Students in the Bering Strait School District (BSSD) will physically be in school buildings two days a week, starting September 14th. That’s according to the latest plan announced by BSSD’s Superintendent Dr. Bobby Bolen on Friday, July 31st.
According to BSSD’s plan, before students are allowed back into classrooms next month, they will be given activity packets along with breakfast and lunch, for two weeks starting August 26th. Bolen has deemed this period the “Back to School Readiness Challenge.”
Once BSSD schools open back up to students on September 14th, two groups will be formed in each community, Group A and Group B. Students put in Group A will attend school inside the building on Mondays and Tuesdays, while Group B will have Wednesdays and Thursdays. No students will have classes in the school building on Fridays.
Since online distance learning is not feasible in most BSSD communities, the school district plans to send assignments home with students on any days they are not scheduled to be in the building.
According to Bolen and BSSD, beyond October 5th, school schedules will be decided based on the current status of COVID-19 in the Bering Strait region.
Image at top: Interior of the Koyuk Malimiut School. Photo from Karen Trop, KNOM (2018).
