The logo for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is displayed inside the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Thursday, July 22, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

The logo for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is displayed inside the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Thursday, July 22, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Schools aim for business as usual as cases reach new highs

On Monday, there were 14 staff members and 69 students self-isolating with the virus

Even amid a recent statewide COVID-19 spike that has seen the highest case rates of the pandemic so far, most everything is business as usual in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, KPBSD Communications Director Pegge Erkeneff said Monday.

“So far, we’ve still been able to keep our lunches being served, our buses running, and classrooms are operating,” she said. “Our staff are really stepping up and helping out and volunteers are helping; substitutes are coming in.”

According to data from the district’s COVID dashboard on Monday, there were 14 staff members and 69 students currently self-isolating with the virus. The seven-day average case rates on the central peninsula, south peninsula and east peninsula were all high.

Erkeneff said that while positive staff and students as well as those identified as close contacts are contributing to absenteeism, the district emphasizes the importance of in-person learning.

“The superintendent and the school board and administration have a very high priority to keep in-person learning happening,” she said. “So we’ve got lots of layered mitigations that are working.”

Some of those measures include isolation and masking when COVID levels are high. As of Monday, 18 schools in the district were operating with universal masking in place, Erkeneff said.

The schools operating with universal masking were Fireweed Academy, Homer Flex School, Homer High School, Homer Middle School, Kachemak Selo School, Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Sciences, K-Beach Elementary, Mountain View Elementary, Paul Banks Elementary, Port Graham School, Redoubt Elementary, River City Academy, Seward Elementary, Seward High School, Skyview Middle School, Soldotna Elementary, Susan B. English School and West Homer Elementary.

One of the newest policy changes is early release Fridays.

“One of the things that did go into place starting last Friday is an early release day,” Erkeneff said. “All of our schools are staying open right now. It’s a big lift for everybody, you know, people are really tired.”

She said early dismissal times on Fridays, which are in effect until spring break, are supposed to help both staff and students get caught up in school work and lesson planning.

“I know the superintendent has heard some really positive things,” Erkeneff said. “That’s, again, another lift for families who have their students or their children home earlier on that Friday.”

According to the KPBSD COVID-19 dashboard, there have been 322 COVID-positive staff and 1,440 COVID-positive students since the district launched the hub. In addition, there have been 521 identified staff close contacts and 5,068 student close contacts.

More information about how KPBSD is responding to the pandemic can be found on the district’s COVID-19 website at covid19.kpbsd.org.

This story has been updated.

Reach reporter Camille Botello at camille.botello@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Montessori materials sit on shelves in a classroom at Soldotna Montessori Charter School on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Education debate draws state attention to peninsula charter schools

Dunleavy would like to see a shift of authority over charter school approvals from local school districts to the state

The Nikiski Senior Center stands under sunlight in Nikiski, Alaska, on Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Support available for community caregivers

Nikiski Senior Center hosts relaunched Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program

Flags flank the entrance to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s office on Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Dunleavy vetoes bipartisan education bill

Senate Bill 140 passed the House by a vote of 38-2 and the Senate by a vote of 18-1 last month

The Alaska State Capitol on Friday, March 1, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
House passes bill altering wording of sex crimes against children

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer

Ben Meyer and Brandon Drzazgowski present to the Soldotna and Kenai Chambers of Commerce at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Watershed Forum gives update on streambank restoration

The watershed forum and other organizations are working to repair habitat and mitigate erosion

The entrance to the Kenai Police Department, as seen in Kenai, Alaska, on April 1, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai resident arrested on charges of arson

Kenai Police and Kenai Fire Department responded to a structure fire near Mountain View Elementary

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks in opposition to an executive order that would abolish the Board of Certified Direct-Entry Midwives during a joint legislative session on Tuesday, March 12, 2024 in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Legislature kills most of Dunleavy’s executive orders in rare joint session

All the proposed orders would have shuffled or eliminated the responsibilities of various state boards

Nikiski Middle/High School student Maggie Grenier testifies in favor of a base student allocation increase before the Alaska Senate Education Committee on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Screenshot)
Students report mixed responses from lawmakers in education discussions

Delegates from the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District lobbied the Alaska Legislature for more state funding and other education priorities

A child waves from the back of a truck as the 32nd annual Sweeney’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade proceeds down Fireweed Street in Soldotna, Alaska on Friday, March 17, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
St. Patrick’s Day parade set for Sunday

The annual Sweeney’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, hosted by the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce, kicks off at 2 p.m.

Most Read