The Clark County School District Board of Trustees, including Superintendent Dr. Jesus Jara, postponed their vote after meeting on Thursday, Nov. 12, to discuss moving students into classrooms for hybrid learning.
The plan itself was released on Tuesday, Nov. 10, and it outlined how students will be phased back into in-person classrooms. The hybrid learning model still involves the use of cohorts, which were presented back in August. Cohort A will attend school on Mondays and Tuesdays to complete two full class periods, and then return home and do the remaining two class periods at home for 20 minutes each. Students in cohort B adhere to the same schedule but attend school in-person on Thursdays and Fridays. Students in cohort C will continue to attend school fully online.
Standard physical distancing and safety precautions will still apply in the classroom. Everyone on campus will be required to wear a face mask, sanitize and stay six feet apart. The plan also requires that classes not exceed more than 18 students.
Schools urged parents and students to fill out a survey that asked for their preference between switching from online school or continuing remote learning, but it produced a split vote. Parents also sent the school board letters addressing their concerns over trying to put students in class on the proposed date: Jan. 4, 2021.
Principal Tam Larnerd expressed mixed feelings about sending students back to class, but coronavirus trends in Nevada have made him lean on the side of caution.
“We all agreed at some point in the future there’s going to be a date determined when everyone needs to return,” Larnerd said. ‘It’s just debating on what that date should be. I don’t think Jan. 4 is the right date. … We’ve had five of our most positive COVID days since this all started in March in the last two weeks.”
The plan also highlighted measures for enhanced school cleaning. Custodians will clean all high-touch surfaces daily, such as doorknobs and desks, and they’ll perform a more thorough cleaning on Wednesdays and Fridays. Air filters around campus will also be changed more often to improve air flow.
Clubs will not return with the hybrid option. Students are expected to leave campus immediately after their second class of the day is over. Lunch will be provided on the way out.
Sports may resume for abbreviated seasons in the event that the campus does open again. However, wrestling and basketball remain unapproved to return by the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association.
Students also possess mixed feelings over whether they’d prefer moving to a hybrid model or continue school at home. Many wish they could return but see the threat COVID may pose in the classroom.
“It would be nice to have some normalcy, but due to the safety precautions, I get it,” sophomore Andy Hang said.
Freshman Alex Nicole shared sentiments over not getting the “high school experience” with her transition from middle school to high school, as well as concern over not getting the same quality education.
“I want to meet new friends and … experience high school life,” Nicole said. “I want to go back to school also because I feel that I’m not learning as much as I would in a classroom. … Teachers would just assign busy work to students, so I feel going back to school could change that.”
