Othello schools to return to some on-campus instruction

OTHELLO — Students will start returning to Othello schools for some in-person instruction in November.

The Othello School Board voted unanimously at a special meeting Oct. 6 to approve a plan for on-campus instruction half-time. Board members voted 3-2 at the Sept. 28 meeting to ask for a phased reopening plan.

Students will be at school about 50 percent of the time, said Othello School District director of communications Ed Petersen, and will continue with online instruction the rest of the time. Families will have the option of all-online instruction. But district superintendent Chris Hurst said the method of online instruction will change; district officials will be talking with families about the changes.

Children in kindergarten through third grade will start with half-time on-campus instruction Nov. 2. It’s called the “blended” model. Fourth- through sixth-graders will start in the blended model on Nov. 30. McFarland Middle School, Othello High School and Desert Oasis High School students will return to campus in January.

Students will be split into morning and afternoon sessions, Petersen said. Recorded online instruction will be available when kids aren’t at school.

District officials will start contacting families immediately to determine if they plan to return to school or stay online, Petersen said.

Hurst and other district officials will schedule an online forum to answer questions about the plan from parents and district patrons. The date and time of the forum will be announced.

Social distancing rules will be in place, said Pete Perez, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, and parents will be required to fill out a form each day, confirming that their children do not show coronavirus symptoms.

Perez said kids will not be allowed in school without the daily wellness checks.

Schools were closed in March as part of the effort to combat the COVID-19 outbreak, and they remained closed for the rest of the school year. Othello district officials originally planned to start the 2020-21 school year with half-time instruction. But they switched to all-online classes after the number of reported coronavirus cases in Othello started to climb in July and August.

District officials haven’t determined when full-time classes will resume, if they resume at all, in the 2020-21 school year. Hurst said that will depend on the status of the coronavirus outbreak.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached at [email protected].