County schools prepare for students as COVID cases rise
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As students were released from school in May and June the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to be looking up. Vaccinations had been made available and infection numbers had plummeted.
A mere month ago, educators were incredibly hopeful that this school year might look much closer to normal than the last; however, in a matter of weeks a surge of the Delta virus variant has caused a flood of new infections, prompting parents to write the Valley Journal and ask: what will the new school year look like for my child amid the surge?
As far as masks for this school year, they are currently optional in Polson, Ronan, St. Ignatius and Charlo districts. In the Arlee School District, masks are recommended. At Two Eagle River School, in Pablo, masks are required for everyone in the building.
Lake County Superintendent of Schools Carolyn Hall said each parent can find a copy of their school district’s individual reopening plan on the school website. The state required that the reopening plans be posted by the end of July.
“As for next year, we are all hoping for a normal, in-person, healthy school year. Though none of us can foretell the future, we are all planning to use what we’ve learned about sanitation and disinfection, flexibility and resources, and plan to go forward with a regular school year,” Hall said.
Each individual school board is tasked with governing their individual district, Hall said. “The trustees of each school district, along with the school administration have discussed, written, and approved a plan for next year, which is available for the public to see,” Hall said. “The plans address critical areas that the districts will respond to with all the grace and planning and fortitude called for in the coming year. We don’t know what’s coming, but we will do our best to keep what’s important, students, first, in all our decisions.”
She continued: “The Montana Legislature confirmed that local school boards will have the final authority as to how each school district will operate; therefore, if we find ourselves battling COVID once again, the trustees partnering with the school administration will use any and all available information to make informed decisions to keep our schools open and our students, staff, and community as healthy as possible.”
The virus seemed to drive an uptick in homeschooling last year, Hall said. There were around 19 new homeschooling additions in the 2019-2020 school year and 129 in the 2020-2021 school year.
“Many moved into homeschooling because of health concerns and the status of the schools,” Hall said. “From calls and inquiries my office received, some families struggled to provide an educational program and resources for their students, since Montana law does not provide any support for homeschooling.”
“Other families have reported that they enjoyed their homeschooling year,” she said. “Regardless of the results or reasons for homeschooling, our public schools are always ready and willing to work with our homeschool families to transition back into brick and mortar attendance.”
Hall did have advice for families. “My advice would be that families approach the coming school year anticipating the best and a willingness to walk through whatever we face in partnership with our schools,” Hall said.
She addended, “Lake County is blessed to have hardworking, caring school personnel in all the school districts, who truly are there for the students. What’s best for the students is at the heart of hundreds of decisions, and I hope we can maintain positive relationships through these uncharted times, and come out stronger because we weathered it together.”
Local health officials also have advice for parents. St. Luke Community Hospital, in Ronan, reports that case counts locally are 10 times higher than a month ago, with hospitalizations and emergency room visits also trending upward.
“The precautions that were implemented last year were largely successful at mitigating the spread of COVID-19 within the school systems. The new Delta variant that we are seeing is unfortunately much more transmissible and, therefore, precautions such as masking, distancing, and alternative avenues for learning are even more important to consider,” St. Luke Community Healthcare’s Incident Command Team said in a statement.
“The good news is that, while the vaccine may not provide 100 percent protection against ever contracting COVID, it does effectively prevent severe illness and long-term complications caused by the virus,” the statement continued. “Those who have been vaccinated are not requiring the same level of intensive care and treatment as those who are unvaccinated. The best thing that parents can do to support their children’s health as they return to school is to get vaccinated themselves, if they haven’t done so already. They can also assist their children who are 12 and older in getting their vaccine, too.”
St. Luke Community Hospital can be reached at 406-528-5331 for Moderna vaccines. Pfizer vaccines are available to those 12 and older at two locations: Tribal Health, call 406-745-3525, or Walgreens, call 406-300-6042. Vaccines are free.
