Cascade School District Reopening

As Cascade School District prepares for the 2020-21 school year, it is working with the models that school will either be in-person or some hybrid of in-person and remote. The other option, fully remote education, is a last choice because of the detriment to children’s social and emotional health of being away from teachers and peers.

Superintendent Tracey Beckendorf-Edou has convened Reopening Stakeholders’ Group meetings, bringing together representatives of teachers, facilities staff, administrators, parents, students, community members and school board. Beckendorf-Edou convened the second session on July 1 over Zoom, utilizing the wisdom of the collective to solve the unique problems presented by COVID-19.

The theme of this meeting was food service, and primarily lunch, which was considered by some parents as the number one area of concern with reopening the buildings.

The superintendent explained that the outdoors at each school campus will be utilized to the fullest extent, which can include lunch. The salad bar at CHS and IRMS will be eliminated and replaced with grab-and-go salads. If schools are fully in-person, lunch schedules will be staggered so fewer students are eating at one time.

Debbie Nelson, IRMS paraeducator who also works food service, suggested that the majority of lunch payment be done online or through the school secretaries so cashiers would not have to handle money. She and custodian Debbie Guffin mentioned the challenge of kids congregating in the cafeteria before school while some eat breakfast, and how that would also have to be outside.

It was brought up that if weather was an issue, the schools could utilize tents like those used for Oktoberfest that have wall flaps. That was countered by the thought that walled tents would diminish the benefit of being outdoors.

Kenny Renner-Singer, ALPS principal, mentioned the staggered lunches would also mean lunchtime shortened from fifty to thirty minutes, and some children would have to eat fairly late. A worry was raised that social distancing would be hard to achieve at tables where children sit across from one another. Facilities Director Teresa Disher explained that the tables would seat half the normal number of students, and each stool would be labeled. Also, classmates would stay as a unit all day long and not mix with other classes.

The question was raised: could children eat in their classrooms? Sam Jerome, a Cascade Medical registered nurse and infection control specialist, said that would have the benefit of reducing the time spent in the hallway. The complications arise because it would be burdensome on teachers who use that time for prep, and there wouldn’t be enough staff otherwise to supervise every classroom. A couple parents suggested volunteers could possibly supervise lunch in the classroom since that is a task that wouldn’t require a lot of training.

Two students took part in the Zoom meeting. Rosie Fernandez hoped club meetings which usually happened during lunch could still occur. It was suggested that they could also meet outside. She also wanted to know about leaving campus for juniors and seniors. Student Jerome Jerome echoed that thought, and it was discussed that if upperclassmen were encouraged to leave campus, it might make social distancing easier for the rest of students.

Carolyn Griffin-Bugert, Executive Director of Wenatchee River Institute, demonstrated how their summer campers wore face shields. She suggested those might be easier for eating than masks. Beckendorf-Edou confirmed that the youngest children would wear face shields because they’d have difficulty wearing masks all day. The same goes for staff, such as a speech therapist, whose work is negatively impacted by masks.

There was some enthusiasm around the idea of a half day of school, in the morning, for all students. That could eliminate lunch issues because students could receive a sack lunch as they take their buses home. The virtual portion of the learning could occur in the afternoon. The in-person interaction in the mornings would help meet the social and emotional needs of students.

The idea of different groups of students swapping time at school (such as a morning group and afternoon group or alternating days) was deemed unlikely because sufficient sanitation would be near impossible, as Sam Jerome explained. Also, younger children need their older siblings at home at the same time for childcare.

The food service of a fully remote education was briefly discussed, with accolades from Cyndi Garza, school board member, for the amazing teamwork this spring to make and deliver 150 lunches and breakfasts daily. There was concern that the need is even greater, and Disher said, if the remote scenario was repeated, it would be best to match delivery directly to the bus routes. Nelson mentioned paraeducators could be paired with bus drivers to assist with meal delivery.

No decisions can be made yet, but the superintendent was grateful to hear from a range of perspectives. And it was emphasized that whatever protocols are created, they need to be clearly communicated to parents who are worried and want their children to be protected during lunch as well as throughout the school day.