nicasio_school_reopening
Students at Nicasio School lunched together for the first time in more than six months on Tuesday, sitting six feet apart. Each of the school’s three mixed-grade classes has a dedicated outdoor space for instruction and recess. Teachers are excited.   David Briggs

Nicasio School reopened its classrooms to students on Tuesday, an important change for kids who have been distance learning since March. Families and staff are enthusiastic, as Nicasio joins Laguna and Lincoln Schools as the third school to open in West Marin under Covid-19 safety protocols: mandatory face coverings, physical distancing, coordinated pathways and routine sanitation. 

Reopening has been a goal for Nicasio since the beginning of the pandemic. “Everyone has worked hard to get to this point, and we are thrilled to have students back on campus,” principal Barbara Snekkevik said. “They are the heart and soul of this place, and it’s been hard to not have them here every day.” 

Nicasio is the largest of the three schools to reopen, but it still has just 33 students, which makes it easier to keep small groups from mixing with each other. Six kindergarteners, first graders and second graders will form one class; 15 third, fourth and fifth graders will form another, and 12 middle schoolers will form a third class. 

Each has one teacher and its own outdoor space for instruction and recess, so they will not interact with each other. On arrival, students will turn in a health screening questionnaire before heading directly to their classroom to wash their hands. All students above second grade are required to wear face coverings, while the younger students are highly encouraged to wear them. Students will avoid sharing materials, and staff will clean high-touch surfaces at least twice daily. 

Students are asked to bring a long beach towel with them to mark six feet of personal space when they are not at their desks. The towels allow for flexible seating during outside instruction or at lunch. 

The protocols were developed by a task force of administrators, teachers, aides and parents, certified in a site-specific protection plan, and tested by a handful of students who visited campus for targeted instruction this fall. Everything went smoothly, Ms. Snekkevik said. 

Melissa Joyce, who has children in third and eighth grades, said she had no hesitation about returning to campus after reviewing the plans. On Tuesday morning, the family woke up early, put on their masks, filled out their questionnaires, grabbed towels, packed their lunches and headed to campus. 

“We’re really happy to have something normal happening now, with everything else that is going on. They’ve been ready for this,” Ms. Joyce said. One aspect of school that couldn’t be replicated with distance learning was the social interaction, so her kids are excited to be around their friends and teachers again. 

Eight students are not returning just yet, and they will watch class live from their computers at home. Once a student does come back, the school is asking that the decision is final, to keep things consistent. Ms. Snekkevik is hopeful that everyone will return after seeing all of the protocols in place. 

Three other West Marin school districts remain in full distance learning mode but are now allowed to reopen. Marin has been in the state’s second tier, the red tier, for two weeks, meaning that the risk of Covid-19 is substantial but not widespread. 

Still, schools are taking a cautious approach to enacting their protection plans. The Bolinas-Stinson Union School District is waiting until at least Oct. 15, the Lagunitas School District is waiting until at least Nov. 1, and the Shoreline Unified School District, the largest district on the coast with over 500 students, has not set a date to return to campus.