By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
With coronavirus cases rising in Sitka, the School District will consider shifting to virtual learning this week, officials said at the School Board meeting Wednesday evening
District Superintendent John Holst told the Sentinel after the board meeting that the district expects to decide soon.
“We haven’t made a decision, but we will probably have that decision by (Friday) afternoon,” Holst said this morning. He noted that if the district does choose to shutter school buildings and shift to online education, that would take effect on Monday.
Six new positive virus results were posted Monday and Tuesday and both the community and Sitka school district moved their risk levels to red (high).
The superintendent stressed that the choice will center on keeping students and staff safe.
“We’re going to make a very careful decision here, because this is a big deal. It’s important for us to keep our students and staff safe, but when the school closes that has impacts on the whole community… We’re going to make the decision based on whether we can operate safely or not,” he said.
Holst added that the rise in cases over the past week has caused concern, and noted that the district sent students home with their electronic devices this week in case education moves online.
“Everybody’s got their equipment and their books that they need to have for virtual instruction,” he said.
Holst said Sitka schools so far have proven to be a safe environment amid the pandemic. He said that, at most, there has been only one case of virus transmission at school.
Holst said the district also is evaluating how virus cases are tallied. Among other changes from previous counting methods, he said, virus cases will now be counted from the date when the infected person was tested instead of the date the positive test was reported.
Board member Andrew Hames expressed confidence in Holst in a later interview.
“We are following the lead of Mr. Holst, who is working in conjunction with public health officials,” Hames said.
He added that any decision to shift to online learning will be tough.
“We all want to see continued in-class learning for our students and teachers, and if a decision is made to close down and go primarily online, it is a decision that won’t be made lightly. I feel that the district has made great efforts to mitigate virus transmission while also preparing for undesirable scenarios,” Hames told the Sentinel.
Board president Amy Morrison echoed Hames’ support for Holst.
She said the superintendent “is working closely with the school administration and public health officials to make the best decision for the safety of our students and staff.”
Also at the board meeting, Sitka High School Activities Director Rich Krupa said the upcoming Region V volleyball tournament was postponed, as was the wrestling season.
The Sitka High Lady Wolves’ volleyball squad is undefeated so far this season.
“It’s just a shame for this group… They are currently undefeated. We were supposed to have the region tournament this weekend, Thursday and Friday, but since we’re in red and Edgecumbe is in orange (moderate), we decided to postpone it. Hopefully, we will get it done by November 21,” Krupa told the board. The Alaska School Activities Association has stated that activities after November 21 must be postponed due to virus risk.
Jule LeBlanc also informed the board that the Sitka Native Education Program will shift to remote instruction.
“Fortunately, we were able to offer in-person programming for the last five or six weeks ago,” LeBlanc said. SNEP participants learned about Tlingit language and song and dance, she said.
She hopes for a resumption of face-to-face activities in the future.
“We have, today, decided to go remote for the rest of the session… I look forward to a year when we can do more normal interactions and partnerships together,” LeBlanc said.
The board also discussed a number of policies on travel protocols, school gardens, and pupil-teacher ratios. The board tabled a discussion on dropout prevention. Tristan Guevin, speaking for Sitka Tribe of Alaska, told the board that STA will submit a comment on dropout prevention in the coming days.
The board meets again on December 2.
