by John McLoone

As of March 1, the River Falls School District plans to transition grades 7-12 to fourday- per-week learning.

Superintendent Jamie Benson said that the downward trend in COVID-19 numbers is allowing for the return to “in-person” learning.

“We felt it was important to give advance notice to all of you to be aware of this March 1 change. Building principals will also be holding staff meetings to discuss this plan and sending additional information to parents and students to solidify details related to our fourday schedule,” Benson said. “Please know that we will continue to follow all of our mitigation efforts and protocols as we take a measured and mindful approach moving forward.”

The district has taken measures, such as installing technology to purify air.

“The district recently completed the $225,000 installation of Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization technology in all spaces of all school buildings. This technology has a long and established track record of use in areas such as surgical and laboratory settings. It cleans and purifies air and is an added effort to our COVID-mitigation plan. It will also help to alleviate other pathogens and viruses,” said Benson.

The district is asking residents to remain vigilant with masking and distancing.

“We will continue to seek parent, student and community efforts to control the spread of this virus. Just because we are adding more days of instructions, people should not become complacent in our unified mitigation efforts at school and in our community,” said Benson.

Data shows that “community spread” is lower in schools.

“It appears reopening schools for in-person learning does not significantly increase community transmission of the virus. Although there will always remain a level of risk associated with COVID, we are attempting to balance COVID risks with the needs of our students,” said Benson. “There is growing concern related to academic progress, social/emotional support, and physical activity that are foundational to how our schools serve the best interests of our students. It is an extreme challenge to measure and weigh COVID risk against students' needs to be able to make informed decisions.”

Local surveys also show that many high school parents don’t feel their academic needs are being met. Only 36 percent of high school parents think needs are being met. In grades 6-12, only 50 percent of parents agree theii child “is provided appropriate social/emotional support.”

“Even with the extreme efforts of our stafi to support students during this pandemic, this is a concerning statistic,” said Benson.