The Big Lake School Board met last week and discussed the state of the district after the first month and a half of school. The topics tended to focus on the impact of COVID-19 and solutions to new problems going forward.

Enrollment

The finalized day-one enrollment for the district was 2,973, and the Oct. 1 enrollment was 2,963. The net change is the result of some students moving into the district and some moving out or deciding to do homeschooling. All surrounding districts are also down as more families decide to try homeschooling. The board hopes that some students will come back to the district after seeing what Big Lake Online has to offer.

COVID-19 Funding

The district has received $766,916 in Federal Corona Relief Funds (CRF) and received $85,000 from Sherburne County. The USDA waiver is being continued from last spring to allow free meals for students through June 30, 2021 (not including ala carte items) However, the board strongly recommends that families apply for meal benefits through the school directly, since the school is compensated for the students who are eligible. The school could potentially be down $310,000 from last year without this funding, which could do a lot of good within the district. The board says many families may not realize they are eligible, but it doesn’t hurt to apply, and could in fact help the schools. Families can also apply as often as they like as situations change — for example, if a parent loses his/her job.

Attendance

The district is having trouble with some students who are not attending their online classes. They engaged a Sherburne County truancy officer to contact those students. The board introduced new language at the meeting outlining rules for online attendance.

Students are required to be logged into their online classes for 20 hours per week in order to be considered present. Teachers will mark students as absent if students are not making progress within their classes. Of course, the school is willing to be flexible so long as the student shows they are making progress within the class: they may not be logged in while working on assignments, or they may not be turning in assignments until the end of the week, so teachers are willing to work with families to make sure the students are on track and that attendance is as accurate as possible.

The district will try to give support to families with struggling students in order to make sure that the students are getting everything they need. If the families refuse help and the student doesn’t begin doing better in his/her class, it may be reported as child neglect. The biggest part of the issue is getting parents to respond to calls, emails, and mail regarding their student’s lack of attendance.

ACT Debacle

The ACT make-up test was supposed to be held earlier this month, but, allegedly, FedEx lost the tests for the students. ACT responded to the school by saying if those students still wished to take the test, they would have to sign up for a national testing day. The students who paid to take the test will be reimbursed.

Transition to a New Learning Model

COVID-19 numbers have been increasing in the county and in Minnesota as a whole. The learning models are likely to change if this trend continues. The board hopes to give families time to prepare in the case of a change. The board hopes to have “planning days” on the 9th and 10th. Students would be at home those two days, and teachers would be given an opportunity to prepare to transition to the next learning model, which would start on the 11th. For secondary students in the middle and high schools, not much would change, but elementary school students would transfer to a hybrid model, meaning that classes would be spread out so students are six feet apart, and spaces like the gymnasium and cafeteria would be used to allow students to spread out more. The bus routes may also change, as not all of the routes have met the 50% capacity guideline the hybrid model requires.

The board decided to do this based on the trends they are seeing with COVID-19 numbers. They want to prepare as much as possible. It may even be necessary to have secondary students switch to an all-distance learning model. If that is the case, the school will announce it on Nov. 16.

The board will look to see what other schools are doing in regards to continuing activities during an all-distance learning model.

Transportation

There is a national shortage of CDL drivers, and the school has struggled in recent years to find drivers. One district bus is exceeding the 50% capacity necessary for the hybrid model, but the board hopes to find a solution to this quickly. Lots of families have been very helpful with driving their students to school. If the district lacks enough drivers, students may be asked to stay at home that day. The same goes for a lack of teachers and substitutes.

Community Education

During the meeting, the annual presentation for community education was presented to the board. School readiness classes, ECFE classes, and child care are still being offered by Big Lake Community Education this year. Many of the classes are being offered outside when possible. Not only does this help to meet COVID-19 regulations, but studies have shown that having kids be outside is great for their mental and physical health. Community education has yet to have a positive case of COVID-19 within any of their classes. Community education is still taking a big hit, however, as participation dramatically dropped. The school may be able to apply for peacetime emergency grant money for providing child care to Tier 1 families (families with parents working in an emergency capacity.) The district could be granted up to $76,000. If the school goes into distance learning, the school is required to offer free childcare to families.

Special Meeting

The school board will hold a special meeting to canvas the election results for school board members at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 9.

Student Liasion Report

Student liaison Ella Dotzler informed the board about the use of Zoom meetings for taking attendance in classes. She said it’s been discovered that this is not necessarily an effective way for taking attendance, though it’s a great tool for lectures. Many students weighed in on the issue, feeling as though having to wait for the teacher to take attendance through Zoom calls with all the students attending virtually was detracting from their in-person learning time.

Dotzler gave her opinion that teachers should focus on the students that are in-person while they have the opportunity, rather than try to juggle a virtual and physical classroom during one brief hour of lecture. The board, however, was reluctant to do anything to address the issue at this time, saying they would trust the administration to figure out a way to make things work out.