Although the Jones County School District elected to return to school Friday, August 17, the Laurel School District Board of Trustees have chosen August 24, as their start of school date.
The Laurel School District Board of Trustees recently approved the district’s recommendation to move the start of school back by two weeks. Teachers will return on August 14, and students will return on August 24. This will allow the district an additional two weeks to complete their COVID-19 preparations, and receive all of the safety supplies that have been ordered.
The Board previously approved the district’s recommendation to return to school utilizing a hybrid model. The district’s hybrid model calls for students to attend school two days a week and participate in at-home virtual learning for the remaining three days. They recently approved to provide a virtual-only option for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten.
“This new season of our lives has created new challenges, but we remain committed to academics and the health of our Tornado family,” said Laurel School District Public Relations Director Lacey Slay. “We will continue to hold meetings with the administration to work through our COVID-19 protocols.
Slay said most of the teachers have already begun setting up their classrooms for both face-to-face instruction and digital.
The district recently purchased Canvas, a digital learning management system, which gives teachers the ability to deliver assignments and instructions for virtual learning.
This extra time allows the district the opportunity to receive the safety supplies that will be needed throughout the year to maintain a safe environment for the students and teachers.
“We’ve ordered 55-gallon drums of hand and surface sanitizer, other cleaning products, touchless thermometers, and PPE such as mask, gloves, face shields, and gowns,” said Slay. “All employees and students will wear masks in all grades.”
The district is increasing its cleaning efforts. Temperatures of every employee and student will be checked before entering the building, and staff members will be trained on spotting signs of COVID-19. Additionally, the schools will promote social distancing where possible.
The district’s bus occupancy will be decreased, which will increase the number of routes necessary to get students to school. The district is encouraging parents to drive students when possible to assist with further decreasing the number of students needing bus transportation.
Slay said the district had purchased a bus routing software that will help with the rerouting of buses and provide for time management, lessening the amount of time students spend on the bus.
“We want to be in the best position possible to open the schools as safe as possible,” stated Slay