Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

Although pandemic mitigations are still in place, Haines School's first day back Tuesday was more jovial than last year when elementary students were lined up, six feet apart, by grade, and led into the building by teachers. On Tuesday, children played on the playground, and the hallways were abuzz as students checked out each others' lockers and hugged and greeted new teachers.

High school English teacher Alex Van Wyhe said student energy was high and he felt excitement in the air. While the school's reopening plan was designed to provide a feeling of normalcy for staff and students, mitigations such as masking are still in place as Haines is grappling with a COVID-19 outbreak that continues to keep the community in the "high risk" category, according to the borough's emergency operations center. Awareness of this is still on people's minds.

"I woke up at about three this morning out of this vivid dream in which I had missed a phone call letting me know that I had COVID and I was terrified that I was going to have to miss the first day of school," Van Wyhe said. "I went through my phone and could find no evidence of the call, (and knew) it was just a dream."

Still, most staff and students are happy to be back.

"It's good to be back," senior Avery Williamson said. "I'm excited we get to (start) the year in person."

Principal Lilly Boron said they've worked to create a balance between mitigation and giving students a sense of normalcy. "It was a joy to see students on the playground before school and having hot lunch in the cafeteria again. Also, we've structured the schedule so that students can build connections to their space and feel a sense of belonging and ownership within the school."

Another change this year is reopening the school's library space to students. "It always feels better when I'm at school and there's kids in the building," librarian Leigh Horner said.

Last year Haines was one of the few schools statewide that started on time and remained open until June. Administrators still plan to meet weekly with health experts and change mitigation measures as needed. The school board will meet monthly and reassess decisions regarding masking, testing and travel protocol.

Klukwan School also started back up this week with similar mitigation efforts, including masking at least for the first two weeks of school, said school secretary Frances Leak.

"We will reevaluate things at the end of those two weeks," Leak said. "The first day of school will be outdoor learning at 25 Mile."

Klukwan has 10 students enrolled this year and a new head teacher who will start next month. Former teacher Eric Hart took a different job out of town.

Many Alaska schools are returning with mandatory masking this year including Juneau, Petersburg, Sitka, Ketchikan and Wrangell. Masking is considered one of many useful mitigation efforts for the majority of students, according to most health experts. The Centers for Disease Control recommend that all students and staff in schools wear masks. The World Health Organization recommends that, in general, students under the age of 6 should not be required to wear masks to promote social and emotional learning. WHO recommends that students ages 6-12 wear masks if there is widespread community transmission.

Kyle Clayton

Parents Christie Swainhafer and Vanessa Wishstar wave to their children, Hazel and Hunter, on their first day of first grade.

A coronavirus outbreak in a Mat-Su high school triggered a masking requirement throughout the district, according to an Aug. 24 Anchorage Daily News report. The district did not require masks at the start of the school year that began Aug. 13. At the end of the day Tuesday, 23 Mat-Su schools were reporting 68 COVID-19 cases. The community is dealing with an outbreak that is in part associated with the Alaska State Fair. On Sunday, the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center's ICU was full, and all but one of the patients were ill with COVID-19, according to the ADN. Hospitals across the state are at or reaching capacity.

As of Wednesday, there were 20 active cases in the Haines Borough. Four new cases were identified on Tuesday, according to the EOC.