The Belgrade Public School District held a meeting on Monday morning where they announced students returning to school this fall can either return in person or online.
“There are a lot of models around the country and in Montana floating around. And there’s no one size that fits all,” said Godfrey Saunders, Belgrade School District Superintendent.
Belgrade School administrators say allowing for students to attend in-person class or online allows for more flexibility, rather than the blended model that was agreed upon in late July.
“The idea is to have it so flexible enough to allow dropping in and dropping out if need be out of either platform,” said Saunders.
Saunders says there’s plenty of the nitty-gritty to continue to work through.
“We have some logistical things to work out like we have 32 bus routes, and we want to have masks on students with at least 2 to a seat but with masks. But of those 32 routes, we have 10 where there are some that will be sitting three to a seat. So we have to address those issues as well.”
And that means working with the county to prepare for some of the worst-case scenarios.
“We will have infections. We will address them, not as in house, but with the help of the county health department. So we’re going to use the experts to help them address them,” said Saunders.
So in the meantime, parents can start planning ahead for the school year, or learning in person or online.
This may change. Any decision that we make today, you know the conditions could go south any day. And we have to be flexible and adaptable and willing to change.
