By L. Parsons Winslow students returned to online instruction Aug. 10 with high school students given an option to attend online through Arizona State University. In last week’s district governing board meeting, that plan was revealed to have changed. Following a cost analysis and a weak communication stream with ASU, Superintendent Kathryn Zanin brought a motion to the board that they not approve a memorandum of understanding with the university. It should be noted that though the district will not be utilizing the ASU curriculum across the board, the option will remain on the table for some students. Zanin explained that families who still would like to take advantage of the program should contact her directly and she will see to it that their student receives services through the university. The majority of Winslow High School students, however, will receive instruction from teachers in the district who will teach online until at least Oct. 12, when benchmarks will be reevaluated on reopening in-person learning. The discussion surrounding the ASU decision did not appear on the agenda for the emergency meeting, but action was taken. Items that were on the agenda included a discussion on the benchmarks for reopening set forth by the Arizona Department of Health Services. The district, according to Zanin, currently meets two of the three, the percentage of positive COVID cases and the percentage of hospitalization due to COVID like illnesses. The governing board unanimously voted to postpone in-person instruction until the end of the first quarter, which is Oct. 12. Zanin said, “They are expecting a spike in cases following Labor Day so we will reevaluate our situation in September. We have said Oct. 12 but we may look at opening earlier.” The decision to postpone was also based on personal protective equipment and other precautionary items that had not been received yet. The refillable water bottle stations often mentioned have not yet been installed and plastic dividers have not yet been received by the district. Protocols and procedures for COVID related concerns have been updated for staff at the district. “Employees will have their temperatures checked once a day, high touch areas will be disinfected every 15 minutes and our janitorial staff will be cleaning and disinfecting at night,” said Zanin. The board tabled a discussion regarding the human resources director position after Zanin explained that a new contract is under negotiation that factors in the shortened in-person school year. The Winslow Unified School District Governing Board will meet again, at their regularly scheduled meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 19, at the Performing Arts Center, located at 600 E. Cherry St.
