Parker Live News from the Parker Strip since 2009.
Parker schools will begin the 2020-21 year on August 3rd with at least two weeks of distance learning.
The Parker Unified School District Governing Board approved a re-opening plan last Wednesday authorizing Superintendent Brad Sale to proceed with one of three options for learning, depending on the severity of the COVID-19 virus in the community.
“Our Number One priority is to make sure our children are as safe as possible given these difficult circumstances,” Sale said. “We also recognize that a return to school in one form or another is crucial to their social and academic well-being.”
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey recently issued an executive order delaying the start of in-person schooling statewide until August 17th. Sale announced that Parker Unified would begin school August 3rd with distance learning, the first of the three options authorized by the Board.
“After August 17th, we will determine how to proceed from there,” Sale said. “Much will depend on the level of community spread of the virus at that time.”
In addition to distance learning, the Governing Board approved two other options for possible use during the school year, including the ‘traditional model’ in which all students can attend school Monday through Friday, but with staggered start times. The traditional model can be utilized when community spread is considered low to mild, Sale said.
“Because we are limiting the amount of students on each bus, we have to adjust our start times,” Sale said.
The third option, a hybrid model, would be used if community spread is considered mild to moderate. Parker Unified students would be divided into two cohorts depending on their last name. Students with a last name starting with A-L will attend Cohort A on Monday and Tuesday, and students with a last name of M-Z will attend Cohort B on Wednesday and Thursday. The Cohorts will switch every other Friday.
“When it is determined that children are permitted to return to school in person, social distancing, safety and cleanliness will be promoted heavily throughout our campuses,” Sale said.
Starting August 3rd, teachers will begin contacting parents at home to schedule individual appointments on campus. At this time, parents and students will have a chance meet their teachers and receive more details about the distance learning program. Parents will also be asked to complete a school demographic packet.
Sale stressed that distance learning in Parker Unified will be much different from what was used last spring after the COVID-19 virus surfaced. The demographic packet will include a technology questionnaire.
“Students will receive instruction from their teachers via the internet, and their work will be graded,” Sale said. “Right now, we are busy trying to find out what our students need in regards to technology.”
Parents who have questions or concerns are encouraged to contact their school principal.
We should not be sending our kids back at ALL or at least not right now. Sad thing is that we don’t know when we should or when it is a good time.That’s just my personal opinion. Being a mother myself and having kids that are going stir crazy is just not ideal for my family and will most likely keep home schooling them.
Kids will be like while at school.????????????
So will crit lift there stay at home orders?
Randy Sossaman even if they don’t school can go on.
High school should do on line, middle school semi on line, and elementary school should use the now open classrooms of the high school and middle school to limit class sizes and allow for social distancing.
Randy Sossaman that is an excellent question. CRIT has 70% of the cases.
Janelle Wickizer Noble but the schools are not on tribal land. I’m not sure about LePera.
Randy Sossaman LePera sit on Tribal land
Janelle Wickizer Noble excellent idea
Alyse Marie Stuflick yep ????????
Alyse Marie Stuflick yes that will help their mental stability!!!!
Ron Bales my kids metal stability is great. Except for the fact that they’re stuck at home with me. ????
Alyse Marie Stuflick well the experts that you’ll are listening too say that children’s mental stabiltys are diminishing from staying at home with crazy females
Katherine Wheatley tribal kids still go to public schools?
Janelle Wickizer Noble absolutely. Where else would they go?
Ron Bales are you calling me crazy? ????
Have to start Aug 3 in order to get money from daddy trump … ???????????????? …
Janelle Wickizer Noble But now you will need twice as many teachers
David Page Sr. Used the ones not teaching high school and middle scool. ONE ONLINE TEACHER CAN HANDLE 90 KIDS.
You can also split the class by morning and afternoons. Smaller class sizes will result in lest distractions and learning can happen at a faster pace.
Janelle Wickizer Noble not the same type of teachers & 90 is a lot of work for one teacher
Janelle Wickizer Noble your leaving out bussing these kids back & forth
Janelle Wickizer Noble gotta also remember some of the high school kids live way down in the valley where there’s no wifi. Their only option would be to drive to McDonalds and use their wifi
Questions for School Openings:
• If a teacher tests positive for COVID-19 are they required to quarantine for 2-3 weeks? Is their sick leave covered, paid?
• If that teacher has 5 classes a day with 15 students each, do all 75 of those students need to then stay home and quarantine for 14 days?
• Do all 75 of those students now have to get tested? Who pays for those tests? Are they happening at school? How are the parents being notified? Does everyone in each of those kids’ families need to get tested?
• What if someone who lives in the same house as a teacher tests positive? Does that teacher now need to take 14 days off of work to quarantine? Is that time off covered? Paid?
• Where is the district going to find a substitute teacher who will work in a classroom full of exposed, possibly infected students for substitute pay?
• Substitutes teach in multiple schools. What if they are diagnosed with COVID-19? Do all the kids in each school now have to quarantine and get tested?
• What if a student in your kid’s class tests positive? What if your kid tests positive? Does every other student and teacher they have been around quarantine? Do we all get notified who is infected and when? Or because of HIPAA regulations are parents and teachers just going to get those mysterious “may have been in contact” emails all year long?
• What is this stress going to do to our teachers? How does it affect their health and well-being? How does it affect their ability to teach? How does it affect the quality of education they are able to provide? What is it going to do to our kids? What are the long-term effects of consistently being stressed out?
