Boise students will return to classrooms full time next month. Here are the details
Boise students are set to return to classrooms full time next month.
In a unanimous vote, the Boise Schools Board of Trustees decided during a special meeting Thursday afternoon to implement a plan that would bring back elementary students (kindergarten through sixth grades) five days a week as early as March 9.
Students in special education programs in all grades also would start full-time, in-person classes March 9.
Middle and high school students could return to fully in-person classes as early as March 29, which is immediately following spring break. That also lines up with the start of the fourth quarter academically.
The timetable would allow the majority of school staff the chance to get a COVID-19 vaccine before resuming full operations, according to the district. Board members said the plan could change based on the level of community spread and health care capacity, but the move allows schools to begin preparation for having students fully back in classrooms.
Boise students have had two stretches this school year with in-person learning two days per week, and two stretches with fully remote learning. The current setup has all students remote on Mondays. They’re split for in-person learning, attending either Tuesday and Thursday or Wednesday and Friday.
The Boise School District hasn’t operated with all students in classrooms since March 13, 2020 — the day the first Idaho case of COVID-19 was announced.
During the Thursday meeting, board members reviewed surveys from parents, students and staff regarding reopening. Between 40% and 50% of those who were sent a survey filled it out.
The district found the majority of parents with students in any age group were in favor of returning to fully in-person classes.
Among staff in grades Pre-K-6, the majority supported those students fully returning. However, the majority of staff in grades 7-12 indicated they would not support bringing those students back into classrooms full time.
Secondary students who voted were nearly split evenly, though slightly more wanted a move to fully in-person learning — with 50.3% in favor of the move and 49.7% preferring to keep the hybrid system.
After the meeting, school board President Dave Wagers thanked parents, students and staff for their input prior to the board’s decision.
“Throughout this process, we have been committed to listening to as many people as possible in reaching a decision for our students and our staff to safely return to full-time in-person learning,” Wagers said in a news release.
The board’s decision comes after weeks of declining COVID-19 numbers in the Treasure Valley and Idaho as a whole.
The West Ada School District — Idaho’s largest — decided last week that middle and high school students could return to in-person classes four days a week starting March 30. Middle and high school students currently are in classes two days every week and learning online the other three. West Ada students in grades K-5 are already back in classrooms full time, with early releases on Mondays.
In addition to the vote, Boise Schools trustee and former Boise Fire Department chief Dennis Doan announced that he would be leaving the board. Last month, Doan was offered a job to lead the fire department in Gig Harbor, Washington. Doan told his fellow board members Thursday that he is accepting the offer and will be moving.
The board’s next meeting is slated for March 8, though a special meeting could be called before that date.
This story was originally published February 18, 2021 at 5:35 PM.
