As cases of coronavirus continue to spike around the country, here in Scott County the outbreak has continued to level off in the month of June. As of Tuesday’s report from the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) there were 707 reported positive cases of COVID-19 since March 11 in the county and 14 deaths. That is an increase of 15 cases and two deaths since the same time last week. Statewide there were 22,898 confirmed cases and 989 deaths reported as of Tuesday. The health department was also reporting the number of presumed recovered cases statewide at 17,242 as of Monday. Pictured above, a memorial to one of the Scott County victims, Lonnie Ray Shepard, at Cox Chevron in Forest. The longtime employee succumbed to COVID-19 last week.
On the education front school officials have been working diligently on plans for a safe return to classes this fall.
In that respect, the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) partnered with a workgroup of nine superintendents to outline the key issues districts need to address to reopen schools. The issues are outlined in a document entitled, Considerations for Reopening Mississippi Schools, which presents a three-month timeline of strategies for school leaders to consider to plan for the start of the 2020-21 school year.
According to MDE, the document is intended to be used as a resource and starting point for districts to consider local needs “in collaboration with stakeholders.”
Local school districts are responsible for designing school schedules that best meet the needs of their communities. School calendars, including the first and last day of school and school holidays, are also set at the district level. State law currently requires schools to provide 180 days of instruction each school year however the Mississippi State Board of Education is considering several policies to give local school districts scheduling flexibility for the 2020-21 school year to deal with the impact of COVID-19.
Considerations for Reopening Mississippi Schools outlines three “Types of School Opening Schedules” recommended for the local districts to consider in planning the coming school year. The options are Traditional Schedule, Hybrid Schedule, and Virtual Schedule.
The Traditional Schedule requires students to be physically present in school with scheduling modifications to follow CDC and MSDH recommendations.
This Schedule includes:
• Daily screening protocols
• Transportation adjustments
• Routine disinfectant protocols
• Consider keeping students static and moving teachers to limit interactions and assist with contact tracing
• Create plan for serving students and adjusting duties for staff who cannot return to the building due to health issues
• Limit student movement and restrict social gatherings in buildings to achieve social distancing guidelines
The Hybrid Schedule combines online and face-to-face instruction for students and schools must meet distant requirements. This schedule includes:
• A/B Days where the student population is divided in half, with each half reporting to school on alternating days and participating in distance learning during days scheduled at home. Fridays could be used for tutorials/special populations/professional development.
• Elementary Face-to-Face and Secondary Distance Learning. Under this option elementary students would attend four full days a week, spread out across buildings to reduce the student-teacher ratio to support social distancing. Secondary students would complete work through distance learning.g
• Elementary Face-to-Face and Secondary A/B Days. This option is a combination of the two previously mentioned models with the goal of reducing the number of students in the schools each day to achieve social distancing guidelines.
The Virtual Schedule allows for instruction to be provided through distance learning only. The considerations for distance learning effectiveness outlined are:
• Sufficient Internet band width
Mitigation of the digital divide among families
• Implementation of a Learning Management System and developed curriculum content
• Training for teachers on instruction in a virtual environment
The document also includes Academic Programing Plans, Operations Programing Plans, Family and Community Support Plans, Health and Safety Plans, Effective Communications Plans, and Technology/Learning Management Systems Plans. The entire document can be accessed in a link in this story on our website www.sctonline.net.
Scott County Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony McGee said Tuesday that he had a conference call scheduled that morning with State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carey Wright and State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs and hoped to have plans finalized this Friday, June 26. Dr. Karen Norwood, superintendent of the Forest Public School District could not be reached for comment by press time.