• How will it affect students and faculty when the first teacher in their school dies from this? The first parent of a student who brought it home dies from this? Sadly, the first kid dies from this?
• How many more people are going to die, that otherwise would not have if we had stayed home longer?
Why are we choosing to put our teachers AND STUDENTS in danger.
Griselda Peralta Linn well said and I agree a 100%
Janelle Wickizer Noble OR: split the classes in two & have 1/2 half go Mon We’d & Fri and the other 1/2 go Tu Thur and then the following week change. A combination of school & home & distancing would be better. No extra hours for the teachers. No change in bus schedules as they would be running anyway.
Katherine Wheatley k… that’s what I thought.
We live where no internet providers will provide internet so online schooling is not an option for my child right now. What happens to the children on my street if the social distancing schooling doesn’t work or follow through? How will these children get their needed education?
Griselda Peralta Linn if a teacher goes to walmart with 300 people who will cover that how many people have to die before they close the big stores
Yay!!
What happened to the 17th. I was told the 17th! ????
Ronda Williams you’re correct for in person learning but we’re starting distance learning Aug. 3rd where students will be given a review packet to work on for a couple weeks while teachers complete distance learning training using google classroom. We will also be having one on one meetings with families during the first couple weeks so kids/parents can meet their teachers.
Griselda Peralta Linn We are going to most likely have to take it on a case by case basis and see what the health dept directs the school to do given the situation. There is Covid leave for staff but not sure how many days. The plans on the pusd school website answer some of these questions.
How when half of us can’t afford new computers or Internet because we’ve all had tl downsize
Ok, now what about the kids who can’t do distance learning for various reasons? My daughter doesn’t have access to Email at home so she can’t possibly communicate with her teachers that way.
Loretta I read all three of the plans that the school has out and they are making arrangements for those without access to technology (to either provide computers or Hotspots where kids can gain access to the internet). I’m sure they’ll be some glitches, but I think they have the basis for a good start ????
When is school opening?
Make your children are immunized before school but you don’t have to for C19 ???? close the bars but open the schools!!!!
Bad idea. Too soon.
Parents stand up for your kids by enrolling them in home school before all the slots are full because in August if school starts you will have NO CHOICE but to send your kids to Public School,with a face mask all day , probably NO P.E. and NO recess ,and don’t forget to add class room shut down,Which is 14 days of quarantine and NO school,homework packets. IF you have a job then you have to quarantine as well you have been warned.
sell everything but the dog. How much is your family worth to you.
Distance “learning” last term was not at all helpful. Honestly it only added to the stress and the impossible feeling of this still present. Growing, unstable and confusing time. I don’t know what will come of our home month to month. Much less a job to go back to. Which means school and daycare covered and exposing my 2 small children. We are a single parent. Single income family and still behind even with unemployment, which is said to end soon. We worry about our health, our home, our stability, our normalcy, our families, nieghbors, community, and lives daily. Nothing is certain. Everything feels out of our hands and surreal… And our kids education is utmost important; yet falls below my concern for our ACTUAL mortality, and economic ability to support and provide a healthy stable life. Honestly I can’t even get our Pediatrician to schedule an appointment for emunizations. That to me, speaks volumes… Funding? Online academy. Tutors for every child. Classes if any, in neighborhood grouping. Only expose kids to the kids the are going to be exposed to any way. Set up satilite feed classes for putter river kids with bad or no connection. And support the families that will be kept from working and supporting themselves to educate our youth. It’s hard enough trying to institute a normal schedule. Being home for so long we don’t even know the day anymore and time management is not something we have anymore… at least not normal “” time, and managing lol. The thought of Schedules and the hours we used to keep; and deadlines and uniforms; and applied Ridgid learning and homework and school involvement and all of the rest of juggling life and home.. It’s all a little bit overwhelming!
How does this all work the way it used to? When nothing is how it used to be?
And how do you garentee me that my child doesn’t get sick a month in when we all relax and become complacent cuz no new cases, until it’s one of our babies. Because we stop gaurding against this virus ; and it circles round again in our schools and daycares. Where our lil grem factories are busy learning social skills and ABCs…..
I’m everything to my children. And they are life to me.
Can you with zero doubt say everything that matters in this life to me is safe in your school.
My daughter came home with lice 3xs last year from another child at her desk station. The school could stop prevent or rid the lice problem. If the couldn’t prevent a little bug infestation; how can you tell me they can and will sheild my children from covid 19 and death; when it’s the size of a pandemic. And invisable and still very much a threat as it was in march.
Except in March there was no dealth toll we were merely bracing for it to affect our communities.
Much more to consider is all I’m suggesting…. and Strongly advicating for my children to stay healthy. Stay alive. Stay home. While there is risk.
Sincerely, a stir crazy, mother of 2 cabin fevered, but covid 19 free, tiny humans who are my EVERYTHING….
Funding isn’t everything if it means risking our children’s health and lives. Period.
Sammy Fernandez for one I don’t have a dog, for 2 we don’t have anything TO sell unless you’re gonna buy the parts truck I have
their is no limit to how many times you can be Isolated or Quarantine even if your not sick, just because you have came in contact with a positive person that means if have a job then you have to sit at home, unless you have a R.V. then one of you live in their for 14 days. or one pay check