ESCANABA — A hybrid schooling model will continue for grades 6-12 until the end of the semester in the Escanaba School District.

The Escanaba School Board reviewed the Extended COVID-19 Learning Plan lat its recent meeting. Every month, the district is required to adjust or confirm the plan, which lays out how instruction is going to take place in classrooms in each individual building.

As of the past few weeks the district has had full time face to face instruction in grades K-5, and fully remote in grades 6-12. The school board decided schools will continue with the hybrid model of attendance, using an alternating-day schedule of in-person and online learning for the remainder of the semester in grades 6-12. Grades K-5 will continue with full-time face-to-face schooling. Superintendent Coby Fletcher said while COVID-19 infection rates and positivity rates are going down, they are still comparatively high. Infection rates are about 500 cases per million and the positivity rate is around 10%.

“I’m afraid that if we brought 6-12 back with everybody face-to-face every day, we would end up with a situation where within a week we would have several hundred kids quarantined,” Fletcher said. He believes continuing the hybrid formula at this time will maximize face-to-face time and minimize the need for quarantining, as having half the students on campus at a time will make social distancing easier.

The board said it will revisit the plan at its next meeting, scheduled for January 18, right before the end of the first semester. The feeling is schools haven’t really had a chance to try out the hybrid plan a try yet, as it was only into its first few days before it was shutdown last time.

The board also passed an amendment that students who wish to finish the year fully remotely via online streaming into the classroom will be able to discuss the possibility with the school on a case-by-case basis. “If we have somebody that feels strongly about needing to stream, as long as the infection rates remain high, then we will work with that. It can make it a little more challenging on the part of teachers, but you know if it best serves students and families, that needs to be our priority,” said Fletcher.

A letter will go out to families in the district about the plan, and will include contact information for those who want to ask about streaming.

Attendance remained high in the past month despite the changes to the schooling format, averaging over 97%. Attendance is calculated based upon two-way communication between the student and the school during the week, whether face-to-face or remote.

In other business:

– The budget was reviewed, and the board noted the district is receiving $700 more per pupil from the state. An Esser Education Equity grant was also received. The budget will have to be decreased for property taxes, state receipts and rentals. Local grants and contributions are being increased. State funding has decreased funds for special education, Section 31a At-Risk, and Michigan Public Schools Employees’ Retirement System funding.

The school board received a lot of federal moneys from COVID-19 relief funds, which were put to use for

– The board is budgeting for funds to be transferred to the Public Improvement Fund to pay for three projects, to include the Webster Bus Lane, a new lunch van, and keyless door entries at some locations.

– Fletcher was found to have a “highly effective” rating this year, and a motion was passed to extend his contract a year.