"There are a lot of unknowns, he said. The administration has come up with different ideas, different things, but for us, we really don't know. We don't know what it's going to look like.

Community leaders around the country racing to beat the school bell have been untangling that problem all summer. It is, at first glance, hopelessly complex. Bisenius points out that his classroom at Red River High School is about 25 by 30 feet. How is he supposed to keep more than two dozen kids distanced?

And then what happens, say, if one of my students comes down with it, or gets diagnosed with it? Or I come down with it? What's going to happen to my kids? he asked. Do I suddenly go to quarantine and then everything's done online?

Many things are still unclear about the coming school year in Grand Forks, starting with the date school begins. It was initially slated for Aug. 26 and 27 a staggered start, with students from kindergarten up to ninth grade starting on one day, and grades 10 and above the next. But administrators are mulling a plan to bump that back to Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.

Grand Forks school leaders havent finalized detailed reopening plans, either, though a committee of administrators, principals, school nurses and other staff have been working out the thorny questions of reopening. The plan is expected to be discussed by the School Board leaders at its July 28 meeting.

The full extent of the districts planning isnt available yet. But both a draft document obtained in a public information request and interviews with school leaders paint a picture of a district scrambling to answer as many questions as it can.

Catherine Gillach, an assistant superintendent in the Grand Forks School District, said theres no uniform answer on how classes will social distance, for example furniture could be moved to make space for students desks, or maybe the class could get relocated to a new space. Jody Thompson, another associate superintendent, said that in the case of a teacher or student testing positive, the district plans to follow the lead of public health leaders and contact tracers, even shutting down, if necessary.

Ive been in district administration for 25-plus years, either at the school or the district level. This is the most complex process Ive been involved in trying to plan for, Thompson said. Its just been a daunting task to try to plan for every possible scenario, knowing that we probably wont think of every possible scenario until we get up and running.

But our team has certainly worked through multiple scenarios on how to make this transition back to face-to-face learning, he said.

Despite that confidence, the virus is hard to rely on. Just because cases are down one month says little about the next.

"In North Dakota, we thought things were getting better. There was a time, three or four weeks ago, when we only saw 17 active cases in Grand Forks," School Board President Amber Flynn said. "I think at this point, any decision that we make is going to be the best decision out of the worst (options)."

Given all the difficulties of reopening, one might be forgiven for wondering: why go back to in-person classes at all?

Flynn argues that its not quite so simple. Besides education, school provides a valuable caretaking service for parents who are essential workers, single parents and the like. It also provides mental health or special educational resources to kids in even more families. She mentions concerns for impoverished students who rely on school meals.

"(A lot of school service) exists to help support students in a holistic way, not just academically, Flynn said. You have a student, for example, who's deaf or blind. They need specialized services to learn."

But even as the district stages a defense against coronavirus, its caught in a public relations battle for parents confidence exceptionally important as families make the choice of whether to home-school children, which would in turn affect state per-pupil funding. Though she said shed never judge any parent who made the decision, Flynn pleaded with families to consider the effects of pulling a student out of class.

If the states not providing us with any additional funds to navigate COVID, and parents take their kids out of the school to home school them I think people don't understand the implications of doing that, Flynn said.

But some parents may need convincing. In a survey earlier this month of more than 3,000 Grand Forks parents, more than 8% said they do not intend to send their student back for in-person instruction, with nearly 5% more indicating their child will likely need accommodations for a medical condition. Nearly 2 in 3 parents said they have at least some concerns about kids going back to class.

The same goes for educators. Leaders with the Grand Forks Education Association the union that represents local teachers declined to comment for this report, citing ongoing talks with district leaders. But according to a district survey of 1,000 Grand Forks school staff, nearly 1 in 5 expressed a lack of confidence that the school will be prepared to safely reopen next month. After reading a primer on the districts plans, more than 70% said they still have at least some concerns about returning to class.

The plan district leaders are drawing together, though, is a far-reaching attempt to address those concerns. Teachers and parents who said they might not return or need health accommodations will get a call from the district to help explore and address concerns. And school leaders are drawing up a detailed plan to help them manage whatever comes next.

A planning document, labeled a draft at the top in large red text, was provided to the Herald on Wednesday after a public information request. It shows ongoing plans and safety procedures to answer thorny back-to-school questions.

A section labeled expected safety procedures includes roughly two dozen bullet points, and describes kids being screened at home by parents daily, with anyone showing a high fever or two of nine other symptoms excluded from school. The plan says masks will be mandated in communal spaces and close groups with a few exceptions for medical or personal needs. Desks will be physically distanced, and staff and students will use hand sanitizer whenever they enter or leave a classroom. School supplies and snacks wont be shared.

The document also describes planning thats still in process. School leaders still appear to be untangling how to manage student pick-up and drop-off, as well as foot traffic within buildings. One part of the plan proposes student cohorts might stay in a classroom and teachers travel from room to room. Another describes ongoing planning for safer breakfast and lunch schedules.

Were confident that were going to create a safe learning environment for all of our staff and students, Thompson, the assistant superintendent, said. However, parents will still have some options if they have a child thats got some medical conditions, or maybe somebody thats in the household that has a pre-existing medical condition. Were obviously going to work with families that have those types of situations, and be as flexible and accommodating as we can.

The Herald obtained the document after making a public information request for a set of documents dozens of pages long described by school leaders in a July 13 School Board meeting. That request was denied, and the shorter draft document was provided to the Herald instead. On Thursday, administrators expected a more detailed document to be made available within the next several business days.

Sharing the contents of all those working notes prematurely would likely cause our community great and unnecessary confusion and consternation, Gillach wrote in an email. ... (The draft) however provides a more clear and understandable picture than the working docs requested.

And in a matter of weeks, the preparation will be over, and the time to head back to the classroom will have come. Jade Brown, a special education teacher in Grand Forks, said shes putting her faith in the administration

This is just time that we put our trust in our leaders and move forward, she said. ... I just think, as teachers, we have to be willing to adapt with what's thrown at us.

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'A lot of unknowns': Grand Forks heads back to school in flurry of COVID prep - Grand Forks Herald