TEMPE, Ariz. — While we’re in the middle of summer vacation, school districts are working on what next school year will look like during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
Kyrene School District in the East Valley, which has more than 17,000 students, has released its plans.
The district has proposed changes to adjust the school calendar and start and end times of the school day. However, those have not yet been approved by the board.
Currently, three options for what school will look like though are now available for parents to review and choose one for their child.
“It’s not one size fits all,” Erin Helm, Director of Communications for Kyrene School District said.
The three options include an in-person model, a flexible model and a completely online model.
The in-person model would basically look like going to school where classes, or cohorts, will stay together all day everyday.
In the flexible model, students can start either in person or online and switch later if they choose too.
The completely online model will be run through the new Kyrene Digital Academy with online and live instruction from Kyrene teachers.
Read more details on the options here.
The district is asking parents to make a decision by July 3 so they can staff the different options appropriately.
As for how Kyrene will handle if someone tests positive for COVID-19, Helm said they’re waiting on guidance from the Maricopa County Health Department.
Helm says more decisions still need to be made about what school will look like on campus.
“Our school leaders have to address everything from hallway traffic, bathroom use, what happens during a fire drill, those kinds of things we have to get down into the nitty gritty to address,” Helm said.
Kyrene parent Nicole Frenchman says she’s planning on enrolling her son and daughter in the flexible model.
“I just feel the safest option for my kids is for them to just kind of distance learn at home for now until I see things are getting better,” Frenchman said.
Monica Gellman’s son, Alex, is headed into 6th grade in Kyrene School District. She says she’s still deciding what option she’ll choose for him.
“It’s really hard to make these choices now when the rest of life is so uncertain,” Gellman said.
Alex is on the autism spectrum and is high functioning, but Gellman said his goals are related to social interaction.
“I want to be able to put him into school, where he can get those social needs met. On the other hand, you’re taking a lot of risk,” Gellman said.