A look at the school district's SMART Start plan

The Wrangell Public School District recently published their SMART Start plan for next year. These are the guidelines the schools will be following to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 spreading amongst the student body and school staff. The plans differ school-to-school, and can also change depending on the level of risk of COVID-19.

Stikine Middle School and Wrangell High School will begin the year at "medium risk," according to the plan. This will have a regular seven-period day Monday through Thursday, with in-class instruction. Buses will drop off students at 7:55 a.m. and take them back home at 3:55 p.m., but students will be encouraged to walk or get rides from their parents.

Fridays will be half-days, according to the plan. The first half of that day teachers will "develop and educate students about online procedures, protocols, etc." The second half of the day teachers will develop online instruction further, work one-on-one with students, and communicate with parents. Other online options will be available on a case-by-case basis. The second half of Fridays will also be used for deep cleaning of the schools. Masks will be mandated when students are less than six feet from each other, and students will also be encouraged to socially distance and wash their hands at the beginning of each class.

Depending on how the COVID-19 pandemic goes, the schools will change to their "low risk" or "high risk" plans. Low risk cannot be enacted any sooner than the beginning of the second semester, according to the plan. This will have the same basic schedule as the medium risk plan, but will have less sanitation, mask wearing, and social distancing mandates. If there is a high risk scenario, all in-class instruction will cease and students will continue learning through online education.

The SMART Start plan for Evergreen Elementary is different from the secondary schools' plan. The low risk plan will have instruction in the building, with an 8 a.m. bus arrival and 3 p.m. departure. Physical distancing guidelines are set at 6-feet, and masks are recommended. Hand washing will also be encouraged upon entering or exiting learning spaces. Learning spaces will be cleaned between learning groups, and the whole school will be cleaned on Friday afternoons.

Medium risk follows similar protocols, but half of the student body will be learning in the building while the other half will receive distance learning. Masks will also be required unless in a "mask free area." Cleaning will also become more frequent. In a high risk scenario, education will all be through distance learning.

Superintendent Debbe Lancaster explained that the starting risk level for the elementary school will be determined closer to the year's start date. All schools have the option to start at medium risk or at high risk, she said, but not at low risk.

The complete SMART Start plans can be found on the district website, http://www.wpsd.us.