More than 100 Highlands students returning to partial in-person instruction

More than 100 Highlands School District students who started the school year remotely because of the covid-19 pandemic will be returning to schools for the start of the second nine-week period, Superintendent Monique Mawhinney said.

Nearly 40 students will be going the other way, opting for the district’s fully online program.

The district asked parents to complete a survey if they wanted to change how their children are attending school.

For students in schools, the district is using a hybrid model in which students are divided into two groups that attend classes in-person two days a week and work remotely the other three days. All students in the district work remotely on Fridays.

Students were able to attend school fully online through the district’s own virtual academy.

According to Mawhinney’s report to the school board Monday, 130 students will be changing from the fully remote program to the hybrid program. The majority are at the elementary school, 51, and middle school, 50. Fifteen students will return to the Early Childhood Center, while 14 will return to the high school.

A total of 37 students are opting to move from the hybrid program to fully online. The breakdown there is 15 at the high school, 12 at the middle school, nine at the elementary school and one at the Early Childhood Center.

With the students returning to schools, Mawhinney said the district will be able to maintain the recommended 6 feet of social distancing in classrooms at all buildings. But she cautioned that may mean the district may not be able to honor all requests as to which groups in which students are placed.

“We might not be able to honor all those requests,” she said. “We’re going to try our hardest. The goal is to be able to maintain 6 feet in the classroom.”

Mawhinney said student schedules will be updated and adjusted by Oct. 26.

The second nine-week period starts Oct. 30, which is a Friday where all students work remotely. Students moving from the fully online program will start in the hybrid schedule the week of Nov. 2.

Training sessions will be provided as they had been at the start of the school year for students changing to the online program, Mawhinney said.

Mawhinney said the district also is working on bus schedules, which included asking parents if they are able to drive their children or if they needed transportation.

“We have a lot of work to do,” she said.