The Board of Education (BOE) has set the date for school to begin at Three Rivers Community Schools (TRCS) for September 8 and has formally adopted its “Return to Learn” plan, which it spent most of the summer developing. The plan governs the structure, procedures, and rules under which schools will address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic while providing instruction at all K-12 grade levels. 

BOE members adopted the plan and the start date at a special meeting Wednesday evening. Both are subject to possible, new parameters that could come forth in an address by Governor Gretchen Whitmer scheduled for Saturday, August 15.

The Return-to-Learn plan and start date measures each passed five to two, with BOE members Anne Riopel and Kevin Hamilton voting no for each. Riopel and Hamilton expressed concern over whether an all-online instruction option included in the plan will provide sufficient quality, and whether the cost of the virtual platform provider, Lincoln Learning, is too high for the district’s current finances. 

TRCS Curriculum Director Nikki Nash said at current enrollment in the all-virtual platform, the total cost would be $371,305. TRCS Director of Business Operations Blair Brindley said the cost of the platform, as well as other pandemic measures such as safety supplies, are partly offset by $100,000 in Federal pandemic relief funds but will dip into the district’s general fund balance.

In public comments as well as online chat discussion during the meeting, several members of the public echoed Riopel and Hamilton’s concerns. Amid pandemic safety concerns, Hamilton, Riopel, and several commenters asked whether an all-online solution using TRCS teachers had been considered, and whether it might have been a better option.

Nash said using the third-party provider addresses capacity issues that come with having separate options for students, including in-person, virtual, and hybrid instruction options. The plan, as adopted, will keep all TRCS teachers working full-time.

BOE Vice President Dan Ryan asked Superintendent Ron Moag if he was confident in the quality of education that the Return-to-Learn plan will offer. Moag said Lincoln Learning’s platform was “thoroughly vetted,” and he is “very confident that we’re ready to go and that we’re going to provide a quality experience.”

Some discussion also centered on whether the district has sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE), such as disposable masks, on hand. The district has been struggling with supply issues for the past three months. Moag said the current supply is sufficient to last until the end of September. 

At Wednesday’s meeting, BOE members also rescinded an existing sexual violence policy and replaced it with a policy on nondiscrimination on the basis of sex. 

TRCS Administrators Discuss Plan Details

Prior to Wednesday’s special meeting, TRCS administrators conducted an online, virtual town hall at which they detailed aspects of the plan to members of the public and answered questions about it. The session, which saw 250 attendees, covered many aspects and features of the reopening plan.

Under the plan, all Pre-K through fifth grade students will have the option of in-class instruction five days a week, as well as an all-online virtual option. For middle and high school students, TRCS will be also providing an all-online virtual option, as well as a hybrid option in which students will be divided into two cohorts.

Each cohort will spend two days in a classroom and three days attending remotely online. One cohort will have in-person instruction on Monday and Tuesday. The other will have it on Thursday and Friday. The Google Classroom online platform will be used to facilitate students’ work, and students will follow a set, hourly schedule as if they were in a classroom. 

TRCS administrators expect to provide cohort assignments next week, including specific schedules and online access information. Classes will be recorded in the event that students cannot attend due to extenuating circumstances. For parents to monitor students’ attendance and work, the Google Classroom portal allows for setup of notifications. There will also be grading available through the Powerschool online organizational platform, which is also the tool for managing schedules.

For new students who will be attending through the in-person or hybrid options, individual orientation is available. In lieu of group sessions, incoming kindergarteners, sixth graders, and freshmen can schedule one-on-one, in-person visits by calling their school.

The all-virtual option for all grades will be provided by the third-party service, Lincoln Learning. The service features state-certified course content created and uploaded by certified teachers. Nash said the intent is to keep in-person, hybrid, and virtual option students’ development in pace with one another. Parents have until the first day of school to request the all-virtual option for their students from their respective principals.

Virtual option students will be expected to dedicate an average 45 to 60 minutes to each course per day, with lower times for elementary school than for middle or high school. The average daily commitment will be about six hours. There will be four core classes and two electives. A certified teacher mentor will be available for student support, and attendance monitoring will be based on tracked course completion.

TRCS is providing Chromebook computers to ensure hybrid and virtual option students have the tools to participate in their online learning programs. Hybrid option students will receive them in their first week of school. TRCS is coordinating distribution to all-virtual option students. Additional Chromebooks are available for elementary students in case a pandemic phase change necessitates all students moving to a fully virtual option.

The school has installed mobile hotspots in several vehicles to increase potential internet access to families. If additional funds become available through Federal pandemic relief or other support programs, TRCS plans to allocate resources to expanding possible internet access.

School counseling support will remain available to students, as will other services through Community Mental Health and other cooperating agencies. Career and Technical Education courses will continue, and details are being finalized for ensuring that remote instruction will match the standards of in-person learning. TRCS will provide additional information by late next week. There is also a virtual option for special education students.

If the Governor’s Office reverts its pandemic response level to Phase Three, all instruction will take place online. If this happens prior to the establishment of class assignments through Powerschool, all students will receive instruction virtually from TRCS teachers. 

If it happens after the Lincoln Learning contract begins, students who started under the virtual option will remain with Lincoln Learning, while those who started under the hybrid option will switch to an all-online format with their assigned TRCS teachers.

The Governor’s Office leaves many details about reopening amid the pandemic to local school districts. TRCS administrators are working on ensuring that supplies, social distancing practices, and safety protocols are in place to mitigate pandemic concerns. Elementary schools will use staggered dismissal to help facilitate social distancing as students leave school.

Already in place are rules and recommendations on masking, and measures for screening arriving students through temperature testing and other means are mostly finalized. Screening measures will require parental consent.

Mask requirements will vary depending on grade level, and on whether students are outdoors, indoors, or in classrooms. All students will be required to wear masks on buses, in hallways, common areas, and entering and leaving schools. Elementary students are not required to wear them in classrooms, but Moag said they are strongly recommended. They are required at all times in school buildings and buses for middle and high school students, except at mealtimes.

Moag said TRCS schools will supply masks for students who do not have them, or if their masks are damaged. The district will defer to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control regarding what constitutes an appropriate mask. Non-compliant students who refuse to wear masks in situations where they are required will be sent to the office and their parents called for a meeting. If the issue persists, the student will be sent home and moved to the all-virtual instruction option.

Pandemic control measures will also depend, in part, on in-home monitoring of students for fever and other symptoms. Due to the circumstances, there will be some leeway with in-person attendance policies as long as it is clear that there is not a chronic absence problem. Virtual option students can use online tools to keep up with instruction if they must miss their in-person days.

In the event a student tests positive for COVID-19, TRCS will work with the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency to communicate with other students’ families about possible exposures, and positive-tested students will be required to stay home for 14 days. Similar procedures will be in place for faculty and staff.

Dave Vago is a writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.