District to add in-class teaching next month

Starting Nov. 9, classes to be in addition to virtual learning

Elementary and middle school students in the Royal Oak district can start attending classes at school in addition to virtual learning next month.

Royal Oak Schools Board of Education members, along with Superintendent Mary Beth Fitzpatrick and other administrators, on Thursday reviewed a plan to offer in-person classes starting Nov. 9.

High school students will continue to have all remote classes until the end of the first semester in January, but can make appointments and work in small groups at the school on a limited schedule

“We’re going back to the plan we had before,” said Gary Briggs, board vice president. “Unfortunately, there’s no plan that is going to have 100 percent” support.

There are 1,520 high school students, 1,185 in the middle school, and about 2,500 students among the district’s preschool and six elementary school buildings.

In late July, school officials decided to start the school year with the same hybrid teaching plan they are putting in place next month. But they later backtracked and decided against any classroom instruction at the start of the school year.

“We needed more time to understand the impact of the virus in our community, and howto best be prepared and navigate groups within the schools and responses to positive (COVID-19) exposures or cases,” said Fitzpatrick. “We have received very good guidance fromthe Oakland County Health Department in the last month, including the assignment of two nurses to serve our district.”

Middle School students with last names starting with A through K will attend in-person classes Mondays and Wednesday. The other students will attend classes at the school Tuesdays and Thursdays.

In a message to parents, Middle School Principal Todd Noonan said he will give them more specifics in the coming weeks.

“Our plan remains focused on best practices for teaching and learning in order to maximize opportunities for personalized instruction for our students,” he said in the letter.

Parents of middle school students who prefer only remote learning for their children can do so by notifying the school.

Elementary students will follow a similar plan. But middle school students will have the option to eat lunch at school and complete classwork on school computers, or go home for lunch and do their online assignments there.

Using both remote and in-class instruction allows school officials to limit the number of students in buildings at one time tomaintain social distancing.

“It is a transition toward a full return to school,” Fitzpatrick said, “which we hope the students and staff can enjoy at some point this school year.”

Students will have to wear masks in school and follow rules for avoiding exposure or spread of the COVID-19 virus, Briggs said.

Plexiglass shields and increased cleaning and sanitizing in school buildings are part of the hybrid plan, he added. If there is a COVID-19 exposure or case, the affected school will have to quarantine for two weeks and return to only remote learning, Briggs said.

“People have to understand this is a completely unique and unexpected process,” he said, “and we’re working the best we can to remedy any problems.”