Haines schools will start Tuesday, August 24 in-person (Corinne Smith/KHNS)

Haines students will start the new school year in-person, next Tuesday August 24. Masks will be required, and there will be on-site COVID testing, among other health protocols. The Haines School Board voted unanimously last week on a plan for re-opening all schools, but will meet again this Wednesday to evaluate the current Haines COVID outbreak – reported at 62 active cases as of Friday –  and adapt if needed. KHNS’ Corinne Smith reports. 

Haines Superintendent Roy Getchell emphasized the district’s COVID-19 strategy is flexible and adaptable, but the priority will be in-person learning for all grades. 

 “When the conditions are hazardous, we’re going to take extra precautions, and when they don’t exist, we’re going to start to loosen those,” Getchell said. “So you know, with high impact, which is where we’re at right now, we’re looking at masking, because that is really important to reduce transmission within the building, also to maintain continuity, so we don’t have large amounts of quarantines and so forth.” 

The local plan will require masks for all students, staff and visitors. Parents and staff are asked to pre-screen for symptoms daily. 

A new resource this year is now in-school COVID testing. The district hired a new school nurse, as a grant funded position, who will administer the testing. Instead of quarantining for 10 days, symptomatic students can now return with a negative test three to five days after onset of symptoms, if they feel better and are fever-free. 

High efficiency particulate air filters, or HEPA filters have been installed to improve ventilation, masks will be provided and the district says it’ll do extra cleaning. 

Unlike last year, the school playground will be open before class for elementary school students, as well as the library and lunchroom. Parents and visitors may also visit the campus, provided they don’t have any symptoms. The free breakfast and lunch programs will resume. 

A health advisory committee made up of school officials, a public health nurse, and health consortium representative will meet weekly regarding health and safety. The school board will meet monthly and can revisit or adjust school policy, says Superintendent Getchell.

“So if I’ve learned anything in COVID world, it’s that things change very quickly and in either direction. So we’re going to rely on that system and take a look and see where we’re at at that time,” Getchell said.

At last Thursday’s school board meeting, parents and teachers weighed in for and against the plan via Zoom, especially the masking requirement. 

Parent Kevin Shove criticized the mask guidance. “I really believe that this is worse than, cure is worse than the actual disease if you ask me, and they’re pushing it.”

Krystal Loyd, a mother of six, said she had a positive case in her household, and didn’t like the idea of students masking. But she agreed with the masking plan as an extra precaution.

“There is a positive case in my house and it is an adult it is not myself. My children are not affected at the moment. The reason why I’m on the fence is because not every child is as healthy as they seem underneath. I know quite a few children who have some risk of respiratory issues like asthma and those things concern me. My son has sports induced asthma,” Loyd said.

First grade teacher Sophia Armstrong spoke in support of stronger precautions. She said last year, her students adapted to wearing masks, and they prevented the spread of other diseases in her classroom, like hand, foot and mouth disease. She said now with the delta variant being more contagious it’s more important than ever. 

“There are other schools where they’re not doing mitigations, they are not wearing masks, and COVID is running rampant through there, and their children are getting COVID,” Armstrong said. “This is not the same COVID that happened last year. And I wasn’t quite as worried about my own children. But now I am their children on ventilators. I am fairly healthy, I wasn’t so worried about me. But now I think everyone should be worried about themselves.”

School administrators say if there are COVID cases in the schools, it will not necessarily trigger a school-wide shut down, as the priority is to continue in-person learning on campus. 

All this comes following the Haines school board’s decision last week to adjust its  re-opening plan as the COVID outbreak in Haines widens. School administrators say they’ve surveyed parents, students and staff over the summer, and consulted with state and local health officials to develop the plan for returning to school. 

Families can decide to send students in-person or homeschool. There will be no distance learning option this year.

The school board is scheduled to revisit the plan and adapt protocols if needed at 7 p.m. Wednesday August 18 via Zoom. See login details on the Haines School Calendar.