Given the increasing spread of new cases of COVID-19 in Alaska, Governor Mike Dunleavy announced on April 9 that schools will remain closed to students through the end of the school year. No classes will take place inside school buildings until the start of the 2020/21 school year.
This closure of schools to students has led to confusion about whether distance learning is still taking place, and what this means for families and students for the remainder of the school year.
Pegge Erkeneff, Director of Communications for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, advises families to not put away their learning materials quite yet: “We did hear that the school buildings will be closed to students until the end of the school year; we anticipated that might be happening, but it was formally announced. So, that doesn’t mean school is cancelled here. That doesn’t mean that school isn’t happening. It means that the remote learning that started March 30 will continue through the end of the school year.”
She also wants any parents who feel that their needs are not being met to reach out to their local school for help: “Some parents really do need some extra support, and if somebody doesn’t have what they need for their children, please reach out to the school teachers, the school secretary, or school principal so we can work with everybody – whether it’s that they need some packets for learning or now they’re ready to leap-in and say ‘OK, I’m ready to do this, what can we do,’ but we don’t want anybody dropping off of the grid. We want to keep reaching out from the school side, but we encourage parents and guardians to reach out to the schools if they don’t have what they need.”
Current High School Seniors and their families have also expressed a great deal of concern about how their graduation ceremonies and celebrations will take place. Ms. Erkeneff says that the district is working to sort that out: “I want everybody to know that we are working closely with principals. They are talking about graduations. Parents have been reaching out all weekend and giving ideas that come to me through the Facebook page, and I’ve invited parents to share their ideas with school secretaries, with their teachers in the schools, and the principals, as we determine what we can do within the Mandate, but that we really want to celebrate the achievements of all of our kids – especially our graduating class this year. So, we’ll know more in the next week, probably two weeks. That is bring brainstormed to make that special.”
Schools are scheduled to hold their last day of classes during the week of May 18.