Plymouth School Superintendent Andy Hartley reviewed the school’s reopening plan with the school board members Wednesday night.
Hartley said the first day of school will be Aug. 12 and the calendar should stay the same.
He did note that the eLearning protocols will change.
Hartley explained, “We’ve always had a note in there by way of our practice that we limit eLearning days to no more than three consecutive days. We need to remove that and make that adjustment in our calendar. Our practice has been not to do eLearning days before Labor Day. Again, we need that as possibility. A lot of that is that some of our kids still have their devices and they’ll be accustomed to that. Our current environment need to lend itself to more extended closure possibilities.”
With that, Hartley noted that virtual learning will also be an option.
“Students whose parents select this option will still be assigned a teacher or a class schedule, depending on their level, as if they were attending in person. There may be limitations to that possibility with certain classes, but students will still participate via Canvas. It’s important to note that they will be expected to follow the same expectations of learning and work as students who are attending in person.”
However, if a student chooses the path of virtual learning, he or she will not be eligible to participate in extra curricular activities at the school corporation.
No one should attend school if a person is ill. School officials will not do temperature screening, but parents or guardians will be expected to screen children prior to their arrival at school. Perfect attendance will not be recognized this year.
All students and staff will be required to have a mask at all times. Students riding the bus will have an assigned seat and will be wearing masks while on the bus. There may be times during the school day where masks may be required, especially when social distancing cannot be observed. Hartley said the corporation is working with the Department of Education to have masks available for students who may not have one already.
Schools will be cleaned and sanitized at the end of each school day and teachers and students will be able to sanitize common touch points throughout the day. Recess equipment will also be sanitized between each recess session.
Hand washing will be promoted all day and hand sanitizer will be available in all classrooms.
If someone has COVID-19 in the school, corporation officials will work with the Marshall County Health Department. A positive case may lead to closures.
Plans may change as the environment changes, but Hartley says the school corporation has put the best resources in place for a safe reopening this fall.
