LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — An unusual classroom schedule during hybrid learning is causing a little confusion for some Clark County School District parents. They’re trying to figure out when their kids are in the classroom and when they are learning from home.
Older students are finally returning to the classroom at CCSD middle and high schools. It’s the start of getting back to normal.
“The students who were here were pretty happy with the opportunity to be back in the classroom,” Reuben D’Silva, a history at Rancho High School, said.
But the school schedule will look quite different. At most middle and high schools, for two of the days during the week students on campus will start their day in class for two periods, and then attend their other classes virtually. For the three other days, the students will stay at home and do all of their classes online.
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“It’s a lot of lists. It’s a lot of cross-checking.”
Cris Murray Baker is an administrator at Mack Middle School. She says the idea behind the schedule is balancing health guidelines with social distancing and having enough class time with teachers.
“Parents who chose to send their kids back would have the most amount of time in class with the teacher,” she said.
D’Silva says the afternoon of virtual learning also allows for more cleaning to happen.
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“We also need to have time to clean and disinfect the entire school. At Rancho High School we have 3,000 students, the second biggest school in the entire state of Nevada,” he said.
The decision to have this type of school day was made by the board of trustees during its July 21 meeting last year with only having one passing period during the day to limit student interaction. Jeremiah Riesenbeck, a social studies teacher at Centennial High School says trying to manage students in-person and virtually will be a challenge, making sure all of their learning needs are met.
“We have two school years in one now where we’re doing the same thing but starting a new school year where we’re learning everyone’s names and faces who we’ve only been looking at a screen for the whole year,” he said.
Baker says the schedule will take time to get used to and encourages parents and students to stay in touch with their teachers and check their emails.
“Give your kids some grace. Encourage them. Give the teachers and school staff some grace. We are all working really hard and excited to see the kids back,” she said.
Starting April 6, we’ll see seventh and eighth graders along with high school sophomores and juniors return to campus for hybrid learning. Elementary schools will resume full-time face-to-face learning that same day.
