Back to school planning has never looked quite like this, as Pinellas County School Board members held a four-and-a half-hour workshop to discuss reopening plans for the new school year.
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But, despite the 37-page document outlining what could be the ins-and-outs of the upcoming year, some members still expressed concern.
“They’re teachers. They’re there to educate children and that’s what they’ve gone to school for. Not how to sanitize a room or implement PPEs on a five-year-old or six-year-old who isn’t listening. That’s not what they were trained to do. They were trained to teach that child how to read,” said school board member Lisa Cane.
The plan is required by the state.
It will allow parents the choice of sending their child back to school with safety measures in place.
“We don’t expressly say that you need to wear shoes, but you need to wear shoes. So if you have to wear a mask for health safety and welfare, then you need to wear the mask," said Superintendent Michael Grego.
In school, there will also be social distancing in the classroom, staggered lunch schedules, and added sanitizing measures.
Each school will have a full-time nurse, and parents will be required to sign paperwork acknowledging they know how to screen their child for illness.
Parents will also be given the choice to opt for My PCS Online, which is a structured school day online, or virtual school, which offers a more independent style of learning.
Students who cannot comply with the in-school terms will need to choose one of the other two options.
The year overall, though, is fluid.
“The obvious thing is that things change. As we heard at the workshop, what we know today is very different than what we knew a month ago and will be different than what we know a month from now, so any possibility exists,” said associate superintendent Kevin Henrick.
Parents will have until July 27 to make their decisions, and then the district says they plan to work with staff to plan accordingly.
The point of Tuesday was to discuss the plan, and allow for any tweaks or changes requested by the board, but the final decision will ultimately be up to Superintendent Grego.
At this point, school is still scheduled to begin on August 12.
For more information on the reopening plan, visit pcsb.org.