Edmonds Beacon - Your Hometown News Source

The Edmonds School District plans to have students return to school this fall, but the coronavirus pandemic means there will be noticeable differences.

Based on state and local guidelines, schools are required to plan for 6-foot distancing for students and staff, and well as other requirements.

The district said it would not be able to accommodate all students in schools at the same time and also maintain student and staff safety.

The district will move forward with what it's calling "Hybrid Model AA/BB." It's a bit confusing, and families should study the options available to them.

In this model, families may choose in-person learning, in student groups A and B. Families may also choose to participate in online-only learning, in student group C. In addition, the district is looking into an extended schedule for preschool through first grade students that would create a student group D.

Students will be either in group A or group B and in Hybrid Model AA/BB. Students in group A will attend school in person on Mondays and Tuesdays and do remote learning Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

Students in group B will do remote learning Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, and attend school in person on Thursdays and Fridays.

"We understand and support those of our students and families who prefer a full remote learning model for the fall," said Superintendent Gustavo Balderas.

Because of this, group C students will do full remote learning Monday through Friday.

Students in preschool through first grade may be able to attend school in person four days a week and therefore would create student group D. This additional group is contingent upon classroom space being available to maintain social distancing.

This group option is currently being explored, and the district will provide updates as soon as they are known.

Wednesdays

Wednesdays will be a remote learning day for most students. This will create space for teacher planning and professional development for remote learning, as well as time for intervention services and recovery learning services for students.

This day would also allow district staff to do deep cleaning of buildings in between student cohorts.

Special education

Special education services will be determined by ongoing collaboration with IEP teams. A special education workgroup is meeting and working to develop additional opportunities for in-person instruction and services for students who receive special education services. Specifically, the district is looking to add additional time in school for in-person services for students who receive the majority of their instruction in the special education setting.

Continuous learning 2.0

This involves a districtwide return to remote learning should the district be ordered to close buildings by the state or local health departments.

Alongside our hybrid model, the district will continue to plan for the instance where our entire district or individual buildings would need to return to a full remote learning model.

The district anticipates that at some point it may need to launch Continuous Learning 2.0 (remote learning) due to surges in new COVID-19 infections.