adopted the plan 6-0 without discussion during its regular meeting Monday night, Aug. 24. Essentially, the plan is the ‘Safe Learning Plan’ recommended by the State Departments of Health and of Education and issued by Gov. Tim Walz in late July. The vote followed months of discussion between parents, principals, teachers, and district officials beginning in July, before Walz announced the guidelines. Superintendent Ryan Laager unveiled Belle Plaine Public Schools’ plan in an online video released August 18. In that video, Laager gave viewers a tour of the plan using a PowerPoint presentation, showing the plan’s key components. For example, there will be 192 gallons of hand sanitizer available and two spray bottles for every classroom. Masks are available for students and face shields are available for teachers. The district will receive regular reports from Scott County and the state every Friday, and Laager and staff will meet every Friday morning throughout the school year to review the twoweek case count from the county. The equation Governor Walz announced in July will direct which learning model Belle Plaine Schools use. Information released by the district shows 123 elementary students already use distance learning full-time. At the secondary level, 102 students use it full-time. When combined with the rotating groups, full-time distance learning helps keep classrooms socially distanced.
