Boise-area schools will be full again this week. The next hurdle: In-person graduation
Starting this week, for the first time in more than a year, Boise schools will be full of students on a daily basis.
The Boise School District will transition to full-time, in-person classes to students in seventh grade and above, a change from the hybrid model that’s been offered for much of the year. Elementary students already have made that switch.
In the West Ada School District — Idaho’s largest — students in sixth grade and up will stay online on Mondays but have the option of spending the rest of the week going to school in-person.
The end goal for both districts? Stay in-person for the rest of the academic year so that graduations can be in-person. Officials think it’s possible, but it’s going to take commitment from students and staff members alike.
“These kids have not seen each other for a year, so that’s going to be really exciting,” Char Jackson, spokesperson for the West Ada School District, said. “But we’re going to make sure that students are still being mindful of what’s safe. With the excitement, we know that’s sometimes hard to do, but we also know that these last few weeks of school with them in-person, every day is going to be really valuable.”
Because the hybrid model included alternating schedules to cut the daily number of students in half, students likely will see some classmates for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools in mid-March 2020.
The safety precautions will be familiar, though. In both districts, students have been following a hybrid learning model for months (with some days spent in classrooms and others spent learning virtually from home). Masks are required; regular sanitation and cleaning is encouraged.
In West Ada, schools have increased the air exchange flows into classrooms, which experts say can help cut down on transmission of all sorts of airborne viruses. At Capital High School in the Boise School District, Principal Derek Gardner told the Idaho Statesman the school’s custodial staff has new electrostatic sprayers that help quickly sanitize large areas.
The custodial staff is “in there at 5:30 in the morning, and they hit all the classrooms, all the frequently touched surfaces, things like that,” Gardner said.
It’s not always possible for students to stay distanced, even under new measures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that recommend students stay at least 3 feet apart, down from 6 feet before. But schools are making decisions in both districts to do everything they can to cut down on potential virus transmission.
The specifics can vary based on the layout of a building and other factors, but it typically includes stickers indicating which side of the hallway to walk on and where to stand in spaces that tend to get crowded (such as counseling offices or front offices). In some buildings, students will be able to ditch lockers entirely, opting instead to carry around their backpacks to avoid crowding in tight areas. Other schools aren’t using lockers at all.
Teachers and students help wipe down high-touch surfaces. As the weather continues to get warmer, students at some West Ada schools will be able to eat outside.
Some of these lessons come from elementary-aged students, who have been in Boise School District classrooms since March 9. Students are willing to wear masks and help clean, in part because many don’t want to go back to entirely online classes.
“We’ve shown we can do this safely,” Gardner said. Students sometimes need to be reminded to pull their masks over their noses as recommended by the CDC, but students, teachers, parents and other staff members have come together “as a community” to remind students what is required to stay in school in-person, he said.
That doesn’t mean everything will look quite the same, though.
At Capital, for instance, class sizes are smaller as teachers have split their classes over an extra period, meaning they teach six classes of 20-25 students rather than five larger classes.
Extracurricular activities, such as band and choir, are finding new ways to make their programs possible. Theater programs are putting on performances with an extremely limited capacity, for instance, like the athletic events that the Idaho State Board of Education has allowed to go on for much of the year with limited audience.
Officials from both districts say schools plan to adapt based on what they’re able to follow. If there is an outbreak, officials hope that following regulations strictly means they are able to minimize the number of students that need to quarantine.
If things go well — particularly as those 16 and older are able to get vaccines starting April 5, an age group that includes many students in high school — that could mean more things open up.
It’s not clear yet what will happen with prom or other similar gatherings. At Capital, at least, Gardner says that if prom would potentially interfere with hosting in-person graduation, “it’s not worth it.”
After watching most graduation ceremonies canceled last year, students are generally on board with what needs to be done to make sure that doesn’t happen again, officials say.
“Students are doing great, and we’re letting parents know the importance of being mindful of what you’re doing outside of school as well,” Jackson said. “That really does affect what happens in the school, because we know that a lot of our transmission comes from outside events. Wearing a mask and limiting social interactions even when not at school is important.”
For now, schools are tentatively planning for graduation, which Gardner says is his top priority. In the West Ada School District, Jackson said officials are working with staff at Boise State University for hosting the event.
“What (graduation) will look like and what the rules around it are remain to be seen,” Jackson said. “But after everything, students want a sense of normalcy, for things to be how they were. This is our goal, and I think they’re all looking forward to it.”
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