PB R-I, Missouri schools can consider hybrid instruction for new year

Poplar Bluff school officials are pleased with a state decision this week which will allow students to attend every other day and learn remotely on alternating days without penalizing school attendance money.

The State Board of Education passed two emergency rules Tuesday establishing hybrid instruction models paving the way for districts to reopen schools.

The R-I district will present a plan July 23 to the school board that includes some of these options, said Dr. Scott Dill, superintendent.

“We appreciate the latitude from the State Board of Education to make those decisions at the local level about what is best for our kids,” said Dill.

The Poplar Bluff plan includes several possible scenarios, in an attempt to prepare for both a normal school year or additional classroom time disrupted by COVID-19, Dill said.

“We have to plan for the unexpected and that’s what we’ve done here,” he said. “Our primary goal in all of this is to continue to offer normal school as often and as much as we can.

“We recognize there is no replacement for the value of traditional seated education. Kids and teachers need to be in school, but they also need to be safe.”

The plan would include the ability for the district to move fluidly from a normal instruction, to completely virtual instruction, with a varying levels of both possible in between, Dill said.

Virtual school would not look like it did in the spring, he added. The district recently made a move to adopt new virtual instruction tools.

Poplar Bluff expects to send an email survey to parents by the end of this week. They want to gauge parent comfort levels regarding a return to school, Dill said.

This information will help fine tune the plan that will be presented to the board.

Deputy Education Commissioner Kari Monsees said the new rules will allow schools to build on the contingency plans they already have for snow days and other short-term school closures.

School districts can either have students attend class every other day or have one group of students attend in the morning and another in the afternoon. By dividing students into two groups to attend class on alternating days and times, it will also help schools maintain adequate social distancing on buses.

Even with students wearing masks, pediatricians recommend avoiding filling school buses beyond half-capacity.

Under the new rules, students will need to physically be in school at least two days a week and attendance will only be counted on days when students are scheduled to attend school for in-person instruction.

The emergency rule will also allow remote instruction if schools or districts have to close because of coronavirus spread in their community, or if a group of students needs to isolate for 14 days.

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AP reports contributed to this article.