Indiana schools could reopen with limited class time, 1-way hallways, plastic barriers
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — News 8 got a clearer picture Monday of how things could look at K-12 schools when the new school year starts.
Renee Taylor, an Indianapolis parent, has an idea of how the upcoming school year could look at her children’s high school, but she’s not sure how it will pan out.
“They’re talking about a rotation (of days with online and in-class sessions). I’m just not that secure with it because I have a senior and a freshman, and I’m hoping that they’re on the same schedules,” Taylor said. “Some students do well online; some students are struggling. So, it’s nice that they will rotate.”
Monday was the day some districts slowly and very carefully began reopening activities such as sports and band camps. A spokesman for Indiana Department of Education told News 8 it’s seen schools take a scaled approach.
“In Stage 1, for instance, there’s a limit to the number of hours,” said Adam Baker, an Indiana Department of Education spokesperson. “I believe, I believe it’s 15 hours that a students can participate. There’s a limit to the number of days that an activity can actually take place. There’s a limit to the number of hours in that day. It’s just to get students back on those habits. It’s to make sure you’re keeping students safe.”
The Department of Education’s Baker said districts are working with local health departments to create plans to keep children safe from COVID-19. “We’ve seen schools that begin to work on their hallways. What does that look like going down a hallway? Just like a grocery store, are we going to make some hallways one-way, some two-ways? We’ve seen a lot of districts talk about ‘Let’s install plastic barriers or some sort of plexiglass in our high-traffic public areas.’”
News 8 also got an idea of how things could look inside some classrooms.
On Friday, Indianapolis Classical Schools — which includes Herron High School and Riverside High School — sent parents its plan for the 20-21 school year. Indianapolis Classical Schools said, of the return-to-school plans suggested, the one that seemed most prudent and safest included splitting students into different groups. For instance, Group 1 will be in schools Mondays and Tuesday while Group 2 will do online learning on those days; the process will reverse that for Thursdays and Fridays.
Also, their schools will be cleaned daily, the plan says.
The Indianapolis Classical Schools will send its COVID-19 procedures and policies to parents on July 17.
Statements
“First of all, I want to thank you for your patience as we have worked through all the possible return-to-school scenarios. Each time we thought we had landed on a workable plan and we began to sort through the details, we discovered flaws that caused us to start over.
“We do have a plan that we think will work best for our students, families, and teachers/staff. However, we will remain nimble and make decisions based on science.
“On Friday, July 17, 2020, we will send out our complete COVID-19 procedures and policies. This document will be extremely thorough and will address the details of our plans. Also, on July 17, we will send a survey that allows each family to choose our return-to-school option or our full virtual option.
The return-to-school plan that seems the most prudent and safest is a hybrid plan.
“·We plan to divide each school’s students into two cohorts.
“·Cohort 1 will be in schools on Mondays and Tuesdays. Cohort 2 will do online learning on these days.
“· Wednesdays will be a virtual office hour day as well a deep cleaning day. (Both schools will be thoroughly cleaned each day, but Wednesdays will be a heavy cleaning day.)
“· Cohort 2 will be in schools on Thursdays and Fridays. Cohort 1 will do online learning those days.
“· This rotation continues throughout the school year unless shifting circumstances require a change.
“The Cohorts will be split as evenly as possible. We will make sure families and carpool groups are in the same cohort.
“While some of our sports will start practicing soon, we are implementing more safeguards than the IHSAA recommends. You can read all of the details about our return-to-play plans at goriversideathletics.com and goherronathletics.com.
“I hope you and your family are well and that you can enjoy the July 4th holiday.
Janet H. McNeal, president of Indianapolis Classical Schools, in a letter to “schools families”
“As outlined in our letter to ICS families, our current plan is based on the results of in-depth surveys of both our student families and our staff.We continued to bolster our e-learning capabilities following this past Spring semester, so that we can remain proactive and flexible as the COVID-19 situation develops.Our in-person, e-learning and cleaning plans are based on the CDC-advised recommendations for social distancing and small class sizes.”
Shannon Dawson, director of public relations for Indianapolis Classical Schools
“Custodial teams have been performing deep cleaning in buildings in preparation for staff to return to buildings to prepare for students returning to school.”
Carrie Black, Indianapolis Public Schools spokesperson