Credit Katie Basile / KYUK
Some families in Bethel are considering moving if the next school year looks similar to this one. On April 29, 18 parents, teachers, and students, nearly all from Bethel, called into the Lower Kuskokwim School District board meeting. They pleaded with the district to allow students to return to in-person school five days a week, and for sports to resume. The district is taking action to meet those demands.
In March 2020, the Lower Kuskokwim School District, along with many districts around the nation, closed down in-person schooling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. LKSD kept in-person schooling closed while the virus hit the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta harder than almost anywhere else in the country. Carolyn Iverson, a parent and school social worker in Bethel, said that she was on board with those decisions at the time. Iverson is married to KYUK’s general manager.