The chairman of the Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25 Board of Trustees said he’s optimistic students will be allowed to return to a more traditional class schedule when the third trimester starts on March 1.
Elementary-aged students in District 25 have had a modified traditional schedule throughout the school year, allowing them to attend classes in person every Monday through Friday but with safeguards in place to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
However, secondary students — those in grades six through 12 — have participated in a hybrid schedule with groups alternating between in-person and remote learning to keep class sizes down.
Board Chairman Dave Mattson said he’s eager to hear from district administrators, representatives of teachers and staff and others when the district makes its decision about adjusting the schedule, likely at the Feb. 16 meeting. But he acknowledged he’d bank on secondary students returning to a modified traditional schedule if he had to place a bet.
“It probably looks pretty good we’re going back on March 1,” Mattson said.
Mattson noted that the district’s COVID-19 cases have been declining lately. As of the district’s Jan. 29 update, there were seven active cases among district students and six active cases among staff.
By the time the third trimester starts, Mattson said district staff will all have had the opportunity to receive both rounds of the vaccine.
“I do believe the kids are fairly safe at school and have been,” Mattson said, adding that the availability the vaccine should also alleviate concerns among staff, who are at a greater risk with COVID-19.
Mattson believes students receive a better education when they attend classes in person.
“The kids do better in front of the teachers, and the teachers do better in front of the kids,” he said.
A group of parents who oppose the district’s hybrid schedule and handling of the COVID-19 situation gathered enough voter signatures to force a March 9 recall election for Mattson and fellow trustees Janie Gebhardt and Jackie Cranor. Mattson said the pressure of the recall effort hasn’t affected his decision making whatsoever.
“That’s not why we make our decisions. It’s always been about the safety and education of the kids,” Mattson said about his volunteer, time-intensive position. “I do it because it’s a hard job and nobody wants to do it.”
Gebhardt is still uncertain how she’ll vote on resuming a five-day schedule. She said she’ll wait to hear from the relevant parties.
“The data changes all the time,” Gebhardt said.
The feedback Gebhardt has received from students has mostly been in favor of retaining the current hybrid schedules for the remainder of the school year. She said parents have weighed in more in favor of resuming a full schedule of in-person classes.
Gebhardt said some schools in Northern Idaho have resumed normal schedules, but they’ve also seen increases in coronavirus cases. She acknowledges having teachers vaccinated will be an important factor, but she stressed that the vaccine isn’t foolproof and people should still wear face masks after they receive it.
“Having lost some elderly folks from the church where I’m working, it’s hard,” Gebhardt said. “Those families are devastated.”
Mary Anne McGrory, president of the Pocatello Education Association, has sent a survey out to secondary school union members to ascertain their schedule preferences. Thus far, the results have come back evenly split between keeping the current hybrid schedule and shifting to a modified traditional schedule, she said.
“We of course want to err on the side of caution in every case we can,” McGrory said. “We don’t want to see any students contract COVID. We also don’t want any of our staff to contract COVID.”
McGrory said the union will also weigh input from public health officials.
Southeastern Idaho Public Health Director Maggie Mann said regional case counts have been declining.
“My biggest concern would be new variants that are really throwing a wrench in the works in that we’re not really sure what that means yet,” Mann said.
She also emphasized that supplies of the vaccine are limited and the public should remain patient.
Nonetheless, Mann acknowledged teachers are getting vaccinated in large numbers and “we have some pieces in place that would make that a reasonable option.”
Administrators with the Pocatello Community Charter School have already announced their plans to resume five-day, in-person instruction effective March 8.
“Due to drastically reduced numbers of active cases in Bannock County and surrounding counties, availability of vaccine for educators and because of new contact tracing data showing limited spread in schools, Southeastern Idaho Public Health is now recommending full face-to-face instruction as long as active cases remain low, staff gets immunized and mitigation strategies like masking, distancing and disinfecting remain in place,” PCCS Principal Michael Mendive announced in an email to parents.
Mendive assured parents that the stay-home option will remain in place for students whose families still aren’t comfortable with in-person instruction.