By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org
Back-to-school is definitely on the minds of many as parents and students took the hot Sunday to shop for school clothes and other supplies at Tanger Outlet Mall. Just how school will start is on the minds of school officials and local leaders as many districts have had their plans approved or will present their back-to-school plans to their boards tonight.
At Monday’s Government Matters meeting, hosted by the Wyoming Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce, Godfrey-Lee Superintendent Kevin Polston discussed what his district and others are looking at for the fall. For most districts in Kent County, school is set to start Aug. 24.
“There is a lot of energy and a lot of angst in the community from staff and families alike as we prepare for school,” Polston said.
Polston, who was on the state’s Return to Learn Advisory Council and chaired the Kent ISD Futures Committee which designed a plan for returning to school this fall, said that in Wyoming and Kentwood, three districts, Wyoming Public Schools, Kentwood Public Schools, and Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, have opted to start with two weeks of remote learning and then move to in-person instruction on Sept. 8. According to Polston, Godwin Heights plans to go three weeks with online instruction and Kelloggsville Public Schools will start in-person instruction on Aug. 24. All districts will be offering a remote option for learning this year if the student or family does not feel comfortable in returning to the classroom, Polston said.
“What that will allow districts to do is make sure that we are prepared and ready for students being in-person,” he said of the two weeks online instruction. Speaking for his own district, Godfrey-Lee, Polston said staff plans to use those two weeks to make sure that safety protocols are in place before students return to the classrooms.
Many school leaders have had to consider a number of factors when considering how their specific school will open.
Only students in K-5 have the option of wearing masks in the classrooms. Students in 6-12 are required to wear masks in the classroom and all K-12 students and staff must wear masks in common areas. Students are allowed to take masks off when outside and while eating with Polston noting that staff are looking at other creative ways to give students a break from wearing masks.
In dealing with a student or staff member who has tested positive for COVID-19, districts are being directed to follow the Kent County Health Department guidelines.
Polston said the number one question he has been asked is if Governor Gretchen Whitmer will move the state back to Phase 3, which would force all schools into remote learning.
“I have frequent conversations with the governor’s office and at this point that is not something that the governor has been considering because our numbers have plateaued and our numbers are too different across the state to use a blanket approach,” he said.
One thing districts have always wanted is more control and through the COVID-19 plans, that is exactly what has happened with each school board able to make decisions unique to its district’s situation. That also has created a variety of plans from those like Grand Rapids Public Schools that will have only remote learning for the first nine weeks to others like Kelloggsville that will plan to have in-person learning, Polston said.
Polston said his own district has been working with teachers on returning to the classrooms along with marrying requests of those who feel they are at high-risk or live with someone who is high-risk and want to teach remotely with students who have chosen to take remote learning.
Of course each day changes and therefore plans have to be flexible for those changes, Polston said. An example was that many football teams in the county have started practice today but announcements that both the PAC-10 and the Big Ten are planning to cancel the 2020 fall season could impact high school sports, he said.
“We can’t afford anymore learning loss,” said Polston about the importance of getting schools open, “and we must prepare our students for the workforce development we need for our economy and the students need for their own independence.”
Districts are moving forward with remote learning despite the fact that the state needs to approve these measures. Also how districts will be paying for the extra COVID-19 safetu measures and online instruction along with the anticipated budget shortfalls for 2020-2021 are issues schools and the state will need to look at in the future.
Polston did express gratitude to the Kent County Commission which is working on releasing $2 million from its share of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) to all Kent County schools — both public and private — to help with safety measures. Polston said that is about $16 per student in Kent County. For Godfrey-Lee, this is an addition $29,500 dollars that school officials are hoping to use toward expanding its nursing program from two days to three days a week.
