School district leaders in Clallam County preparing various modified plans to open buildings to students for the start of the 2020-2021 school year saw their plans rendered moot in recent days.

Sequim schools superintendent Dr. Rob Clark said Monday that Sequim schools along with other public school districts across the Olympic Peninsula will – with few exceptions – begin remotely for all students, after superintendents discussed the recent outbreak in positive COVID-19 cases in Clallam County with county health officer Allison Unthank.

“We have made the decision to — all of the school districts in Clallam County — will be going 100 percent remote,” Clark said, with the exception of a small group of students (less than 10, he said) who may need specific equipment that only the district provides.

“(It was) not a decision we made lightly,” Clark said at Monday’s Sequim School Board meeting.

As of Monday, Aug. 17, Clallam County had a coronavirus case rate of 81 per 100,000. Clark said that, by heath guideline, any number higher than 75 would severely restrict in-person student attendance.

“It was heartbreaking for the four of us (superintendents),” Clark said. “We wanted to see kids in our schools but we had an obligation to department of health guidelines.”

Clallam County will need a drop in coronavirus cases to a rate below 75 per 100,000 for four consecutive weeks (28 days) before bringing any students back to school campuses, Clark said.

School district leaders who do not follow health official guidelines, he said, could put their schools in “a place of great liability.”

Sequim school leaders had been preparing to open the school year with a limited opening of about 25 students per building, opening only to special needs students, students with individual education plans (IEPs) and to Olympic Peninsula Academy students one day per week.

Instead, those plans are on hold until a drop in new coronavirus cases.

“I know there’s been a lot of work and effort going on in the last several months … between staff and leadership,” Sequim School Board president Brandino Gibson said.

Clark said he and other administrators were already anticipating a spike in COVID-19 cases with a Labor Day weekend immediately preceding the school opening. Instead, the spike came two weeks earlier than anticipated.

“This may be a blessing in disguise,” Clark said.

“We are going to dedicate our time and resources to doing the best we can offering remote learning,” he said.

The change in plans will not change the start of the school year, the Sequim superintendent noted.

“School still starts on (Sept. 2); this does not change the start date of school,” Clark said.

“I long for the day that we are … educating students in a face-to-face environment.”

Remote learning schedules, under one umbrella

Sequim administrators and staff are preparing documents that detail a daily and weekly subject schedule for both elementary and secondary grade levels, with assignments to be posted daily by 8 a.m.

The plans are being constructed in such a way that Sequim families with students at multiple grade levels won’t have scheduling conflicts with their remote learning resources.

“We heard very loud and clear from parents (that we) need to align when students are learning throughout the the day,” Clark said.

Maughan said the district is preparing a large document for parents to help them prep for how students will learn and how to use remote learning resources; that document should be posted soon under a new “remote learning” tab on the district website at sequimschools.org.

Though grading systems were significantly modified at the end of last school year, Maughan said the district will return to a standard grading (A,B, C, D and F) system unless guidance is provided by state officials.

Teachers are expected to be back in classrooms with some exceptions for health concerns, Clark said.

A significant change for teachers and students this year, Maughan said will be moving all K-12 students to a single management system: Canvas. That move was key, she said to help a district with 2,800 students and hunderds of staff being supported by three information technology (IT) staffers.

“Canvas was a great way to bring everyone and everything rather quickly,” Maughan said.

Technology curve

Clark said he has heard from a number of parents and staff that Sequim schools struggled in providing education remotely at the end of the last school year and that staff is hard at work making it a better learning environment in 2020-2021.’

“Sequim School district has got to catch up in technology; we’ve to to figure out how to get it done,” Clark said.

In a document prepared for the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Sequim school administrators note that between 71-80 percent of Sequim students have adequate technology and connectivity to learn remotely during the 2020–21 school year.

“We should be higher on the technological curve than we are,” Clark said.

Part of the problem, Maughan said, is families who cannot afford internet service.

But a number of Sequim families live in areas remote enough, such as Blue Mountain and Diamond Point, that even “hot spot” devices don’t help, Maughan said.

“That’s a bigger concern,” she said. “I can’t even get (them) service; it’s just not there.”

Maughan said she’s working with representatives from the City of Sequim and Clallam County Public Utility District (PUD) to help those families.

Maughan said Sequim staff are distributing a number of refurbished laptops that were donated to the district; there are about 15 families dealing with a dearth of technology equipment, she said.

Student board rep picked

Sequim High School junior-to-be Alisa Bibaj was selected by school board members as the junior class board representative for the 2020-2021 school year.

“We had four candidates that were very strong candidates,” Pickens said. “I’m glad there were so many (students) willing to step up into the role.”

Bibaj joins senior Olivia Preston in a non-voting advisory position on the school board.

“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to represent my class, the junior class, this year,” she said. “I’m really excited for this position.”

Computers in surplus

Board directors agreed to surplus more than 1,100 items – about 440 of those desktop or laptop computers – on Monday evening.

Clark said the computers were purchased nine or 10 years ago from the Issaquah School District.

Maughan said the computers cost Sequim about $25 each.

“They essentially ran their lifespan,” Clark said.