Three Rivers plans for grades K-3 to attend in-person classes

The Three Rivers School District announced its back-to-school plan on Wednesday, which includes an online-only start to the year for grades 4-12.

Sparks.

Newswatch 12's ana orsini spoke with their superintendent about hoq revised metrics have effected back to school plans recently revised metrics for school reopenings have changed the three rivers school districts back to school plans.

Now some students will be going back to school while others will be learning entirely online.

Joining us right now is dave allen.

Suela the superintendent for the three rivers school district.

Dave, thanks for being with us this afternoon.

Absolutely.

Thank you for having me.

So the first question that i have for you is with these metrics, the revised metrics released this week, how has that changed your plans for this upcoming school year?

Well, what we're advisor metrics did for us is actually solidify what we understood was coming from the state and, uh, it put us into a situation where we were in.

We knew we were going to be offering a distance learning at home.

So grades four through 12 across the district.

Um, and it also allowed for us to offer k through three onsite instruction across the district as well.

Um, so the changing metrics just solidify the, uh, our ability to plan and then start communicating that to parents.

So initially, were you guys planning to have a hybrid model this fall?

Absolutely.

We've been planning all summer to, uh, i have a hybrid model for grades six through 12, and we were going to push for onsite full time instruction in our grades k through five.

And we've been working on those blueprints all summer.

Like i said, working with our local health departments and we still have those blueprints in place for when the metrics allow us to return to that model of instruction.

So, has there been a lot of, kind of catching up and touch and go now, because school does start sometime soon and you kind of have to revise these plans and scale it back and only have a certain number of students coming in this semester.

Absolutely.

It was important to us to be able to let our parents know at least a month in advance.

So that's why we made the announcement on monday.

What we were going to do so they could plan.

And there's a lot of things that parents need to plan for.

Um, especially for grades four through 12, when their students are going to be learning at home.

And so we wanted to get that out and it's been difficult.

Um, the plans, the guidance, the regulations have been changing on a weekly, sometimes multiple times a week basis.

And that's been difficult for us to plan, uh, difficult for parents.

Uh, to understand this is confusing and complex as it is, and for it to change all the time has been difficult.

So we're hopeful that now that we have this last update to the guidance that the state has released, that our plans are solid and they're not going to be changed on us.

Now, your district information does mention a kind of staggered starts specifically for kindergarten through third grade.

What does that mean?

And how long will that apply for.

Sure.

Um, we are having a stagger for, and what that means is, um, we're going to bring all of our students in k through three, back to school at some point.

And for the first two weeks, what we want to do is bring half the students onto campus, um, at a time.

So one day you would have half your kindergarten class.

There is with the smaller numbers.

Our teachers are going to be able to.

Uh, show students how to safely get off the bus and come to the classroom, how to move around in the classroom, how to eat lunch, how to go to the playground, all those different things.

It's different than ever before.

Uh, and we have a mask requirement too.

And so trying to teach students, what, what does that mean?

How do i have to keep my mask on at the table?

There's just a lot of training that goes on.

And so for the first two weeks, we went to stagger those, those students with half every other day.

Uh, to lower the numbers so that instruction can be solid cause safety for our students and staff is paramount.

And that's what we're really striving to have the safest environment possible.

The chief finance operations with the grants pass school district says school grants pass with the operations finance the chief environment possible.

The safest really striving to have and that's what we're is paramount.

Our students and staff solid cause safety for instruction can be numbers so that uh, to lower the half every other day.

Those students with half every other