Juneau School District expands in-person learning starting this week

The Juneau School District is welcoming Kinder Ready preschool classes to in-person learning today, November 9. Two small cohorts of preschoolers kick off the district’s slow and incremental expansion of in-person attendance at schools. JSD Superintendent Bridget Weiss will be joining the November 10 COVID-19 Community Update; submit questions to the superintendent by emailing [email protected].

Following Kinder Ready, the district plans to add other grades for in-person attendance:

• Kindergarten will start no sooner than November 30
• 1st Grade will start no sooner than January 11
• 2nd grade – 5th grade tentative start dates will be announced in December or January
• Middle School and High School (where mixing is more prevalent) start dates will not occur until next semester. An update for Middle and High School will be shared before Winter Break.

More details can be found at juneauschools.org under “JSD Update on In Person Learning.” Distance delivery will continue to be available throughout the remainder of the school year for any student or family who chooses to stay with that option.

The district began the school year August 24 with distance learning for all students at all schools. Then, with many health and safety measures in place, schools started slowly accommodating in-person attendance for individuals and small cohorts of students beginning September 8. Before today, students had already been coming to school for a variety of services like internet access, RALLY, Montessori Borealis Children’s House, specific classes, test taking, student activities, and special education.

Expanding in-person opportunities is a result of several weeks of planning and discussion between dozens of staff and administrators from every school. The district continues to navigate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic with the goal of balancing students’ educational needs with the health and safety for staff, students, families, and community.

Learn more about in-person learning from Superintendent Weiss during the November 10 COVID-19 Community Update at 4 p.m. by joining the Zoom webinar https://juneau.zoom.us/j/98563085159, or calling 1-346-248-7799 or 1-669-900-6833 or 1-253-215-8782, webinar ID 985 6308 5159. Questions from the media will be answered live. Questions from the public can be emailed to [email protected].