Six weeks into the school year and the early results for Saint Mary School’s hybrid instructional plan have been positive, school officials say.

The private Catholic K-8 school in Aberdeen implemented a plan that included online remote-learning combined with in-person instruction to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Pre-kindergarten students attend class in-person four days a week with kindergartners attending classes twice a week (split into two cohort groups).

First through eighth grade students have had in-person schooling once a week (split into three cohort groups) and have been supplementing that time with daily Zoom sessions that include the entire class, as well as utilizing recorded lessons.

According to the school’s principal, Carrie Marlow, there have been no recorded COVID-19 cases or transmissions thus far.

“During the first six weeks of our Safe Start plan, we have not had any reports of students or staff members contracting COVID-19,” Marlow wrote in an email. “Our families have done an amazing job of cooperating with all of the preventative measures we put in place to keep students and staff safe.”

For first through eighth grade students, the in-person time is used for socializing with their teachers and each other and for the teachers to assess student progress and provide extra assistance when needed.

“The feedback we have received from our school families so far has been completely positive regarding the Safe Start Plan,” wrote Marlow, adding that while many parents would like to see in-person instruction time increase, the school is not ready to make that move yet, based on the direction of the county health department. “Most of our parents and students would like to have more in-person instruction, but understand that will take time. The students definitely treasure their Cohort Days and the opportunity to be in the school building with their classmates and teachers.

“Following the guidance of the local Health Department and (Grays Harbor County Health Officer) Dr. (John) Bausher, Saint Mary School is not planning to increase our in-person school offerings at this time. Unfortunately, the high numbers of COVID cases in our county are making it unsafe for us to bring students into the building in larger numbers or for longer periods of time. Once the COVID case numbers begin to make a consistent downturn, we will look to the next phase of our Safe Start Plan, which would mean creating larger student cohorts that would attend in-person learning more frequently.”

Marlow said her administration and staff has been in “constant conversation” as to its Safe Start Plan and are ready for any contingencies based on fluctuation in the county’s coronavirus case numbers.

“We are watching our county COVID case numbers daily and we are ready to pivot to more in-person learning as soon as we are given the green light to do so,” Marlow wrote. “For now, however, we will continue to work with the time we do have within the boundaries and safety protocols we have been given.”

While in-person learning has been a benefit to Saint Mary School students, providing valuable face-to-face time with classmates and teachers while maintaining a sense of schedule and school structure, the hybrid plan has not been without its difficulties.

“Cohort Day schedules can be a challenge for families, especially those with working parents,” Marlow wrote before noting some of the additional issues an out-of-the-ordinary model imposes. “Balancing in-person cohort time with the time needed to effectively teach and learn remotely; meeting the learning needs of every individual student, especially those who need special services; and students miss seeing all their friends and classmates.”

Marlow explained that the early success of the hybrid instructional plan has been due largely to a team effort by the Saint Mary School community.

“We are blessed with a small, steadfast school community that is working diligently to keep each other safe while providing our students and staff with a bit of weekly face-to-face time,” she wrote.

Students work in the classroom as part of St. Mary School’s hybrid learning model. (Photo courtesy of St. Mary School)

A St. Mary School student receives one-on-one instruction as part of the school’s hybrid instructional program to incorporate in-person and remote-learning models. (Photo courtesy of St. Mary School)