By Josh Margolis
HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – The Havre Public School Board met on Tuesday evening and voted 7-1 to begin the school year in a hybrid learning model.
Under the plan, half of the students will attend school on Mondays and Wednesdays. The other half will attend Tuesdays and Thursdays. All students not on site will participate in remote learning.
Friday will be reserved for remote learning, with teacher-initiated instruction as needed for students who need assistance.
Under the plan, face coverings will be required when social distancing cannot be maintained. As classrooms will be set up for social distancing, this means face coverings can be taken off during normal instruction.
The original hybrid learning planned called for split day learning, where half of the students attended in the morning and half in the afternoon. However, after receiving a large number of public comments advocating against this proposal, the draft plan was adjusted.
The Board says their next step will be figuring out how to split the students into two groups. Superintendent Craig Mueller said splitting schools alphabetically may not lead to two even-sized groups, and one member of the public said because some siblings have different last names, separating schools alphabetically may split up families.
23 members of the public spoke in-person at the meeting, and several more commented through Zoom. The majority asked for the District to start the year in Phase 3, which would be near-capacity attendance with an opt-out option for remote learning.
Many of the people advocating for Phase 3, including Naturopathic Medical Doctor Jerry Taylor, appeared to have attended the meeting on suggestion of the local People’s Rights Chapter. The Chapter canceled their monthly meeting in order to allow their supporters to voice their opinion on Havre Public School’s reopening plans.
During the meeting, Superintendent Craig Mueller said District enrollment is currently 1,759. Around 50 students have already opted-out of in-person learning. The deadline for opt-outs is Friday.
Although the Board approved the hybrid reopening model, the District could move to a different phase of the proposal during the school year as the COVID-19 situation changes.
