Becker and Big Lake secondary students are set to return to in-person learning mid-March, at the beginning of the third trimester. Students have been learning from home or following a hybrid model since the beginning of the pandemic last spring.
Decision to Return
The Minnesota Dept. of Health (MDH), the Minnesota Dept. of Education (MDE), and Sherburne County Public Health have given both schools the green light to begin making plans to return students to in-person learning. COVID-19 cases in the area are down significantly, with fewer than 25 cases per 10,000 residents at the time the schools announced their intention to have students return.
Why Return in March?
The COVID-19 cases are low enough that students could technically return earlier than mid-March. But before either school can allow students to return to a fully in-person model, some conditions need to be met.
Firstly, the number of COVID-19 cases needs to remain low. With students only recently transitioning from all-distance learning, it’s possible numbers could spike again.
Secondly, staff needs to be allowed “planning days” in order to prepare for the transition. This is also the reason the schools are both waiting until the end of the second trimester to transition. Students are normally given a day or two off at the end of a trimester, so the transition will be more seamless than if the schools attempted to do so in the middle of the trimester. They also decided it was best not to take away from the limited number of learning days the students had left in the trimester. The new trimester, and the switch to an in-person model, will take place March 16 for Becker and March 18 for Big Lake.
Thirdly, the schools need time to allow families who opted for all-distance learning, online schooling, and homeschooling to apply to return to in-person learning. Some families decided last fall to keep their students distance-learning entirely, to provide some stability for the kids. However, if all in-person learning is an option, both schools expect families to want their students in school again.
Finally, the schools hope to have more vaccinations available to staff over the next month.
Back to School
It’s important for teens and pre-teens to be among their peers, and a lot of the students have missed attending school in-person for the past year.
“I feel, personally, it’s a lot easier for me to work in a classroom,” said Ashley Madison, a Big Lake High School Student. “Plus, I don’t have to deal with my parents nagging about my schoolwork.”
Her peer, Joe Biers, agreed, stating, “I’m very glad to be going back to school. The online schooling has been extremely boring and was mostly a lot of mindless clicking without really learning anything new.”
Students will still be required to wear face masks while in school, and will be strongly encouraged to wash their hands, sanitize, and socially distance whenever possible. Busses will also no longer be limited to 50% capacity, though both districts encourage families to provide transportation if at all possible, to limit the possibility of students needing to be quarantined.
Prom and Graduation
Neither school has decided whether to hold prom or graduation this year at this time.
Big Lake Schools stated, “While we recognize the importance of celebrating prom and graduation, our primary efforts have been focused on returning students to in-person learning. We will be sharing more information after receiving further guidance from MDH and our ability to return students to a stable, in-person learning environment.
