The Perry County School District on Monday announced its plans for reopening school this fall, plans which include special measures to help students and staff stay healthy and safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
PCSD superintendent Andy Comstock called developing a plan that the district hopes will help satisfy that goal "one of the greatest challenges we’ve faced as an administration and school family."
The first day of school at PCSD is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 26.
"We believe that the very best place for children is in school, and that belief informed and shaped every component of our 'Roadmap To Reopening,'" Comstock said in his introduction tot he 36-page document outlining the district's plan. It was and remains our desire to create the safest environment possible for our students and our staff. We believe this plan supports the needs of our students and families while acknowledging the current risk to the health of children, and of those who serve and care for them. It also acknowledges the limitations of our facilities as we implement all recommended COVID-19 mitigation procedures."
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PCSD staff and administration outlined the plan for school board members during a special open work session July 29 before releasing it to parents via email and the district website Monday.
The plans discussed — any of which might change given new information — ranged from classroom attendance to transportation issues, masks, and lunch. Administrators from the primary center, elementary school, middle school, high school and the career center presented plans for each individual building, plans which include variances in regard to student age and classroom situations.
According to the district's "roadmap," PCSD will offer two options for students, “Pirates on Campus” or “Pirates at Home.”
In broad strokes, the on campus option for grades K-5 will feature a blended format with the students in the classroom four days a week, Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Friday. On Wednesday, the students will receive instruction online.
For grades 6-12, the campus option will be more of a split "A-B" schedule, with students divided into two groups at each grade level. Students in the “A" group will attend class on campus on Monday and Tuesday, while the “B” group will attend classes on Thursday and Friday.
At each grade level, each group will have online instruction during the days they are not on campus. Siblings and family members will be put on the same day schedule.
The district plans to take advantage of the empty classrooms on Wednesdays to provide deeper, more thorough cleaning of facilities and to give teachers more chances to collaborate within the district.
Lunchtime will also look different at PCSD. Students in grades K-5 will eat in the classrooms, while those in grades 6-12 will eat lunch in their advisory time classroom.
The “Pirates at Home” option will be 100-percent online.
Comstock said there is no perfect plan for reopening the campus for classes.
“I don’t think there is a best plan," Comstock said, "other than coming to school every day with no masks and no COVID-19 precautions. But we are not in that place right now.”
Both the Pirates at Home option and the planned online instruction on Wednesdays have drawn much discussion among board members, administrators and teachers, discussion centered mainly around the inability of some students to access the internet at home, either because of their rural addresses or financial issues.
In an effort to combat this problem during the early shutdown in March, the district placed eight buses throughout the county with Wi-Fi capability. This fall, the district will increase the number to 20, aided by funds received through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. In addition to serving as Wi-Fi hotspots, the buses will allow students to access the internet while the bus is moving as they travel to and from school.
Comstock repeatedly stressed the most important aspect of the school day would be transportation and getting the kids to school safely.
Transportation director Sarah Orf told board members that buses will be cleaned after each use and the buses will have a deeper clean on Wednesdays.
Because social distancing is more difficult in the enclosed space of a school bus, all students who ride the bus will be expected to wear masks, students will be seated from back to front, and siblings and family members will sit together.
Masks are to be worn by students as they walk to their classroom in the morning and anytime they are in the hallway, but will be optional inside the classroom — for students. Teachers are expected to wear a mask when in close contact with students.
Masks are not required if a student has a medical exemption.
“Our goal was to do things that would lessen our kids' time for wearing masks to minutes, not hours,” Comstock said.
At least one parent who attended the July 29 meeting was less than thrilled with the board's plan and didn't hesitate to share his opinion.
"With children from primary to high school and with support of many members of the community that I know personally, we do not support this plan," said Greg Hill, who addressed the board during Wednesday's meeting and later shared his statement on Facebook. "We don't live in fear, and shouldn't set the standard for our kids like this. Prepare, yes we should, but we shouldn't pretend this is more harmful than it really is."
PCSD's plans for reopening were developed in accordance with guidance issued by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the state Department of Health and Senior Services.
In May, DESE issued a 140-page document titled “Pandemic Recovery Consideration: Re-Entry and Reopening of Schools,” which contains more thorough and detailed information for school leaders to review and consider when developing their local plans for returning to onsite teaching and learning, including recommendations for wearing face coverings by staff and students. A list of answers to frequently asked questions was also issued by DESE.
"Face coverings are an important strategy to reduce transmission of the novel coronavirus, primarily by reducing the spread of infection from the wearer to those around," the document reads, while also stating that young children should not be expected to wear masks for long periods of time. "Face coverings should be considered for all age groups during periods when students ... cannot physically distance. It is also appropriate for all students to wear masks or face coverings while riding the bus."
In his Facebook post, Hill said wearing face-coverings should be a choice.
"I do not support any of these options and want my kids back at school five days a week, no mask requirements," Hill said. "If you want to wear one, do that. Choice should be the only option!"
While formulating the plan, the district was in frequent communication with the Perry County Health Department, which served as a sounding board during the development of its reopening plan.
Health department director Sylvia Forester said having a safe reopening would require a community effort.
"Schools have the best opportunity for a safe reopening if we have little to zero community transmission," said. "If we have high numbers again, like we saw at the beginning of July, we are behind before we have even begun. It is going to take the community as a whole to take individual responsibility and to do as much as possible to limit extra outings to places where there are high risks of transmission — events where social distancing and mask wearing is not being followed — and to avoid travel where there is high community transmission."
Justin Hotop of the Republic-Monitor staff contributed information for this article.
