School Board members, educators and parents met at the Greenwood High School Administration building on Thursday night to discuss the re-entry plans for the district. The principal from each school engaged in a short question and answer session after an initial update from Superintendent John Ciesla. Ciesla outlined an extensive plan to keep kids and faculty safe in the upcoming year, including electrostatic misting machines that will be used to disinfect campuses.
Students will be expected to wear masks during school hours except while eating, drinking, or during designated “mask break” times. Special considerations may be made for students with medical problems, special behavioral or individualized needs or at the discretion of school administrators. Students will also need to wear a mask while riding school-provided transportation.
While extra masks will be provided for students who forget or lose theirs, an extra measure of protection will be given to younger students in the form of a color-coded lanyard, which they can clip to their clothes to help keep them clean and prevent loss.
At each campus, nursing stations will be divided into two separate areas, one designated for the day to day nursing visits, which include daily medications and injuries. The other station will be set up for children who are suspected of having a communicable illness. This, to aid in the prevention of transmission. For minor scrapes and cuts, band-aids will be provided by individual teachers.
Changes to the daily schedule for junior high and high school students will include a staggered start time, with students who are bus riders arriving at 8:05 a.m., and car riders arriving by 8:45 a.m. This change will accommodate the increased amount of traffic since parents are being asked to drive their own children, if possible, in an attempt to lessen the number of children on school buses.
Governor Hutchinson announced Wednesday, July 29 that a grant would help districts provide mobile hotspots to assist with online learning. The Greenwood School District will be receiving 150 of those hot spots, which will be placed in various locations around the city.
Access the complete plan by the school district HERE.
