Evergreen Elementary returning to full-day schedule

Starting next Monday, Nov. 2, Evergreen Elementary school will be returning to a full-day schedule. After the district closed down late last school year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wrangell's schools have been following modified schedules and operating plans this year. Thanks to the situation in Wrangell being comparatively safe, and a recent staffing increase, Lead Teacher/Assistant Principal Jenn Miller-Yancey said Evergreen Elementary is ready to get back to their normal schedule.

"We are very excited," she said. "This is what we've been hoping for since school has started."

The modified schedule was in response to COVID-19, she said, as well as a staffing shortage. Evergreen Elementary staff have had to take on several extra duties to keep the school running smoothly, she said. They also wanted a relatively slower start to the year, she said, to give people time to adjust to the new schedule and mitigation plan, and give everyone time to address potential issues that arose.

The elementary school's schedule, up until now, had the student body divided among a two-session day. Miller-Yancey explained that half the students would attend school for in-person learning Monday through Thursday, while the other half would learn via distance learning. Fridays would be full distance learning.

The new schedule, beginning Monday, will be much closer to how the school operated pre-COVID.

"The entire staff of Evergreen Elementary School is excited to announce that we have additional staff in place, plus details worked out for new scheduling, to be able to open up for a full-time school day starting Monday, November 2, 2020," she wrote in a Facebook post on Oct. 26. "Monday - Thursday we will have class 8:00 am - 2:00 pm; Fridays we will hold class 8:00 am - 11:00 am."

Evergreen Elementary School recently acquired two paraprofessionals to help their staffing needs, Miller-Yancey said, and also added some new substitute teachers to their list. However, she said that they are always looking for more people who might want to step up and donate their time. Anybody interested in working in an environment like the elementary school should reach out, she said, even if it is only one day a week.

"We are crossing our fingers, crossing our toes, knocking on wood, and doing everything else possible to keep this schedule," she said.