Parents can help by talking with children about the importance of social distancing, hand washing and masking, the response team noted. “These measures can help preserve an in-person learning environment. It also helps decrease the potential for whole classrooms or grade levels from having to quarantine due to exposure, which in turn decreases the burden on parents who may rely on in-person schooling to be able to go to work and support their family. Take time to visit with your child about the importance of these daily precautionary measures. Consider sending a small personal bottle of hand sanitizer with them, and make sure they always have a backup mask in their bag.”
The response team said these small steps can make a big positive difference for the outcome of the school year. “Most children are excited to get back to in-person schooling,” the response team stated. “We, as a community, can reduce disruptions to their school year by encouraging these best practices from day one. We trust that the school district will continue to do their part by constantly re-evaluating how to best care for the students’ education and wellbeing for a safe school year.”
we find ourselves battling COVID once again, the trustees partnering with the school administration will use any and all available information to make informed decisions to keep our schools open and our students, staff, and community as healthy as possible.”
The virus seemed to drive an uptick in homeschooling last year, Hall said. There were around 19 new homeschooling additions in the 2019-2020 school year and 129 in the 2020-2021 school year.
“Many moved into homeschooling because of health concerns and the status of the schools,” Hall said. “From calls and inquiries my office received, some families struggled to provide an educational program and resources for their students, since Montana law does not provide any support for homeschooling.”
“Other families have reported that they enjoyed their homeschooling year,” she said. “Regardless of the results or reasons for homeschooling, our public schools are always ready and willing to work with our homeschool families to transition back into brick and mortar attendance.”
Hall did have advice for families. “My advice would be that families approach the coming school year anticipating the best and a willingness to walk through whatever we face in partnership with our schools,” Hall said.
She addended, “Lake County is blessed to have hardworking, caring school personnel in all the school districts, who truly are there for the students. What’s best for the students is at the heart of hundreds of decisions, and I hope we can maintain positive relationships through these uncharted times, and come out stronger because we weathered it together.”
Local health officials also have advice for parents. St. Luke Community Hospital, in Ronan, reports that case counts locally are 10 times higher than a month ago, with hospitalizations and emergency room visits also trending upward.
“The precautions that were implemented last year were largely successful at mitigating the spread of COVID-19 within the school systems. The new Delta variant that we are seeing is unfortunately much more transmissible and, therefore, precautions such as masking, distancing, and alternative avenues for learning are even more important to consider,” St. Luke Community Healthcare’s Incident Command Team said in a statement.
“The good news is that, while the vaccine may not provide 100 percent protection against ever contracting COVID, it does effectively prevent severe illness and long-term complications caused by the virus,” the statement continued. “Those who have been vaccinated are not requiring the same level of intensive care and treatment as those who are unvaccinated. The best thing that parents can do to support their children’s health as they return to school is to get vaccinated themselves, if they haven’t done so already. They can also assist their children who are 12 and older in getting their vaccine, too.”
St. Luke Community Hospital can be reached at 406-528-5331 for Moderna vaccines. Pfizer vaccines are available to those 12 and older. Two locations are at Tribal Health, call 406-745-3525, or Walgreens, call 406-300-6042. Vaccines are free.
Parents can help by talking with children about the importance of social distancing, hand washing and masking, the response team noted. “These measures can help preserve an in-person learning environment. It also helps decrease the potential for whole classrooms or grade levels from having to quarantine due to exposure, which in turn decreases the burden on parents who may rely on in-person schooling to be able to go to work and support their family. Take time to visit with your child about the importance of these daily precautionary measures. Consider sending a small personal bottle of hand sanitizer with them, and make sure they always have a backup mask in their bag.”
The response team said these small steps can make a big positive difference for the outcome of the school year. “Most children are excited to get back to in-person schooling,” the response team stated. “We, as a community, can reduce disruptions to their school year by encouraging these best practices from day one. We trust that the school district will continue to do their part by constantly re-evaluating how to best care for the students’ education and wellbeing for a safe school year.”
