Benge students to return on campus

BENGE – Elementary school students will be returning to school on campus in Benge August 31.

The school, located at 2978 Benge-Winona Road in Benge, serves students in kindergarten through sixth grade with two teachers. Robert "Bob" Moore serves as both a full-time teacher and part-time superintendent; and Savannah Kerr, new this year, will also be teaching full-time.

Moore said as of now, the decision stands for students to attend campus five days a week.

He said returning to on-campus learning was necessary both because the students are young, and many families don't have dependable internet.

"We have internet issues, with families not able to access reliable internet, so it's just not something that's feasible for us," Moore said of the distance learning some schools are returning to. "There's equity issues with that. You just can't provide the same education for all the kids, when half of them can access online, and the other half of them can't."

Moore said attempts at distance learning with the school closure in the spring weren't very successful.

"We sent distance learning packets home, and we had quite a few kids that didn't do anything. You can pop off the phone calls and emails and everything else, and that doesn't help them get the work done," Moore said. "That's why I want to go in person."

Moore said he understood Adams County is above the limit of COVID-19 cases advised for schools to be able to return to on-campus learning, but "we're a long ways from Othello, and Othello is sort of the Coronavirus epi-center."

Moore said he looked at the situation from more of a holistic approach, and while he believed the school district could meet the health and safety requirements to be on campus, he had to question the social and emotional damage done to kids who can't attend school and interact with people; their friends and teachers.

"It's very frustrating. It's hard to see these little businesses struggle, and people being forced to quarantine. I don't think that's the right way to handle this. I don't think you quarantine healthy people," Moore said. "But it's an opinion, and everybody's got one."

Moore said if he is forced to adopt a distance-learning model, it would be a hybrid model; with likely a rotating schedule of some kids on one day, and other kids on the next day.

"I might have to do something with Friday, so we can allow the more at-risk kids such as special ed and low income, to return," Moore said. "Those kids need to be served in person. It needs to be fair for everybody, and it's not fair if you can't serve those kids who need it most."

Moore said about 16 kids are enrolled now, and he hopes that number climbs to at least 20. Last year 18 kids were enrolled.

"We measured out our desks. We have plenty of space to serve 20 kids and then some," Moore said. "We could actually go beyond that."