Schools prepare for in-person learning after Ducey’s order

School districts across Arizona are reexamining their plans for students following Gov. Doug Ducey’s order that they open for in-person learning later this month.

Many already were planning to return in the coming weeks and months, but some were caught off-guard by the order because it differed from the state’s approach to school decisions in the past year.

Most Arizona students have had the option to return to the classroom to some degree since the pandemic start

ed. But some districts have remained all-virtual since the state shut down inperson classes last March to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Ducey issued an executive order Wednesday that calls for all schools to reopen in-person learning by March 15, or after spring break.

The order may change when how these schools bring students back, though they’re still working to understand some of the order’s parameters and ensuring they focus on health and safety.

Some districts, like Phoenix Union High School District and Tucson Unified School District, have done only distance learning, but planned to return later in March, prior to the governor’s order.

“Rest assured, with or without this executive order, the health, safety and wellness of our community and you personally has and will remain our top priority at all times,” Chad Gestson, the superintendent of the Phoenix Union High School District, told the district in a video posted to YouTube on Wednesday.

Others, like Phoenix Elementary School District, didn’t have set dates for students’ return yet and are trying to understand how the order will affect them.

And some districts said they needed clarification from the Governor’s Office to understand how to interpret the order.

The Governor’s Office did not respond to questions from The Arizona Republic pertaining to the order.

The order provides exceptions for middle and high schools in counties that have high transmission as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This applies to Coconino, Yavapai and Pinal counties, the Governor’s Office said.

It also does not affect schools on tribal nations, which may have orders in effect that require students to maintain distance learning, the Arizona Department of Education said.

Some districts had plans in place

Phoenix Union planned to bring its staff back to campuses on March 15, with students returning to campuses the week of March 30. Parents could decide whether their children would continue virtual learning or come back in person.

So far, 23% of Phoenix Union families selected in-person options for the fourth quarter, Gestson said in the YouTube video. The district has 21 schools and more than 28,000 students, according to its website.

Because the district was preparing to bring thousands of employees back to campuses, Gestson said the district is “confident that our campuses and our classrooms would be ready if it’s necessary to bring back in-person learning as early as March 15.”

One district that has not returned to in-person classes yet, Tolleson Union High School District, already had plans to return after spring break, before Ducey’s order was announced.

Tucson Unified School District planned to reopen for in-person learning on March 24 before the order, but that will move to March 22, the district said on its website.

Donna Lewis, the superintendent of the Creighton School District in Phoenix that serves K-8 students, said her schools have worked for seven weeks to talk to teachers and families to figure out what is best for everyone. The district is set to return to in-person learning March 16, after their spring break ends.

Ducey’s order didn’t affect these plans, but the order still felt abrupt to some administrators, she said, because it differed from the governor’s approach throughout the pandemic of allowing local school boards to assess local needs.

She said there’s strong interest among families wanting to return, and vaccination levels among staff of more than 80%.

“(Creighton schools) are going to all meet the governor’s executive order because we’ve been working on it for seven weeks . ... So the executive order didn’t throw us off. We were already ready, and we didn’t need it either,” Lewis said.

Cartwright School District, in the hard-hit Maryvale area of Phoenix, has seen employees and community members die from COVID-19, and the spread in the area was substantial, said Veronica Sanchez, the district’s director of communications and community engagement.

Still, the district has prepared for months for an eventual return to in-person learning. Plans previously called for a June return for summer school, but Sanchez said the school will now open on March 15. An announcement on the district’s website emphasizes that it’s up to parents whether to send their child in person or continue online.

“Although it did come as a surprise and it will be definitely a challenge, we will absolutely comply with the executive order. Because we’ve been so prepared and we’ve been meeting week after week after week, we got this,” she said.

Order leads to uncertainty for some districts

The Phoenix Elementary School District learned about the governor’s Wednesday afternoon. The district’s governing board called a meeting for Friday to discuss a return to in-person instruction. No date was previously set for a return of students.

“We are in the process of determining how this impacts the district, and will make a good faith effort to comply with the order,” the district said in a statement.

In two districts in the Yuma area, Somerton School District and Gadsden School District, spring break comes later. These districts are trying to understand if Ducey’s order means they need to return after their spring break, which would be early April, or if the language meant schools could return after spring break if March 15 fell during that break.

Laura Noel, the superintendent of Somerton School District, said the district’s board was already considering a return to classes on March 15 based on local conditions and vaccination levels of staff. The order should be possible to accommodate, Noel said via email.

Somerton’s spring break isn’t until the end of March. The Monday after would be April 5. She’s not sure if the order means the district must start on March 15, or on April 5.

A survey to the school community a few weeks ago showed nearly half, 47%, would stay in distance learning, but the same percentage of teachers and staff also did not want to return to in-person now, Noel said.

“We need everyone on campus in order to fluctuate our services. Even staff involved in Distance Learning will now need to come to school and broadcast from school,” she said.