Othello students start returning to school Nov. 4

OTHELLO — Othello primary grade students will return to campus part time Nov. 4. It will be the first time since March that all students will have the option for in-person instruction.

Kindergartners through third-graders will be back in school in a hybrid model, with half of their instruction on campus and half online. Parents have the option of continuing with all instruction online.

Parents of 60 primary grade students are opting to stay online, according to a report presented at the Othello School Board meeting Oct. 26. District superintendent Chris Hurst said the number of families staying online was spread pretty evenly among the district’s four elementary schools. Parents of 16 students at Hiawatha and Lutacaga elementaries, and parents of 14 students at Scootney Springs and Wahitis elementaries, have opted for all-online.

Parents of 1,264 primary grade students have decided their children will return to campus, Hurst said.

Students will be split into morning and afternoon classes, and will have recorded online instruction when they’re not on campus.

Othello conducted all classes online for the first two months of school, the result of the COVID-19 outbreak. The hybrid plan was ready when school opened in August, but a surge in coronavirus cases prompted district officials to opt for all-online instruction.

Fourth- through sixth-graders tentatively are scheduled to return to school Nov. 30. Seventh-graders are scheduled to return to campus Jan. 4, and eighth-graders, Othello High School and Desert Oasis High School students will return Jan. 25.

The return to school depends on the status of the outbreak. For the week of Oct. 20 through 27, there were 11 new coronavirus cases in Othello.

Students will be required to comply with social distancing rules, and parents will be required to fill out a form each day, confirming their children do not show any coronavirus symptoms. Children will be subject to daily wellness checks, and won’t be allowed in school without the wellness checks.

Executive director of human resources Sandra Villareal said the district received a donation from the Columbia Basin Health Association that allowed district officials to purchase 11 hands-free thermometers. Each temperature check will take one to two seconds, Villareal said, which will speed up the process.