Local Administrators Respond to School Closures

The school closure order implemented by Governor Steve Bullock late on Sunday, March 15, came as a surprise to administrators of K-12 schools in Blaine County, who had been told by the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) just four days previous to prepare a plan for continuing classes—as either take-home coursework or online options—in the event of a school closure because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Without any significant time to formulate such a plan, that order has put the area community’s in upheaval. While some school districts are scrambling to ensure that their teachers have solutions tha...