District’s administrative team developed a plan for school reopening
WOODLAND — The Board of Directors of Woodland Public Schools voted to return to school during the 2020-2021 in Stage 1 of the district’s reopening plan – Distance Learning for all students in grades K-12.
In early August, state leaders and the state Department of Health (DOH) announced a “decision tree” framework to guide school districts as they determine how to resume learning this fall. The framework emphasizes that community transmission must be low in order for schools to reopen safely for in-person learning.
Using the DOH’s “decision tree” framework and recommendations from the medical leaders of both Clark and Cowlitz County, the district’s administrative team developed a plan for school reopening as approved by the Board of Directors:
- School Reopening Stage 1: Woodland Public Schools will start this school year in Stage 1 as a result of caseloads in excess of 75 cases per 100,000 people in 14 days in the counties we serve.
- Students in all grades will take part in distance learning
- Limited in-person learning will be offered for at-risk students who need it most – such as children with disabilities – in groups no larger than four (4) students.
- School Reopening Stage 2: Stage 2 will take place once cases have dropped to 25–75 cases per 100,000 people in 14 days along with positive trends in additional metrics such as overall case count, hospitalizations, and test positivity rate.
- Grades K-4 will take part in a hybrid model with a portion of the day spent in school and a portion dedicated to at-home learning.
- Students in grades 5-12 will engage in distance learning with face-to-face support options for groups of up to five (5) students.
- At-risk learners such as those with disabilities will receive additional support.
- School Reopening Stage 3: Stage 3 will take place following multiple weeks of case counts below 25 per 100,000 residents in Cowlitz and Clark Counties; positive trends in additional metrics such as case count, hospitalizations, and test positivity rate; and the movement of both Clark and Cowlitz counties into unmodified Phase 3 of Reopening as determined by the state. The Board of Directors will then decide between:
- Option 3A: Students in grades K-3 in-person every day with a reduced schedule. Students in grades 4-12 in a hybrid, alternating-day schedule.
- Option 3B: Students in grades K-4 in-person every day with a reduced schedule. Students in grades 5-12 in a hybrid, alternating-day schedule.
- School Reopening Stage 4: The full and complete reopening of schools will occur in stage 4 based on the recommendations of Clark/Cowlitz County Health Department, the Governor’s Office, OSPI, and available local data.
“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our return to education this fall looks different than in the past,” said Superintendent Michael Green. “Health and safety must be the top priority for our students and staff in addition to providing a quality education for our students.”
Introducing Distance Learning 2.0
Many parents and community members have expressed concerns that the learning experienced this spring lacked structure and one-on-one lessons from our teaching staff. These concerns were also expressed by Woodland’s teachers.
Over the summer, Woodland Public Schools’ administrative team along with dedicated workgroups of teaching staff have revamped the district’s approach to distance learning, developing new approaches to learning at each grade level:
- Structured learning will be provided from each of our schools with live lessons taught at each grade level.
- Teachers will be available to help students as needed and guide students through their academic learning.
- The district’s grading model has also been returned to pre-pandemic grading with grades A-F provided in respective classes.
- Attendance will be required. Families whose children cannot attend live lessons during the school day due to scheduling conflicts from work or other responsibilities need to reach out to their school’s administrators to arrange for asynchronous learning (learning performed from recorded lessons).
Woodland Public Schools encourages parents, caretakers, students, and community members to stay updated with the most recent information which the district will provide on the Covid-19 / School Reopening Headquarters website at www.woodlandschools.org/covid-hq
Information provided by Woodland Public Schools.
