The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education approved the district’s Smart Start 2020 plan to launch the 2020-2021 school year in August. They also officially changed the first day of school for students to Monday, August 24.
Preparations for the reopening of schools in August has been ongoing for two months. Twenty members of the district’s Smart Start Work Group designed the plan to address how K-12 education and activities in district schools will take place. Decisions will be made based on low (green), medium (yellow), or high (red) risk COVID-19 community transmission scenarios. The plan will continue to be revised as medical information, science, and the pandemic situation evolves throughout the 2020-21 school year.
Pegge Erkeneff of the KPBSD offered details: “We did hear loud-and-clear that parents want students in class; that came from our survey. So, we’re working to put that into place in a safe way, but we will have parent-choice. The second thing is a chance in the first day of school. That will be voting on, moving it to Monday, August 24.”
She also said that a huge part of the district’s proposal is parental choice: “So, we know that some families want their children in-school. Other families might need a remote-learning option through their neighborhood school, and that would be completely different than home schooling. So, there will be parent-choice. That’s a really important element of the plan we’ve designed.”
The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development requires all school districts to submit their plan by July 31. The plan to be submitted by the KBPSD will be the Smart Start plan passed on Monday, July 13. The plan can be viewed online.
The district recommended changing the first day of school for students to provide four additional in-service workdays for staff. COVID-19 brings a significant number of extra health and safety measures, instructional options for parents and guardians, school routine shifts, schedules, and operational procedures.
