Central District Health Drops Ada County Schools to Yellow

West Ada's first day of virtual learning has been full of headaches for students, teachers and parents a like. This update from Central District Health may be a silver lining after a frustrating experience. 

On Tuesday, Central District Health update its "Level of Community Spread for School" report dropping schools in Ada Country from the Red to Yellow category. The report is calculated using a two-week average of daily COVID-19 cases calculated per 100,000 people in a given county.

So what does that mean for parents? In the Boise School District they'll revisit a draft of their phased re-opening plan originally published on Friday. Under that plan, a phased re-opening could begin by September 21. At first, Pre-K - second grade and special education students would go back to the classroom two days days a week and continue online learning the other three. They'll add back third - sixth grade students in Phase 2 and seventh - twelfth grade students in Phase 3. Ultimately, they hope to get all students back for in person learning five days a week by November 9.

In a post on their website published on West Ada's website, the district said they'll welcome back preschool and kindergarten classes in-person full time. Those classes could begin as early as Monday, September 14. The rest of their Instructional Guide for Yellow Category can be seen here. More details of when the district's hybrid model could kick in is forthcoming.

...and for parents who need a drink after dealing with the first day school, if you can find childcare, you may soon be able to visit your favorite bar again. Last week, Central District Health denied a petition from 10 bar owners to re-open immediately but did give the green light for all bars and night clubs to re-open with additional safety measures in place once schools in Ada County were in the yellow. Those re-opening plans will need to be approved by CDH.