The Flagstaff Unified School District Governing Board voted Tuesday night to begin a phased return to in-person learning in March; however, a decision on revising the benchmarks needed to reopen was pushed to its next meeting.
The phased return, which passed on a 3-2 vote, is a condensed version of the plan approved in October that would have allowed teachers and students to return by grade level over the course of four weeks. The latest plan reduces the schedule to three weeks: teachers and staff would return the week of March 8 and students would be phased in starting after spring break.
Preschool, kindergarten, first, second, third, sixth, ninth and 12th grades — primary and transition years — plus students in specialized programs would return the week of March 22. The remaining grades would return the following week.
Families have the option to choose to send their students to school in person or continue with remote learning -- much like at Basis Flagstaff, which plans to reopen its campus to students starting next week.
“For months we’ve been preparing for the return and that’s really what we desire, to have our students return to our schools … but the health conditions did not support a transition back at the end of the first quarter and then again at the end of the first semester,” FUSD Superintendent Michael Penca told the board Tuesday.
Considering improving COVID-19 conditions, FUSD’s ongoing mitigation efforts and the availability of vaccines for education workers, Penca recommended the board adopt a timeline for reopening to give enough notice to families of the possible March return.
He also asked the board for more time to reconsider the district’s benchmarks for reopening, following additional guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expected this week.
FUSD’s current benchmarks for reopening are more stringent than those set by the State of Arizona and require the ZIP code areas the district serves to have a COVID-19 incidence of less than 75 per 100,000 people and percent positivity of testing at 5% or below. The Arizona Department of Health Services recommends fewer than 100 cases per 100,000 and percent positivity below 7%. Both plans also require the incidence of hospital visits for COVID-like illnesses to be less than 10%.
In the latest Coconino County COVID-19 Schools Update for the week ending Jan. 30, the FUSD area was in the category for substantial transmission with a case incidence of 284.2 cases per 100,000 and a 9.7% testing positivity yield. Hospital visits for COVID-like illnesses were at 15.2%. ADHS recommends virtual learning for areas experiencing substantial transmission.
More than 200 FUSD-related COVID-19 cases have been reported to the district since the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, according to its latest COVID-19 dashboard report.
“As the date approaches, I believe the governing board will need to determine if it’s safe to initiate that phased return based on the COVID conditions at that time. A lot can change in just two weeks or four weeks or six weeks, so I think it’s important we continue to monitor our health data and our implementation of those mitigation strategies before really hitting the green go button,” Penca said of the phased return.
The board, which also voted Tuesday to follow the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s policy allowing two spectators per athlete at home winter sporting events, will reevaluate FUSD’s benchmarks during its Feb. 23 meeting.
During the last few months, FUSD has increased its COVID-19 mitigation efforts and preparations for a possible return to school, including HVAC improvements that have been underway since winter break. All district buildings’ HVAC upgrades are scheduled for completion by the end of spring break, before students would begin returning to campus.
The district has also partnered with other outside organizations for COVID-19 surveillance efforts. Alongside Arizona State University, it has offered priority registration for testing of FUSD staff on Saturdays and is establishing a new community testing site at Sinagua Middle School that is scheduled to open by the end of the month.
Additionally, Northern Arizona University researchers have conducted two rounds of wastewater testing at various FUSD locations. Penca said none of the samples showed evidence of COVID-19.
FUSD employee representatives who participated in Tuesday’s meeting, which was livestreamed by more than 300 people, said although they understand the social-emotional and academic reasons for students to return to school, the employees they represent are concerned about returning to in-person learning too soon.
Coconino High School teacher Derek Born, president of the Flagstaff Education Association, said according to a survey of the district’s classified staff members, including teachers, 85% said they intend to be vaccinated or have already received at least one dose. Of this group, however, Born said only 44% of staff will have full immunity from two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine by the time staff return the week of March 8. By the time the first students arrived two weeks later, 67% would have expected full immunity.
He said teachers desire a safe return to schools and are requesting more information about the number of students who would return in person, as well as updates about building operations and the expectations for teaching students online and in-person simultaneously.
“Nobody wants to return to in-person instruction more than the educators,” Born said, explaining that remote teaching is not the career he and most of his colleagues would have chosen, but they’re doing their best with video conference classes. “The best Zoom class may be amazing, but in my book, it will never approach the magic of live, thrillingly unpredictable and engaging in-person instruction.”