Superintendents from all eight Clark County districts are jointly recommending their schools begin fall classes online, according to a joint press release Wednesday.
The collective includes Battle Ground, Camas, Evergreen, Hockinson, La Center, Ridgefield, Vancouver and Washougal school districts. The superintendents said they are recommending an online start to the year after consulting with public health officials. The districts represent about 80,000 students combined, according to state data.
“The virus growth trajectory in Clark County and our surrounding region makes it clear that resuming school in-person this fall could result in more widespread infections,” said Vancouver Public Schools Superintendent Steve Webb in a press release. “That’s a risk we simply cannot take. Protecting the health and safety of our students and staff is our number one priority.”
Clark County, the most populous county in Southwest Washington, has 1,727 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, according to the public health department. Those cases have doubled in the past month, as part of a broader rise across Washington state that recently led Gov. Jay Inslee to pause the state’s multi-phase reopening plan.
“We all agree that in-person education is best; however, the data and science of COVID-19 suggests it’s just too dangerous to head back to the classroom right now,” said Dr. Alan Melnick, the county’s public health director, in a prepared statement.
Addressing concerns of a weaker learning environment, schools said they planned to follow an improved and “more accountable” model for online classes. They said that includes improving education apps, investing in technology and updating devices, and training educators more for online learning.
The news follows several high-profile districts making the same decision.
School districts in New York City and Los Angeles announced online curricula two weeks ago. Last week, the superintendent of the largest school district in Washington, Seattle Public Schools, said she would recommend an online start. And yesterday, several districts in Oregon, including Portland Public Schools and Salem-Keizer School District, said they would start the year online.
In an email to families, Battle Ground Superintendent Mark Ross said he’s recommending the district look at linking in-person classes to the county’s phased reopening. Ultimately, he said that could mean in-person classes would resume when Clark County enters Washington’s fourth and final phase of reopening.
“As the situation is evolving, we will be flexible,” he wrote. Clark County is currently in the state’s second phase.
Mary Templeton, superintendent of Washougal School District, told OPB she’s still optimistic in-person classes can resume this school year.
“We are still optimistic that if the infection rate within our community continues to move in a positive direction ... then we can make some decisions to get our students back (in class) safely,” she said.
The school boards will meet in the coming weeks to respectively decide on whether to approve the recommendation.