Clarkston protesters call for in-person learning

A small group of patrons held up signs in front of the Clarkston School District office Wednesday as they advocated for a return to full-time in-person school.

The group of about 10 people said the current hybrid model of schooling has had a negative impact on students, both academically and emotionally.

Samantha Erks, a sophomore at Clarkston High School, held up a sign that said “Give us back our education.” Erks attended the protest with her grandmother, Tammi Smith.

“It’s a lot harder online because you are basically just doing work instead of having one-on-one contact with the teacher and actually learning,” Erks said.

Erks and her classmates in Clarkston haven’t experienced full-time in-person learning since March of last year.

She said the district’s current hybrid schedule, and the lack of socialization with her friends, has affected her mental health.

“I don’t get to go out and do stuff anymore, so I’ve been a lot more depressed,” Erks said. “I think everyone has.”

Steve Knight, the organizer of the protest, said it was time for students to get back to a normal school setting. He has two children enrolled at Clarkston High School and also has custody of two nephews who attend Parkway Elementary School.

“This has affected our lives immensely,” Knight said. “My freshman gets to go to school two days a week and she is expected to learn remotely a lot. She went from getting great grades last year to struggling this year to get by.”

Knight said the Clarkston School District is the only one in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley that hasn’t allowed students to return full time. And while he voiced his support for the work teachers have undertaken, he said it was time for the situation to change to change.

The Asotin-Anatone School District recently announced its high school students would go back to full-time in-person learning March 11, while students in the Lewiston School District returned to a normal school setting at the beginning of the school year.

“These kids are locked up in their rooms for hours and hours on end because their parents have to go work and it’s just collateral damage,” Knight said of the hybrid model. “I feel that looking at the health of this country, they left behind our children. There’s a lot of ways to neglect children and if I would have kept my kids (at home) a year ago three days a week, they would have probably taken me to court, and now they are saying it’s all right.”

Clarkston Superintendent Thaynan Knowlton recently said the district is not able to bring back its students full time because of a requirement state agencies in Washington have put in place to keep 6 feet of social distance in classrooms. The district doesn’t have adequate space or staffing to do that, so it has relied on a hybrid model.

Darby Justis, a pediatrician at Valley Medical Center, said she’d like the 6 foot rule to be loosened.

“I’m hoping Gov. Inslee takes note and makes a change to the regulations, or that (the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction) or Labor and Industries reduces it to 3 feet,” Justis said.

Justis, who has a fourth and fifth grader enrolled in the Clarkston School District, says her students have been able to perform well academically, but she said there’s less opportunities for socialization and her kids have spent too much time on their computers in the hybrid model.

As a pediatrician, she’s seen an increase in social anxiety since last March when schools closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. She also worries about the long-term effects of not being in the classroom full time.

Smith, who has a daughter in 12th grade and five grandkids in the district, said she feels the district and the health department haven't listened to parents who want their kids to return to full-time education.

“We all think that being in school is more important than what the risks are,” Smith said. “They are missing out on the education and if you compare them to kids who are going full time, they are probably not going to be at the same level anymore.”

In other coronavirus news:

* Public health officials reported 33 new cases and two additional deaths in the region Wednesday. The deaths included men in Latah and Nez Perce counties. One person was in his 60s and the other was in his 90s.

In Washington, there was one new COVID-19 case reported in Asotin County and 10 cases in Whitman County. Garfield County had no new cases.

Meanwhile in Idaho, 22 new cases were reported. Latah County had 16, Nez Perce County had five and Clearwater County reported one. No new cases were reported in Idaho or Lewis counties.

* The Asotin County Health Department will hold a vaccine clinic Saturday for employees of school districts and child care programs. The health department is working with the Clarkston and Asotin school districts, Tri-State Memorial Hospital, the Asotin County Fire District, and other child care programs in the county.

Brady Woodbury, the administrator of the health department, said employees of the school districts and child care programs will be contacted to schedule an appointment. No walk-in appointments will be offered.

About 250 vaccines will be available, Woodbury said.

Tomtas may be contacted at jtomtas@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2294. Follow her on Twitter @jtomtas.