JACKSON, Wyo. — The beginning of the school year is starting to take shape as Teton County School District #1 has solidified plans for a Tier II opening to 2020-21.
While the specifics of the elementary, middle and high school plans differ, the purpose of each of the plans is to provide as much face-to-face, onsite instruction as possible while also reducing the number of students and staff in the school at any one time in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in public schools and the community.
The plans will be reviewed each month during Board of Education meetings. If conditions merit adjustments, they will be made for the month upcoming. For example, if school officials note a dramatic reduction in the number of cases of COVID-19 in the community, the board may adjust the plans to better reflect changing conditions. These changes would go into effect at the beginning of the following month.
For example, if on September 9 the board determines, in coordination with Dr Riddell and the Department of Health, that the schools in the district may transition to Tier I (onsite instruction for most students), the change would take effect on October 1. This transition time will allow students, families and staff to prepare for the transition. Alternatively, families should be aware that if there is a spike in cases or a significant number of students or staff contract COVID, an unscheduled emergency closure may be required.
High School Attendance Model
Students will take four classes (full 1.0 credit) each semester and earn a total of 8 credits over the whole year.
The school population will be split into two groups—A and B—with each group attending live, face-to-face classes at least one day per week. JHHS and SIS will follow a general weekly schedule of A-B-A-B-V or A-B-V-V-V, where the “V” represents a virtual learning day. When Wednesday and Thursday are virtual days, all students will attend live classes delivered online following the in-person bell schedule.
Friday will be a virtual learning day with students completing an online lesson on their own. Friday will also be a time to bring small populations of students to school for intervention and enrichment work.
Middle School Attendance Model
JHMS will run a 4×4 schedule with two groups, with each group meeting twice per week. This meeting schedule will run A-B-A-B, with Group A meeting on Mondays and Wednesdays and Group B meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Groups will be divided by last-name alphabet with exceptions made for siblings and possible other scheduling considerations.
On a given day, students will see all four classes that they are enrolled in for the quarter and then again on the second face-to-face day of the week. The four classes will be blocked scheduled, meaning 90 minutes will be allotted to each class. This maximizes student contact time with the teacher.
On the “off days” or the hybrid days, students will complete a lesson via Canvas that was pre-taught during the face-to-face block the previous day. Students are expected to come to class the next day with this classwork completed. Teachers will also utilize office hours to help students that have misunderstandings or questions about the hybrid lesson.
JHMS also plans to add a quarterly elective course that focuses on reading and math during the semester that students will not have either their core math or ELA class.
Elementary Attendance Model
Elementary students will attend school face-to-face Monday through Thursday. Friday instruction will be provided virtually for all elementary students. Friday instruction will be provided in an asynchronous platform (i.e. not in real time with the teacher).
Elementary students will maintain a pod structure throughout the day so that students and their teacher(s) are limited to their classroom group for nearly all of the day, except when riding the bus to and from school.
Students who receive Special Ed, MTSS and ELL services will engage with small groups or other staff during the school day. Some students may engage in these services onsite on Fridays as well.
It is anticipated class sizes will be smaller than normal elementary classes as some families have selected a virtual option, reducing the number of elementary students coming to schools. However, exact class sizes will depend on parents’ final choices and staffing levels at each school.
