Schools have been allowed to reopen for in-person instruction for three weeks now, yet most West Marin students remain at home, learning online.
Parents say that virtual instruction is impacting their children’s mental health, and teachers agree that it is not ideal. But tasks must be completed before classrooms can open, and administrators are taking a cautious approach. Site protection plans must be created, testing organized and facilities upgraded. Not all families are on board, but districts are moving forward without consensus and offering students the option to stay home.
Three small schools comprising around 60 students have returned to campus, while over 800 students remain in virtual learning mode at West Marin’s larger districts, Lagunitas, Bolinas-Stinson and Shoreline. Each of these has its own methods, community sentiments and hurdles to reopening.
Planning has been underway since June, after last school year limped over the finish line. The Marin County Office of Education released a list of 30 protection plan guidelines, including mandatory face masks for third grade and up, daily symptom checks, physical distancing and no shared materials.
Schools convened task forces to adapt the guidelines to campuses, ordered personal protective equipment and made upgrades like hands-free sinks. But in July, the California Department of Public Health kept schools closed based on Marin’s case rates. Planning pivoted to robust distance learning, better than the slapdash offering in the spring.
Poor internet and faulty devices continue to plague students and teachers, however. “I feel like our internet is haunted or something like that. There is no rhyme or reason for why it works and why it doesn’t work,” said Michelle Stephens, the principal of the Bolinas-Stinson Union School District.
Connectivity issues and computer glitches have resulted in absentee rates above 5 percent on the coast, far below acceptable in a normal school year. Hours spent in front of a computer are not as productive as time spent in the classroom, and some students are not attending at all. Distance learning exacerbates inequities, as those living in crowded homes or with working parents have a harder time.
Marin’s 30 guidelines still stand, and public health officer Dr. Matt Willis is restating his push for in-person schooling based on the notion that public health is not merely the absence of disease. “We do support and encourage reopening, recognizing there has been significant harm associated with the distance learning approach,” he said last week.
Countywide, 5,000 of 40,000 students have returned, and four students and one employee have tested positive for Covid-19. There has been one instance of student-to-student transmission, resulting in a closed cohort. Cases are expected in schools, Dr. Willis said, so success shouldn’t be gauged by the absence of the coronavirus. Instead, it’s a matter of preventing and managing outbreaks.
Not everyone is convinced that returning is the right decision. Anita Collison, the president of the teachers’ union at Lagunitas School, said rushing back is unsafe, especially with holiday gatherings on the horizon. And instructing both virtually and in-person is difficult for teachers.
“If we have to slow down a little bit, it’s going to be okay. We’re talking about a few months,” she said.
Jenelle Ferhart, a parent and the new teacher of fourth and fifth grade in the school’s Open Classroom program, said distance learning has been horrible in both of her roles. But she said people need to feel comfortable coming back, and the risk is still too high.
“I cannot imagine the community, that if anyone did die from this, what impact that would have,” she said. “Of course I want to come back, but I want to come back in the safest way possible.”
In a survey of Lagunitas parents, just over half said their students would return to campus with health and safety precautions, while the other half was unsure or would not send kids back this year. The survey showed two opinions: Some parents appreciated distance learning, while others begged for regular instruction. Many wanted an option for both, and for learning to take place outdoors.
The school board will make the ultimate decision, and at last week’s meeting, several parents pleaded with trustees to move forward and meet their children’s social and emotional needs.
“This has been extremely challenging for my child, pretty awful at times,” Celina De Leon said. “We are trying to make the best of it, but it’s really hard.”
Wendy Heneghan, another parent, said, “Our kids are really suffering. I feel like we’ve left an indelible mark on them, and we need to quickly limit the damage we’ve done.”
Other parents brought up that distance learning was a social justice issue, because working parents and Spanish-speaking families struggle more.
Trustees were receptive to the concerns but said more planning was needed. John Carroll, the superintendent of Lagunitas and Bolinas-Stinson, said a task force will bring a recommendation for reopening to the board as soon as next week. He couldn’t say whether the target date would fall in January or earlier.
At Bolinas-Stinson there is a similar divide in opinion, but the school is closer to reopening. Trustees approved a plan on Tuesday that brings students back in phases, starting with the youngest grades on Nov. 2 and ending with the oldest students on Nov. 16. Mr. Carroll said they are moving faster because their internet challenges are more intense: Over half of Bolinas households do not have an adequate connection.
Already, 14 students have been attending an outdoor learning hub in the courtyard at Bolinas School, and Ms. Stephens said the pilot program has had great success. Students know to go to the hand-washing station right away, and they adhere to mask rules.
Catherine Hawes, the district’s chief business officer, has been busy with facility upgrades. She purchased foggers, which can mist classrooms, busses and the playground with naturally drying droplets of diluted bleach, and parasols, to shade outdoor learning areas. HEPA filters were installed in the buildings, and all of the water fountains, sinks and paper towel dispensers are now hands-free.
The school’s online health screening process is up-and-running, and personal protective equipment is stocked. Last week, a testing company was on site to test about 70 community members; the company will return each month.
The district set aside $225,000 at the beginning of the pandemic and has spent $110,000, including on a temporary custodian. The federal government is reimbursing the district with $116,000 from the CARES Act, so the fiscal situation is strong.
The Shoreline Unified School District, by far the largest in West Marin with 514 students, has the added complexity of a high school, where teachers specialize in subjects and students typically travel from class to class. The last survey of families was in July, so the district doesn’t have a perfect sense about how families are feeling, but about 80 percent at that time indicated they would return when allowed. The district is relying on its family advocates to get a sense of how parents are feeling.
Superintendent Bob Raines said the district is watching what’s going on at other districts before naming a reopening date, and the task force has three weeks’ worth of work before its next check-in with the board.
Before reopening, the task force will plan a phased return, conduct walk-throughs with staff, host a town hall for families and organize testing in Tomales and Point Reyes Station. Bodega Bay Elementary is in Sonoma County, so the district will seek a waiver to reopen the school at the same time as its counterparts.