A new online tool from the Arizona Department of Education has been launched to help parents keep track of the status of reopening in-person classes for all school districts and many charter schools across the state of Arizona.
Many parents are concerned about their children going back to school in person overall, and looking for schools that may have online-only options to prevent their children from getting the virus.
Although many parents are concerned, Gov. Ducey is demanding that kids go back to school in person; in response, the AZDE has launched a new toolkit to provide parents with information on which schools are hybrid, distance, or in-person.
The self-reported data is sent to the department by Arizona’s 15 county superintendents, although the site indicates that updates from Maricopa County districts were also taken from other public sources.
With many cases on the rise, some state leaders and medical experts have called for more action from Gov. Doug Ducey to find solutions and personally address the COVID-19 in the winter months.
Superintendent Kathy Hoffman tweeted, “I am disappointed that our state and country failed to take a proactive approach to curb the winter surge of COVID-19. In that wake, educators, students & families shoulder the disproportionate burden to overcome teaching and learning challenges during COVID-19.”
The data for the statewide tracker school learning models is currently available as of Dec. 1, the school district and charter schools can be found here.
The statewide tracker school learning models are public health recommendations to guide school administration on which learning models could be implemented for their school based on the community spread within their county.
The Arizona Department of Health Service (AZDHS) recommends count-specific public health benchmarks that fall in the moderate or minimal categories in all three benchmarks for two weeks in order to provide Hybrid learning.
There are many scenarios of schools reopening that include traditional/in-person that have all students in physical buildings, a hybrid is also an option and it keeps some students in physical buildings and some students distance learning.
The virtual option keeps all students distant from learning with onsite support services, while the intermittent option keeps distance learning based on emergency closures as defined by state and local health departments.
The ADHS Schools Toolkit further explains the community spread levels and delivery models.
In the AZDHS Schools Toolkit, there is the “Safely Returning to In-person Instruction” pamphlet, which provides education instructions, supports the development of social and emotional skills, creates a safe environment for learning, addresses nutrition needs and facilitates physical activity.
“Today, @azedschools released a new statewide tracker to indicate whether schools are in distance, hybrid, or in-person learning models. With no indication that #COVID19 cases will slow in the coming weeks, most are opting for distance learning models,” Hoffman said on Twitter.
As schools return to distance learning, this time it can be the second or third time that educators, students, and families need extra support and assistance. That support consists of childcare, internet service, family leave, housing and many more necessities.
On Nov. 18, Gov. Ducey and state officials held a press conference for the first time in weeks to encourage Arizonans to wear masks all the time.
“Masks work. Please wear them. They are required nearly everywhere outside your home,” Gov. Ducey said. “We know that masks protect others. The new CDC study shows masks protect others, but it also protects you.”
AZDHS is recommending that every school should work with their local health departments. After there is a transition to a hybrid model, it is recommended that schools consider resuming virtual learning when many benchmark sections are in transmission.
Contact the reporter mtorrest@asu.edu.
