BLACKFOOT — The Blackfoot School District will return to a partially at-home learning model after just one week of opening its schools to students full-time.
Blackfoot trustees approved the change Thursday after Southeastern Idaho Public Health put Bingham County — and six other area counties — at a moderate risk level for coronavirus.
Starting Monday, Blackfoot’s roughly 3,800 students will begin returning to their school buildings twice a week in one of two cohorts:
- Students in “Cohort A” will go to school Mondays and Tuesdays.
- Students in “Cohort B” will go Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Students will learn from home when not in school.
Blackfoot’s reopening plan calls for an A-B attendance model when local health officials put the county at a moderate risk level. Though Blackfoot had been at minimal risk before Thursday, it started the school year with an A-B model for two weeks before bringing kids back full time.
The district will reevaluate the situation in two weeks, Blackfoot Superintendent Brian Kress told EdNews Friday.
As of Friday morning, Bingham County had 769 confirmed cases of coronavirus, 242 active cases, 10 deaths and 574 recoveries, according to Southeastern Idaho Public Health numbers.
The district has a fully online learning option for families.
Compare school reopening plans and county coronavirus risk levels across Idaho here.
